I wish you could see the moment a shooter realizes their swing finally makes sense. One clean move, the target breaks… then another… and right about then they stop, look at me, and say, “How have I been missing this long?” It’s a fair question. Most shooters have been trying to solve the wrong problem with the wrong information—sometimes for years. When they experience a clear, simple system built specifically around how they see, move, and think, something changes. They start breaking targets with purpose instead of hope, and that’s when the real fun begins.Here’s a common sense hit list of exactly what puts more O’s and more Xs on a ...

As the founder of the Paragon School of Sporting, I’ve spent more than three decades teaching clay target and wingshooting students from around the world—each lesson reaffirming that not all shooting methods are created equal.A very important topic: what methods work all the time, sometimes, and in some cases, not at all?If time in the box is primarily about having fun, methods that work sometimes will do just fine. Here, X’s come second to friendly competition, trash talk and spending time in good company.Methods that work sometimes can handle easy targets. Harder targets? Not so much.For example, using “measuring” leads as a method. Contrary to popular ...

Since everyone else is, let’s talk about ammunition.Manufacturer? Folks, the truth is, they all work. Favorites build confidence and that counts. Pick any popular brand and know for certain: what’s in the box will do its job if you do yours.Shot size? Please don’t share this, OK? 9’s are downright lethal inside 30 yards. 8’s—depending on how much target bottom is visible—are stone reliable out to 40+ yards, give or take a little. For consistency, 7½’s get the nod at 50 all the way out to 60 and 70 yards, again depending on what the target is showing us. Rabbits and battues? 8’s work all day.Payload? Despite some questioning their ...

Counting on your shotgun choke to break this target?After watching countless X’s and O’s with an enquiring mind on which chokes work where, here are my findings.Does choke selection matter? For some yes, others no, depending on how much the shot outcome means to our shooter.Do chokes work? Equally to how well our swing is working.Should we be depending on our choke to break this target? Sorry, no. The choke is simply a helpful tool. Our swing guides the shotstring and will decide X or O. Hold onto that as we continue.Since they can help, which choke where? That depends on 1) target distance; 2) target surface area exposed; and 3) shooter skill. With the right swing, can a Skeet ...