

Appointed Representative in South Africa.
I am delighted to say Todd Lutman, Outfitter, Professional Hunter and proprietor of Safari Bound Free Range Hunting, South Africa, is the very first Pupil to receive the "Ahead Of The Game, International Shooting Schools qualification for level-one, Instructors for Sporting Clay's & Wing Shooting Skills. He is also the appointed Representative for the Shooting School in South Africa. During the time Todd spent with me here at Green Acres, Illinois, he continued to develop his


Definition Of The Word 'Skill'
DEFINITION OF THE WORD SKILL! A skill is a technique that can be repeated consistently under pressure. When out Clay shooting, sometimes people are way too hooked up on “Getting A Score”, too focused on “The Winning! Sometimes pressure needs to be taken off to enable techniques to become skills, so they can then be done instinctively when under pressure. If you concentrate on creating the “Perfect Technique” this will result in the “Perfect Shot!”, so if every shot is perfect


Loss Of Form
"You don't miss them because you can't hit them, you miss them because you're not doing it right." LOSS OF FORM. All shooters eventually reach their own peak of performance and for a while success may seem easy to achieve. Sooner or later a slump or loss of form will take place. When this occurs it is a waste of time and money for the majority of shooters to try and shoot themselves back into top form on their own, this is the time to put "EGO" aside and seek the help of a Pr


Ten simple faults that can be found through self-analysis
Ten simple faults that can be found by self-analysis STANCE 1. Miss behind - stance turned too much toward the trap. Run out of swing. 2. Miss underneath - As above resulting in rolled shoulders. GUN MOUNT (eye-rib alignment) 3. Miss over the top - Eye too high over the rib 4. Changing eye dominance - Due to eye being too low on rib or behind action. Cannot see the target with master eye, causing the opposite to take over the as dominant eye, this causes the gun to be either


“What’s Hit is History, What’s Missed is a Mystery!”
When is a missed shot, not a wasted shot? In my opinion, it’s the one when you know not just where you missed it but more importantly, why you missed it! Or are you one of those shooters that suffer from “What’s Hit is History and What’s Missed is a Mystery” syndrome, someone who struggles to achieve consistency, who goes out one Sunday, has a good day breaking targets and then the following week has a bad day’s shooting, missing the same or similar birds and doesn’t know why


200 Bird bag British Driven Mallard shoot.
Last Saturday we hosted a 200 Bird bag British Driven Mallard shoot. The team of 5 Guns shot spectacularly well and a great day was had by all. The "Three Amigos" in the photo from left to right are: Mr. Ross Kellerman, Mr. Gus Kalpake & Mr. Evan Mammas. Great weather, High Flying Mallards, Great Food & Great Company, what more could you want!. In the days to follow I received this wonderful correspondence from Evan Mammas Keith, I had a wonderful time and it was an experien


Some Thought’s For The Day on the Magic of "Gun Fit"
"Never, have the stock of a gun bent or cast off to compensate for faults in gun mounting. These should be corrected, not by deforming the gun, but by improving your style". ROBERT CHURCHILL. "Be careful in the selection of your first gun, for you will "grow" to it, and it will always influence you thereafter, perhaps in the wrong way" CHARLES ASKINS. "Any stock that in its back recoil or kick does not automatically relieve the pressure on the cheek is entirely bad. That is,


'Flinching'
“Flinching” For those who do not know, a flinch is something that happens when you try to pull the trigger. It can take two distinct forms. The first is a jerk or snatch that pulls the gun off target at the instant of firing. The second is an inability to pull the trigger and can vary between a momentary hesitation and not being able to pull it at all. To the person shooting it feels at first as if there is a problem with the gun and the shooter will complain that the trigger


Only Perfect Practice Makes Perfect - Part Seven
SHOOTING STRAIGHT AT THE HIGH TOWER. (Part 1.) Please do not take the title of this editions article too literally and shoot straight at the high tower, doing this tends to upset the ground owner as you are likely to scratch the paintwork on his traps! What I mean by “Shooting Straight at the High Tower” is developing a technique that will enable you to consistently hit high flying targets whether they are either inanimate Clays or live soaring Pheasants. In the previous arti


Only Perfect Practice Makes Perfect - Part Six
'Shooting Straight At Competition'. To help illustrate this article, I am privileged to have been granted permission to use extracts from the Roger Silcox instructional video “Shooting Straight At Competition”, which I assisted in the making of during 1993 at the Roundwood Shooting Ground, Hampshire. Over the previous two articles we have reviewed in depth the correct techniques for shooting gun down using the “Parallel Mount”, so now it’s time to look at how we apply these s

Only Perfect Practice Makes Perfect - Part Five
“SHOOTING STRAIGHT” This article is dedicated to my personal friend and Coaching Mentor, Roger Silcox, who I worked for at the Roses Wood Shooting School from 1991 to 1993 full time, and then as a Locum Coach till 1998 when he retired. I am privileged to have been granted permission to use extracts from the instructional video “Shooting Straight”, which I assisted in the making of in 1991, to illustrate this article. I will forever owe this great man an immeasurable debt of g


Only Perfect Practice Makes Perfect - Part Four
“PROPER PLANNING & PREPARATION”. In the last article I described the 5 commonly recognized methods or systems of how to apply forward allowance (or lead) to a moving target when using a sporting shotgun and at the end of the article I promised to reveal to you the closely guarded secret Sixth system that will turn you into the envy of your shooting Friends & Buddies. So! Bolt all the doors close the curtains and nail crooked pieces of wood across the windows and I will tell y


Only Perfect Practice Makes Perfect - Part Three
'Ahead Of The Game' No aspect of Shotgun Shooting fascinates and frustrates sportsmen quite so much as the question of “Forward Allowance” or “Lead”. Eavesdrop on any conversation at a Clay Shoot or after a drive on a Game (wing) shoot, and often as not someone will be discussing how much lead the target should be given. And the chances are, there’ll be no shortage of expert advice on the subject. Defining “Lead’ is easy. It means putting your shot string or cloud of pellets


Only Perfect Practice Makes Perfect - Part two
"Ready For Action" Continuing on with the topic of “Perfect Practice Makes Perfect”, where we have started to look at the basic skills required to create that perfect shot, having established and I hope “practiced” the correct method of mounting the Gun up to the face and aligning the rib with the master eye, we need to review what other basic elements are required for the shooter to get “Ready For Action”. Before starting your round of Clays, it’s vitally important to check