To expand on my recommended 2018 New Years Resolutions, please consider the following. These are just a few of the basics, commonly overlooked or unintentionally compromised.

First…there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using our natural, eye-hand coordination to break targets. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t start here, and it works. Literally, millions of targets have been broken this way. That’s a truth. Here, however, is the other side of that truth. Using your raw, unrefined instincts to break targets inevitably leads to inconsistencies in your swing and lost targets. To break targets on purpose takes a certain correctness built into each set-up and swing, deliberately. These basics aren’t really required…unless,  however, you’ve decided to seek more consistency, better shooting performances, and higher scores. Then that correctness…your set-up, swing structure and consistency…will all be required.

Skill advancement is a noble goal. The path, however, can be a challenging one as the shooting basics, the fundamentals, become mandatory. Shooters further up the skill chart have learned this, which explains why their swing looks so smooth, so controlled. It would be fair to say it looks exact, or better yet, accurate. Not careful mind you because it’s not…but it is intentionally precise. All of this is no accident, the result of consciously, deliberately making changes in their game to stimulate progress in the box and on theirscore cards. 

While our favorite shooting method does rank high in priority, our set-up before the call and our swing mechanics are far more important. Yes…each of the common shooting methods will and do work…proven countless times. But our set-up and gun control must come first…our strategy and shooting method second. Why? Because, regardless of our strategy and chosen method, anything that compromises swing control simply leads to missing and lower scores…a harsh and stubborn truth that’s all too eager to prove its validity.

Foot position should favor your Break Point, not the trap machine. If the foot position favors the trap machine on a crossing target…and especially a fast crosser… as the bird approaches the Break Point, the hips can lock and you won’t be able to turn. Once your hips lock, the swing will slow down dramatically (stop?) at the worst possible time. It is at this key moment in the swing, instead of accelerating and establishing lead, the muzzle is decelerating. Right on schedule, the lead (forward allowance) collapses and the bird is missed behind. Regrettably, the shooting buddy who tells you where the miss went isn’t helping you, at all, because why you missed isn’t being corrected.  

In our pre-shot set-up, our Muzzle Hold Point (MHP) is critical to making sure the muzzle intercepts the target on time. Casually placing the muzzle out there somewhere, off the target line, it will have to chase the target, putting the intercept late in the swing, and maybe not at all? The result is random, inconsistent movement that not only compromises swing precision but consumes too much of the fixed time a target gives us. Targets seldom give us extra time. That’s why set-up errors are so costly on our score sheet. Each and every target gives us a lot less room for error than we may think. And why a clean, efficient swing is required for repeating the X. Before the trap fires, if our shooter sets up on the target incorrectly, he or she has already compromised swing precision. Swing errors are now inevitable and the target hasn’t left the trap machine!  Set-up steps…the basics…are individually listed in my first book, Take Your Best Shot….a short, easy to read primer.

Unquestionably, random gun movement (RGM) is the number one cause of loss of gun control…in other words, missing. RGM makes a consistent swing impossible. Your favorite shooting method may put your gun muzzle/target intercept slightly behind, on, or in front of the target, but…misplacing that muzzle with RGM will very quickly lead to missing. Here’s where the out-of-control muzzle only leaves us with a frantic, rushed attempt to fix the swing and sight picture before time runs out. My second book, To The Target, clearly explains this and how to avoid it. Top shooters put more X’s on their scorecards because they deliberately minimize RGM. 

These are just a few of the crucial, necessary basics. Together, they are cornerstones, the underlying foundation for consistency and precision in your set-up and swing. Assemble them correctly…XXXXXX…a truth you can depend on. Yes…agreed… there’s a learning curve to advance one’s skill level…but good shooting skills are NOT complicated. It’s the exact opposite. Swing management has a learning curve but it is NOT complex and therein lies the very heart, the solid base under a long run of X’s! There’s a truth you can deposit in the bank! This we can learn to do, then repeat, on purpose, without mystery or any confusion. 

The shooting basics are a combination of good and bad news. The good news is, execute your swing adhering to the basics and the target will break. It has to break because the ever-present math in the shooting box or duck blind, the physics, and geometry, will make it so. Count on it. Equally so, however, allow RGM to compromise a basic, the muzzle will move outside of the successful swing formula, and there’s the miss. Count on it. No mystery at all. 

Shooter goals will vary…shooting methods will vary…target strategies will vary…but the basics remain constant and non-negotiable. Thank goodness, because those basics are the stairs to a more reliable swing…and higher scores. Make that climb and you will see measurable improvement in your game. We can all absolutely count on that! This is where the individual steps and successful process of improving are clearly outlined in my third book, Beyond The Target. A book that takes an honest look at skill advancement…how…what works and what doesn’t…why…and a serious discussion of the mental game with a roll-up-your-sleeves, simple approach that you can take straight into the shooting box.

Thank you again for stopping by…I look forward to our next visit. Wishing you all the best in 2018. Be safe and I genuinely hope to see you out on the course.

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Paragon School of Sporting was established by Daniel Schindler in 1994. We've built our Sporting Clays Instruction, Wingshooting Instruction, and Performance Training business - student by student - on our unconditional promise to make sure each and every one of our clients exceeds their shooting goals. Dan Schindler teaches Paragon's step-by-step Sporting Clays and Wingshooting system that he created. This is a tried and true shooting system designed for shooting success. Using clear, concise language, Dan teaches his clients a shooting process that allows them to build consistency into their shooting. Teaching at Paragon is not "just a business." We are committed to making sure each student is treated with courtesy and respect.