{"id":2091,"date":"2023-05-03T10:47:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T14:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/?p=2091"},"modified":"2023-06-30T10:47:36","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T14:47:36","slug":"shooting-is-shootingsort-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/shooting-is-shootingsort-of\/","title":{"rendered":"SHOOTING IS SHOOTING\u2026sort of\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Craig Boddington<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We live in an age of specialization\u2026in almost all things. Instead of gunwriters, today we mostly have handgun writers, rifle writers, shotgun writers; few among us do it all. The gunwriters I grew up reading were more versatile. Elmer Keith was highly skilled with all three tools, and wrote about them almost equally. My old friend Colonel Charles Askins equally so: Multiple times national pistol<\/a> champion, renowned live pigeon shooter, successful competitor in various rifle disciplines. Jack O\u2019Connor is best remembered as a rifleman, but his work included the excellent The Shotgun Book. O\u2019Connor did comparatively little handgun writing, but he did a lot of handgun shooting, including in competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Great shotgunning writer the late Nick Sisley, in the middle of a covey rise. You can bet he exhaled\u2014sharply\u2014when the birds erupted, and he\u2019s taken an extra half-second to square his position and plant his feet while the shotgun is coming up.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That was a common thread for that generation: Most gunwriters competed in various disciplines. In part, this was a product of their time. Games like three-gun, combat pistol, cowboy action<\/a>, sporting clays, didn\u2019t exist. Competitive disciplines were set-piece and formal, but that shooting was available.  Across most of the country, game numbers were down, but targets are always in season. So, the gunwriting greats of yesteryear did a lot of target shooting with rifles, handguns, and shotguns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sporting clays: Any and all clay target shooting is good training for wingshooting. Sporting clays is probably the best, because the variety of distances and shot angles varies infinitely from course to course.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some of my peers and colleagues pursue modern games, such as PRC<\/a>, three-gun, and various handgun disciplines. A few make the annual pilgrimage to Camp Perry for the most traditional disciplines. Me, I haven\u2019t actively competed for ages. When I was young, various shooting games were all-consuming. I grew up shooting American trap, some skeet, was good (never great). In college, I competed in smallbore, both rifle and pistol, and shot service rifle and pistol in the Marines. Again, I was good (never great), but I have trophies, medals, and badges won with rifles, handguns, and shotguns. Honestly, with all the great hunting opportunity we have today, I haven\u2019t compete for years. I still practice (a lot), but all this gave me a pretty good all-around background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been mostly pigeonholed as a rifle writer. Wasn\u2019t always that way. I once did a lot of shotgun writing because that was what I knew best. Today, the publications I write for don\u2019t use much shotgun content, so scattergun assignments are infrequent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Running boar target: Because of the popularity of driven hunts, European hunters have access to \u201crunning game\u201d targets on most ranges. Because of this, they have no fear of moving game and tend to be good at it. For Americans, Boddington believes shotgunning is the best teacher for moving targets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a young writer, I also did a lot of handgun stuff. The magazines I started with used a lot of handgun content, and economics and experience were also factors. A story\u2014handgun, rifle, or shotgun\u2014requires only visits to an appropriate range and time taking photos. Hunting stories require time in the field. Doesn\u2019t have to be costly. Hunting deer behind your house can produce material as valuable as any exotic hunt. However, it takes time to gain enough experience to write authoritatively and credibly about most hunting situations.      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This outgoing target was centered on a sporting clays course. Whether birds or clays, hitting flying targets is mostly about keeping your head on the stock, swinging smoothly, and pressing the trigger at the proper instant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Regular practice is essential for consistent shooting performance. However, shooting is like riding a bicycle or driving a car; once you have basic skills, you don\u2019t have to relearn from ground zero. All shooting is about eye-hand coordination and concentration. So, shooting is shooting, and all shooting has at least some value for all other shooting. However, there are some radical differences among our three basic firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I lay no claim to being as versatile as the long-gone greats. Handguns are my weakest suit. In large part, because I have the least interest in them. I shoot handguns enough to maintain personal defense skills, and at one time I did a fair amount of handgun hunting. However, I\u2019m not as fascinated by pistols and revolvers as by the intricacies of rifles and shotguns. As a result, my skill sets are weaker than with long guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donna Boddington on the range with a SIG-Sauer P365 subcompact 9mm, demonstrating most current stance and hand position for fast steel target games.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The competitive pistol shooting I did in my youth was formal one-hand shooting. \u201cBullseye\u201d competition is still done, but the popularity of steel target games has changed handgunning styles. In the Marines they taught two-handed shooting, but preferred grip and stance have changed. I\u2019ve done some catching up, but I\u2019m a bit behind the times with handguns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eastman jackrabbit: The late gunwriter Chub Eastman retrieves a jackrabbit. Where possible, shooting running jackrabbits is the best practice for hitting running game\u2026with rifle or handgun. Absent plentiful jackrabbits, clay targets with a shotgun teaches the needed skills.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Handgun and rifle shooting in common rely heavily on the basics, especially breath control and trigger press. I still like the acronym from the Marines, the BRASS rule: Breathe, Relax, Aim, check Sight alignment, Squeeze. Shooting positions, distances, and capabilities vary hugely between rifles and handguns, but the basics are similar and transferable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shotgunning is different\u2026but not always. I recently wrote that my Dad had a terrible time hitting turkeys. Pop was a great wingshooter, not a rifleman. For point targets, whether a turkey or a deer taken with slug or buckshot (or a steel target in Three Gun), the shotgun becomes like a short-range rifle. You must know where it shoots, and aim at the precise spot you need to hit. The good old  BRASS rule applies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wingshooting and hitting clay targets are different. Everything is moving: Upper body, your arms, the shotgun\u2026and the target. Except feet and legs. Stance is of critical importance; one of the biggest mistakes in fast upland shooting is to not take the half-second needed to firmly plant your feet. Breathing remains important; you exhale when calling for a target, and when a pheasant explodes under your feet\u2026while you\u2019re bringing the gun up. No time to Relax! You do Aim the shotgun, swinging with the target, establishing the required lead. The swing needs to be smooth and continuous. Stopping the swing is a fundamental error\u2014we all do it now and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many years have passed since Boddington was serious about shotgun competition, but he can still handle a shotgun. On this day in 2007 he won high shooter at the Grand National Quail Hunt in Enid, Oklahoma.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, no time double-check Sight alignment, either. When the shotgun bead is in proper relation to\u2014and moving with and ahead of\u2014the target, the shotgun is fired. The trigger is not Squeezed, no time for the deliberate, steady increasing pressure as in a rifle or handgun. I think my preferred wording\u2014trigger press, rather than \u201csqueeze\u201d\u2014still works, but it\u2019s a sharper, faster pull. Shotgunners often describe it as \u201cslapping\u201d the trigger. I don\u2019t care for that because it implies a violent action, which can disrupt your aim as surely as jerking a handgun or rifle trigger. When everything looks right, you simply press the trigger hard enough to fire the shotgun in that instant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow-through is equally critical with all three tools. No shot is complete until the projectile hits (or misses) its target. On flying targets, the swing continues through the target breaking or the bird falling. With a rifle or handgun, you stay on the trigger through the shot; it\u2019s a mistake to instantly release it, because of potential to disrupt the shot while the bullet is still in the barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shooting off the bench is about removing as much human error as possible. The gun is rested as steadily as possible, allowing the shooter to concentrate on breathing and trigger press.\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Same with shotgunning except: In wingshooting you continue to swing with the bird, but in case of a miss you must quickly correct for another shot\u2026while the bird is still in range. Preparing for additional shots is the same with handguns and rifles. Flicking your finger off the trigger as the gun fires is a bad habit; Instead, it\u2019s essential to smoothly reset for the next shot (and work the action if required). Lifting your head to admire a shot is another common bad habit\u2026with all three tools. There must be slight forward finger movement to reset the trigger, but the head needs to stay down on the stock or behind the handgun\u2019s sights, ready to fire again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with Dad and his several missed turkeys, relatively little in shotgunning is fully transferable to rifles and handguns. Except for one thing: Shooting at moving targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is controversial, as some folks believe shooting at moving animals is unethical. My friend and mentor John Wootters once commented that he\u2019d like to invent a cutoff-switch that prevented firearms from discharging if an animal was moving, this to reduce wounded game. Wootters wasn\u2019t alone; some outdoor TV networks won\u2019t air footage if an animal is moving when shot. Jack O\u2019Connor believed differently, writing that game animals are \u201cjust as big moving as standing still.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AR offhand: With all shooting it\u2019s essential to follow-through: Stay on the trigger until the shot is complete. With repeating actions, forward trigger finger movement is necessary for the trigger to reset, but it should be smooth and minimal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While I don\u2019t believe in risky running shots, I lean to the O\u2019Connor school on this. Game animals don\u2019t always stop. At closer distances, and always depending on angle and speed, properly placing shots on moving targets is practical with both rifles and handguns\u2026if you know what you\u2019re doing. In O\u2019Connor\u2019s Arizona days, jackrabbits were legion, offering marvelous rifle practice for running game. I\u2019ve never lived where jackrabbits were plentiful enough to offer that opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Position vary widely, but in rifle shooting breath control and trigger press are always critical.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, I grew up doing so much shotgunning that I\u2019ve never been daunted by moving shots. The principles are the same: Swing smoothly, keep swinging, establish lead, press the trigger. The only real difference: You use sights or crosshairs instead of the shotgun bead. So, if your shooting or hunting with rifles and handguns includes fast-breaking opportunities at moving targets, spend more time shooting clays. Both trap and skeet are wonderful games, but sporting clays teaches how to handle the greatest variety of shots. Of the three, sporting clays is far the best preparation for wingshooting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Craig Boddington We live in an age of specialization\u2026in almost all things. Instead of gunwriters, today we mostly have handgun writers, rifle writers, shotgun writers; few among us do it all. The gunwriters I grew up reading were more versatile. Elmer Keith was highly skilled with all three tools, and wrote about them almost … Continue reading “SHOOTING IS SHOOTING\u2026sort of\u2026”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[35],"tags":[8,19,61,42,39],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/trigger-press-Medium.jpg?fit=1147%2C768&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2091"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2106,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091\/revisions\/2106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}