The Coolidge examiner., 1934-11-09
HOW T0A:':i.:
SHO Or
By Bob Nichols
Shooting Editor. Field aud Stream :

THE novice In wlngshooung finds
Il II hard TO believe that you must
shoot ahead OF flying or running
targets In order to hit them. lie
reasons that the speed OF the shot
gun charge Is so fast that one ought
10 be able 10 aim dead on the target
and hit II. But the fact OF the mat
ter is-you simply can't Actually.
the speed OF the shotgun charge Is
not so very fast. II Is only about
one-third the speed OF the modern
hIgh-power rifle bullet. In skeet
shooting can frequently hear the
shot charge strike the clay target
after the report OF the gun. Yet
the speed OF the shot charge is only
part OF the story.
In America, shooting ahead OF
your target Is called leading IT,
without intending to pun. this term
is actually misleading. Leading a
target implies aiming out In front
OF the target and swinging along in
this position until you judge you
are far enough ahead OF the target
before firing. This Is wrong. The
right way to do II is TO swing on
the target from behind II, swing on
past lt-that Is, ahead OF it-and
shoot after you have passed It. But
make up your mind to shoot In
stantly as you swing ahead OF the
target. Instead OF calling II lead
Ing" the English gunners refer TO
this as forward allowance" A
more readily understood term.
think.
Forward allowance" is absolute
ly necessary, not so much because
II takes the shot charge a certain
fraction OF a second TO travel 20.
30, or 40 yards--although this time
must be taken into account-but
mostly because II also takes time
for your eye 10 register the impress
sion OF the target. for your eye to
tell your brain to shoot, for your
brain to tell your trigger finger TO
pull. for your trigger finger TO snap
home. for the hammer to fall, for
the primer TO explode the powder
charge and send the shot hurtllng
on its way. All this takes time.
Very little. to be sure But remem-
Der that the target isn't standing
still either. The target may be tray-
cling anywhere from 80 10 90 feet
q second. depending on whether It's
a rabbit or a canvasback duck. And
your shot charge must start toward
a point that is ahead OF the moving
target and In It's path.
Only experience will teach you
where this point Is. No other shoot
er can tell you exactly. No two
shooters function exactly alike In
their muscular and nervous reac-
tions. On the skeet field. 10 the
best OF my knowledge | believe
shoot at a point about three feet
ahead OF my targets on the cross
Ing shots. and possibly only two feet
or less on the Quartering shots.
Just as tip to you. will hazard
the guess that at least so per cent
OF the targets missed In skeet are
shot behind-too far behind.
on stralghtaway running rab.
t!t. shoot under him. Shoot six
inches under his hopping white tail
and youll tumble him every shot.
Try a shot on the surface OF a pond
20 see the reason for this. You'll
notice that the shot charge strikes
the water in a ten-yard long pat
tern. II you shoot just slightly IN
der your straightaway rabbit you
can't miss. On rabbit running
across your line OF FIRE. again shoot
just a little low and at a point
about three or four feet ahead Of
him. depending on how far he is
away from you. Remember that the
longer the range on any game. the
farther ahead you shoot. And the
faster the flight of any game, the
farther ahead you shoot. On a fa-
nous Long Island duckIng ground
there Is an old saying that III ten
feet seem too much lead. try TWEEN
ty." Which in plain language only
means that we seldom miss our
game by shooting too far ahead OF
II. Invariably we miss the target
by shooting behind H.
Good shots who are al all con.
scious of their movements In gun
pointing all agree that the best way
TO swing on a moving target Is 10
come from behind the target. and
then AT the instant the gun swings
past the target to let 'er go. In
fact. that last bit OF swing past the
target, and the trigger pull itself.
happen at almost the same instant.
Come from behind-swing past
bang Never stop the swing OF your
gun. Follow through. To stop your
gun as you pull trigger is a fatal
mIstake-even hair-lIne instant
pause means that your target has
caught up with and passed your
forward allowance. and your shot
charge goes behind for another
miss.
@. Western Newspaper Union.