If you have a question, drop me line and I'll add it here.
 

I've been shooting for decades - can you help me?

I’m going to take a punt here…I’m going to guess your overall scores haven’t really changed much in recent years, no matter the discipline you shoot?

You’ve plateaued. You’ve accepted you’re an x or y classification, and you say things like, “look, I shoot for the fun of it, mixing with friends is more important” - yeah right! Like you’d turn down the opportunity to be 'top dog' in your group! Shooting is a competitive sport; it’s why we score our performance.

Back to basics - Why do we teach novices to shoot skeet? The reason dates to the 1920’s when skeet first came about. Skeet represents just about every bird you’ll see at any ground. A perfect tool to teach beginners and a perfect tool to keep experienced shooters sharp. So regardless of your discipline, make sure skeet is included in your practice schedule. Why waste cartridges on thin air? 

Get on the skeet range and learn to hit them all. Don't think of skeet as a 'time filler' - master skeet and watch your sporting scores go up too.

Curiously, would I be right in assuming you’ve not hit 25 yet? Or if you have, you've struggled to repeat it? 

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. I'll help, I promise, you just have to ask.

I shoot pretty well, but I can’t hit 25 on skeet, what am I doing wrong?

In my view, skeet is the pinnacle of shooting excellence. Many ‘sporting’ die-hards will disagree. But think about it…shooting ‘100 straight’ is perfection. Shooting 80 or 90 in sporting means you missed 10-20% of the targets! Not so perfect!

To answer your question, I’ll assume you’ve hit all the targets on the skeet range at some point in the past, but just can’t put the sequence together to get a straight, right? (There’s a separate answer below if your issue is specific to a particular stand)

So, let’s put aside gun fit and eye dominance as possible reasons. Let’s put aside stance, and whether or not you’re rolling off the shooting line, particularly on station 3, 4 and 5. Let’s also park whether you mount gun up, or gun down, because I’m sure you mount perfectly each time?

I’m sure the sight picture you see is identical every time  you shoulder your gun, along with your hold point? (I can hear the creaking doubt setting in... Lol)

So now we’ve excluded all those possible reasons for your inconsistency, what’s left?

The cause is exactly that…inconsistency. 

But hang on… Let’s put that into ‘sporting’ context. Scenario: You go onto a sporting stand, eight birds. You dust the first six using the same hold point, gun speed, lead, technique and swing on… tell me, would you change anything for the final two birds? No, of course you wouldn’t. Then why do you shoot station 3 or 4 on a skeet layout differently every time you shoot? 

I can guarantee your feet are in a different place each time, your hold point is random, you break the clay in different areas, and you likely move on ‘pull’, rather than waiting for the clay! Why? Because your muscle memory says, ‘these buggers are fast’.

Oh…and then there’s your mindset, doubt creeps in, usually around station 4…yeah, I know, I can see you smiling at your screen! 

So confident am I that I can increase your skeet scores (and your overall shooting performance), that if you don’t, the session is on me! Pay me nothing. Not many instructors will offer that!

I score well, usually 23s or 24s - but I keep missing one of the pair on station 4, can you help?

Yes, most definitely. How can I say that with such confidence? Because I did too.

It took me nearly a year to get my first 25. But then they’re literally like buses, one after the other…I kid you not. You’ll forget how many 25 straights you’ve shot, trust me!

Why? Because that won’t be the number you’re focusing on anymore. Skeet is about consistency, focus, timing, repetition…everything the same. One shot at a time. Pure focus. To the last. 

The mind is the final element of the puzzle. As in any sport, you need the right mindset too.

What advice should I listen to from my fellow shooters?

We are a community of very helpful souls. We really are. We mean well and the advice often comes thick and fast.

The type of advice to ignore is from the 'helpful, not so helpful' soul standing many metres away, who shouts “you’re in front of that mate…” when you actually missed behind!

That said, a fault may well be called correctly, but is it helpful if you don’t know the cause or the remedy to the fault? Why were you in front? Why were you behind? Why are you over the top?

Pointing out the obvious sometimes isn’t that helpful. Therefore, any advice that follows with a remedy, that's the type of advice you should consider and perhaps take on board. For example: “you missed behind, because your hold point was too close to the trap house"

Okay...and the remedy is? 

"Try moving your hold point out a little further, once you see the clay, lock on to it, move with it, pull ahead and shoot” - (This is just an example of the type of advice you should take note of, as it provides not just the fault, the cause, but also the remedy)

Please note, when I teach you to shoot skeet, we’ll be using a different, recognised shooting method to the example above.

To conclude, ignore all advice that states the obvious…But, don't forget your manners, because the advice was well intentioned, so don't forget to say 'thank you'.

I shoot ‘sporting’ well, I disagree, skeet is not the pinnacle of clay shooting. It’s easy. Convince me otherwise.

That’s awesome. I mean that sincerely, as I’m not that keen on sporting. But why, I hear you ask? Well, it’s not excellence, it’s not perfection. Shooting 100 straight is...And it feels amazing.

A 85+ score on sporting is deemed a great score. But that’s 15% missed. If a competitive skeet shooter shot 85, he or she wouldn’t be happy at all. In fact, they wouldn't be competitive.

I tell you what…let’s agree to disagree, but settle it with a challenge and a reminder. Next time you’re at the ground, wander over to the skeet range and shoot four rounds of skeet. Not one or two, four. Four rounds. Just as an exercise. Humour me. Let me know your score.

The other thing; remember the origins and purpose of skeet, its aim to keep the skills of hunters honed, simulating the flushing of ruffed grouse. Dare I say, perhaps shooting skeet regularly may indeed help your sporting scores even more? Just a thought.

What is your worse beat?

The worse score you could get when you’re shooting with great shooters is 99. 

Ordinarily, you’d think, wow, good shooting, great score. But, when you’re the only one with a 99 and the others shot 100, you do beat yourself up a little. My worse 99 was down to a lack of concentration and over confidence. Mostly over confidence, and a pinch of complacency!

I was straight, 99 balls of dust, the 100th target... option? ‘high bird please’ - 'another 100, oh yeah!' And… pull, bang, miss! Staggering!

But that shows you how focused you need to be, right up to and including the last target. I became complacent and I paid for it. Fortunately, it was just practice. But it still hurt.

A lesson learned.

What was your best day?

This sounds pretentious and it really isn't meant to be. I had genuinely forgotten this until Henry Mitchell (ex England shooter) walked up to me in the car park at Sywell. Wow, I hadn’t seen him in nearly 10 years. Unlike me, he hadn’t aged at all, typical! - But despite the elapsed time, he recalled the last time we shot together, he said "… the last time I saw you here, you were 200 straight! Mental” - oh yes, I said reflecting! I had forgotten. Genuinely.

I guess that was one of my better days. But don’t get me wrong, I miss too. I’m human, we all do! It's how we process the misses that counts, particularly in competition. Understanding the fault and its remedy.

Are you insured and DBS checked?

Yes to both. I have public liability cover of £10million and can provide you with a copy of my insurance cover and my DBS certificate upon request.

What makes a good instructor?

That’s a subjective question, ‘as people buy people’ essentially. One thing for certain is great shooters, don’t necessarily make great instructors.

Just because they shoot 'this' or shot 'that' or represented X or Y… doesn't necessarily give them the ability to teach effectively. 

Not everyone can see the remedy to a missed shot, or if they can, know how to succinctly communicate what the shooter should do next.

I spent my entire adult life in management, particularly people management, training, coaching and developing people. I have strong interpersonal skills and find communicating in an engaging way, second nature. I am a people person.

Can I still straight? Yeah, but that’s not important - the question is, can I help YOU to shoot a straight? I’m confident I can. 

I’m a complete novice; can you help me?

Good news, the answer is yes. Skeet is the only place you should learn clay pigeon shooting. It provides almost every angle of target that you’ll see across other disciplines of clay shooting. It’s where I first learned to shoot clays.

And if you’re interested in skeet, then that’s a bonus for me. You’ll have no bad habits for me to fix, and no expectations. A champ in the making perhaps?

The three main reasons why people miss as a novice is poor gun fit, eye dominance and the wrong stance. We’ll check all those and get you shooting skeet properly in no time! Although, I must warn you, it’s very addictive! The pursuit of perfection awaits.

Skeet is easy, right?

Yeah, easy, sure, of course, definitely. Mmm...

It’s true. The targets ‘should’ travel on the same trajectory, and there’s only two traps, the high house and the low house. The sequence of clays thrown is known, and there are just seven stations. The angles are the angles. The speed is fixed (barring the wind) - So yes, very straight forward and easy!

I must ask, how many 100 straights have you shot? 

Only teasing. But here's a challenge, next time you're at the shooting ground, wander over and shoot four rounds of skeet - be sure to let me know your score, out of 100.

What is your best recovery moment in a competition?

Inter-counties final, up at Notts District Club. 10+ years ago. The late Mike Harris was our captain. What a team!

A typical, beautiful summer day. Not. It was grey, windy and cold. Horrible.

Layout one. I’m up first. ‘pull’ - bang. Miss. The wind pushing the clay to the ground at a rate of knots. Sigh. ‘Repeat high’ said the ref, ‘pull’ - bang. Miss. 

You can imagine, first shooter of the competition, the finals. Not a great start. 

I completed the stand and pulled myself together. Fortunately, those turned out to be my only two losses of the competition. I was straight to the end, finishing on a respectable 98, topping the charts for the team, with us taking the trophy. It felt good. Given my start, it felt really good!

What I learned that day was mental fortitude and team camaraderie. The day had the makings of a disaster, but ended very differently.

In my mind skeet is perfection. The pursuit of it will often end with 96s, 97s, 98s and 99s. But I know the hundreds come too. And oh, what a feeling.

Do you want to feel that elation too? Get yourself down the range and lay down your own personal benchmark. Four rounds of skeet. Record it. Regardless of your score, aim to beat it the next time. If you want to accelerate your scores, contact me. Results are immediate. It would be my pleasure to help.

How can you guarantee improvement?

I’ve been doing this a while. I’ve a canny eye that picks up on things that a typical shooter, or even fellow instructor, might not.

I know skeet. I’ve literally dreamt it. I kid you not.

An example and testimonial. I was shooting with a would-be client who was shooting mid-late teens, with the occasional 20. He was very inconsistent, and I could see all his mistakes. Rather than see him go away frustrated, I decided to give him a break, putting my gun back in its slip, I gave him a complimentary stand-by-stand lesson.

For the first time in his life, he shot a 24. You can imagine his reaction…From 16 the previous round to 24. And that was with just a few pointers. Now imagine what I could do for you. And that is why I guarantee my work.

Why is speed such an issue?

It’s quite bemusing to observe so many experienced shooters struggle with skeet.

Recently, having shot a round of sporting a group of very experienced shooters decided on a round of skeet. I predicted who would miss high one and was right. I won't say why, but I just knew! The same shooter had called ‘pull’ while still closing the gun on station 2. Miss.

On to station 3, resulting in two dust balls. His sporting style coming into its own. Station 4 - he’d not been on the stand for more than a second before once again calling 'pull'. Miss, followed by a hit. 

Now the pair, first one a hit, but the second got away. His timing was off, his approach hurried. It was like there was a bonus pay out if he finished the round in the quickest time. He literally wasted his time and money. He got nothing from it, except frustration.

Rushing skeet is where shooters, particularly after a miss, end up with scores like 18 or 19. They miss and call 'pull' for the next target in frustration, with the gun often going in the opposite direction to the target! Now it’s catch-up time, a desperate swing through shot. Oh bugger…another miss.

Rushing will kill your scores. Slow it down. Think about the target...focus.

Why do you teach shooters to slow how they request the clay?

Good question - Skeet targets are fast. American skeet even faster and Olympic skeet is on another level.

As such, shooters unconsciously link the calling of the target with gun movement. Their muscle memory and past experience tells them ‘these buggers are fast’ - so I need to be quick. This opens another realm of potential misses with the shooter moving the gun when no target is visible. They then stop the gun, the target appears, shoots past their barrels, and now they’re chasing it. Miss.

The shooter links his immediate call for a target ‘pull’ with the appearance of the clay. When it doesn’t appear immediately, we’re into protests of a ‘slow pull’ - this may be conceded, but not always. Certainly not in a competition.

To shoot 100 straight, everything must be perfect. If you’re now angry after a slow pull claim being denied, guess where your scores are going? South.

The solution is simple. Slow down. Change what you react to. 

I teach shooters (and do so myself) to slowly say ‘pull’, almost like in slow motion, 'puuull' - in doing so, we're telling the trapper to send the target, but not in any particular rush. We react to the target appearing, not the word that leads to the target appearing. This means our gun stays at our hold point.  

I teach this method because I know it makes a huge difference to the overall score. It takes a little practice, but it’s a game changer.