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Firearms Handling Lesson #3

Making hits on the Trap field with a shotgun is similar to close up and fast work with a handgun, in that the effort that we make to point the gun on target is not exactly what you would call "Aiming".  But in learning how to make these hits with any particular gun, and target movement, the fastest way to learn is to begin taking slow and careful Aim, then gradually picking up speed with successive shots as you can see where the shots are going.  If you are standing beside a barn, and wish to shoot the side of the barn, you may be able to do it with eyes closed. As target moves farther away, you will want to use your dominant eye to Aim your shot until you have practiced enough to make consistent hits with this muscle movement, gun, and target distance and size.  With a handgun, it matters not whether you are left handed or right handed, as long as you aim - line up the front site on a line with your dominant eye and where the target will be, then bring up the rear site in along the same line.  With a shotgun, to learn, and make hits faster, you will need to mount the stock of the gun against your shoulder and look down the barrel with your dominant eye.  So with a long gun, forget whether you are left handed or right handed; put the gun stock on the shoulder of the dominant eye side.  Granted, there may be someone you know who does this differently, but anyone can practice enough to make any shot, when it is always the same shot.  Getting up to speed quickly, and being more flexible, is why we start with aiming. 

To discover which eye is your dominant eye, simply open and look with both eyes as you extend your arm and point your finger at a small object that is 20 feet away or farther.  Now, without moving your finger, close one eye at a time; the dominant eye is the one that is open when your finger is still pointed at the object when the other eye is closed.  When the only eye open is the non-dominant eye, the finger will be pointing off to one side or the other of the target item where you aimed your finger.

Likewise, a trainer can check to see which eye is dominant by standing 12 to 20 feet from the student, then ask the student to open both hands, overlap thumb from one hand over the other thumb, then cross the fingers of the top hand over those of the bottom one. This will leave a small triangular opening. Now ask student to raise hands with arms extended and look through the triangle with both eyes open and look right at the Trainer's nose in the center of the triangle. You will be able to see which eye is dominant by looking back through the triangle to see the student's left or right eye.  Now you can further demonstrate to the student by asking them to keep your nose in site in the center of the triangle as they move their hands together (triangle) toward their own face, and the triangle will move back straight to the dominant eye.

Best practice is always to shoot with both eyes open. You will be able to find your flying target faster in the clay target games, or hunting; you will be able to detect movement and watch your flank with the wider peripheral vision range.  Closing an eye can also affect your depth perception.  If you are having trouble at first using only the dominant eye for aiming, you may wish to slightly squint your non-dominant eye, but do not close it.
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When aiming with close double action handgun or with shotgun, the front sight or bead is lined up between a line from your dominant eye and the target shooting point. The trigger is pulled as the rear sight or gun barrel rib is brought from underneath into same line.  When your target is moving, the front sight or bead is placed on the target and this sight line as soon as possible and the gun barrel is brought to swing along in the target movement path.  When the rear sight, or barrel rib is also in line with target shooting point, trigger is pulled.  If target is moving sufficiently fast, target shooting point is found when shooter swings past and places the shot in the path of the fast moving target - just sufficiently past moving target and pointed into the future path of the target for projectiles and target to meet. This motion of the shooter and their gun barrel is what we call the swing. The distance ahead in the path of a moving target is what we call the lead.  The Target Shooting Point is the expected Point of Impact.

First point the front site then raise rear site to aim the gun barrel
First point the front site at the target; then raise rear site upward in line to aim the gun barrel. 


This point, swing, and fire technique is done while the muscles are in motion to help avoid muscle fatigue.  Quite different from single action pistol and rifle shooting that is done from a bench rest or other support where the muscles are not required as much for firearm  stability, and the static shot is good for longer distances. 

A shotgun, even when loaded with light target loads, has a recoil that can be painful.  Shooting shirts and vests with padded shoulders are good to have, but the way to avoid bruises is to have the stock of the gun mounted tightly against your shoulder before you pull the trigger.  There is a natural curve in the shoulder when your arm is up holding a gun, and when we place the stock butt tightly in the bottom of this curve we call this putting the gun butt in the pocket.  If the gun butt is not at the bottom of this curve the kick may cause the butt stock to move along the skin and cause bruising.  Likewise, if the butt stock is not already tight against the shoulder when the gun is fired, the kick will do more damage when the gun hits the skin.  Start off with the right habit of firing the shotgun only when the gun stock is held tightly in the pocket of the shoulder, and your experience and much shooting will be more enjoyable.

A 410 shotgun has much less of a kick than does the 20 or 12 gauge, but shooting Trap with a 410 is a game for experts.  New shooters will begin making hits much faster with the 20 or 12 gauge. 

Champion trap shooters use their consistent stances; also an indication of the kick back power of the shotgun. A good stable stance with feet starting shoulder width apart, then step forward that same distance with the foot on the non-dominant eye side.  Bend that front knee and lean into the shot. This latter part of my recommendation - the lean, is a little unnatural since you will be looking to the sky for your target, and the heavy gun is extended out in front.  But when the gun goes off, this is where you want to be.  When the shot timing is in your hands because you have called "Pull!" for a target, the smart shooter will already be in a good and consistent stance.  I also hate to put too much emphasis on stance for shooting, as the other techniques that we have covered in these lessons are so much more important.  Some theorist and pundits have put such importance on shooting stance that they have tried such things as to create a body language of combat, or to claim that accurate shooting can only be done from their particular stance.  I personally believe that training to shoot while running could be a good idea, but this is another subject and requires great care (do you have your dummy gun yet?).  And I saw a first time shooter let a 12gauge shotgun kick knock her on the ground, but maybe that is the best place to be after the first shot anyway. I will say for sure, that if you have delayed a quick shot because you needed to get in a stance first, that you are doing it wrong.  I have seen some of the best shooters do what I would call a dance rather than a stance and there may be something regarding muscle fatigue that comes into play on this. 

Target Shooting Point is the position of a moving target when the shot hits. In Trap shooting this is a function of the target path and speed and the projectile path, speed, and shape.  When a clay target is thrown from the trap straight away from you the target will rise for a time, then seem to hover before it then begins to fall.  Your swing to the Target Shooting Point will be a lead above the target while it rises, or a lead below when it is falling.  The easiest shot may be while it hovers, but best practice is to shoot as soon as you can get on target as hits are considerably easier to make when target is closest. The targets that fly across the line from your position to the trap will prove that the faster shot is better.  These cross flying targets will also hover vertically at mid flight, but there will be a lead required along the horizontal flight path that continues.  Swing along the target flight path and pull the trigger for the Target Shooting Point that is above and in front of these targets while they are climbing.

The more that you practice the faster you will be able to do this. The closer targets are easier to hit. The more hits that you make the more you will remember what you did right.  When you know your equipment and can repeat the correct motions, and have learned to eliminate distractions, you will be able to compete with the best for the luck of the wind gusts. 


Get a printable poster: Firearms Handling Axioms 123

Firearms Glossary

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