Closing my eyes

[PantherCadet]

I first started shotgun shooting a couple of years ago, and by my third or fourth round of skeet I could hit about 20/25 (note this was over a period of some months). I continued to shoot skeet (not the actual game, just at the local range) and did well.

The next time I went skeet shooting, using a different shotgun than I had previously used, and alternating between it and my main gun, I hit 3/25. Later I would suspect that this gun may have been the beginning of my bad habit.

The time after that I hit 1/25.

This is where I noticed I was closing my eyes before I pulled the trigger. I began forcing my eyes open and did somewhat better; the next time I hit 12/25, and then 7/25. I still have to focus on keeping my eye open if I want to hit anything.

While in the field this weekend, I missed several shots and could only bring down a bird when he was within maybe fifteen to twenty-five feet, with one exception. It's hard to focus on a live, irregularly-moving target and focus on keeping your eye open at the same time.

That's why I came here.

I've been suggested hypno-therapy, and I could just try and keep my eyes open during extensive and expensive practice until I kick this habit. But I was wondering if any of you here could provide some helpful advice to me in my quest to re-improve my shooting. Having been good, and now downright bad, pretty much stinks, and I want to change that.

Thanks.

[JakeUSA]

Here's what you do: Don't blink before you pull the trigger. Just kidding. I tend to blink when the shot breaks, which is a bad habit as well, but I can see how blinking before you pull would make you miss the clay. My best recommendation is to just slow down and retrain yourself. That doesn't mean go to the range and spend all day and a load of cash on clays, just make sure that your practice is effective. Try a little dry fire practice. The blinking/anticipating, is part of your muscle memory right now, so you need to break yourself of it. At home, practice shouldering your gun, tracking an imaginary bird, and pulling the trigger, all with your eyes open and with an EMPTY gun. Once you can do it without blinking/flinching with an empty gun, then go to the range and practice it live fire with a target.

[PantherCadet]

That sounds good. And you're right about the muscle memory part. I can shoulder, line up, lead and fire without having to think, but I also close my eyes as part of that sequence. Thanks for the advice.

Anyone else?

[JHA XD40]

I second the dry firing idea just like I would recommend it to someone who flinches when shooting a pistol.

I shot skeet for the second time today and I still suck at it, not my thing, I don't think.

Good luck.

jonas

[Tomcat088]

I've shot alot of shotguns, done it since I was 5. My best friend Wade got 2nd in nationals 3 years ago in the national skeet shooting championship. He and I have shot together all our lives, so I have a bit of experience with shotgunning. I think that one of the main things you need to start with is the muscle memory. You talk about shouldering, leading and pulling the trigger without thinking, but you still blink. What you need to do is think about it all, and focus because right now it's a mental thing causing the flinch. Start very slowly and think about it all, hold up your shotgun, place your shotgun at a target, doesn't even have to be moving. Then take your time and watch the target, not your sights. Focus on some detail about the object, maybe even writing on it or read it, and then slap the trigger. It will take alot of conscious thought for you to get to where you can do this without blinking. It sounds like that other gun beat you up a bit or had a bit more recoil and helped cause this. In shotguns, most of the experts agree that you should "slap" the trigger, which doesn't mean just hit it as hard as you can, but you don't have to worry as much about a clean trigger pull, you merely need to stay on the target, slap the trigger and follow through. Just take your time and think about it all consciously, about how the gun isn't gonna beat you up, it isn't gonna hurt you, it's just going to push a little. An experienced shotgunner never looks at the sights on his shotgun, he/she watches the target the entire time and the shotgun just becomes an extension of your body. So just relax, breathe and go slow, snapcaps might help give you a little click so you get a trigger break and a bit of noise.

Also something that might have messed you up a bit is the fact that the guns probably have different combs. This has to do with how high the target has to be off of the bead in order to still hit it and how the top of the barrel and the part that the sight sits on is in relation to the eye. Most hunting guns have a very low comb, and the bead will be slightly under or directly on the bird. Many skeet and trap shooters don't want this because the bead covers part of the target, so the comb on their gun allows them to keep the bead a fair bit under the target and hit. So shooting the other gun might have helped get your eyes away from the already familiar comb of your gun and you haven't quite gotten that yet, but you're right the main problem is blinking.

If you really hate dry firing and want a real shot, have someone load up some really light loads for ya. Shooting a small gun like a 410 or 28 gauge might help ya out. Some people might recommend that you shoulder a gun and let someone else pull the trigger, so that you don't know when the shot is going to break. I would advise AGAINST this, since it seems that part of the problem was caused by recoil, and this might make it worse. I'd just make a very conscious effort to take your time, focus on the target at you slap the trigger and with time, it'll break itself. It took you a bit to develop this habit, and it will take you a while to break it. Best of luck to you and feel free to PM me or anything else if I can help ya.

[PantherCadet]

I sat out in the yard with my gun empty and practiced on the birds that flew over--still closed my eyes a couple of times, usually when i got up real fast--but did a lot better. Hopefully continued practice will help. Thanks to all.

Maybe I'll put a tape of doves sounding off to make it more realistic--the placebo won't work if you know its a placebo, understand?

Edit: just read Tomcat's post. Yes, the second gun has a lower comb, and that might have added fuel to the fire. And I'll think about (and follow) your advice, too, next time I'm practicing.

Once again, thanks.

[Tomcat088]

You're welcome buddy. Bad habits can really kill you and sometimes take persistence to break, but man they bring so much satisfaction to shoot how you want. Even if I had to, I'd practice aiming at a picture of a dove or something, just so that you can focus on the details, with it being still, and focus on the trigger break (or unfocus really). Watch the target and try not to think so much about the trigger, so you don't anticipate. Hope that helps and best of luck.

[bignosehunter]

I've only shot skeet a few times so I can't help you there.
But I have hunted birds most of my life. It sounds like you are just psyching yourself out when hunting birds. I got the best
advise from my dad whem I was young. He has told me this many of times when out hunting pheasants. "Take a breathe, relax, and act like like you have done it before, it's not hard". And the other is just imagine the birds as clays. I've done that and it works most of the time

Hope this helps

[PantherCadet]

It's not just the birds. It's more like the birds are aggravating the problem.

[JHA XD40]

Forgot about this earlier, but make sure you are wearing adequate hearing protection. Not uncommon at all for the loud noise from a gun to cause people to flinch and close their eyes.

Good luck.

jonas