Post Preface..... “I am extremely fortunate to have been tutored in the skills of gun-fitting by three of the United Kingdoms most respected Shooting Guardians. The renowned, Roger Silcox of Roses Wood Shooting School, the world respected Christopher Craddock, (late) of Holland & Holland and Sam Grice of The Long Acres Shooting School, Cambridge” In October 2016, experienced hunter and passionate Driven Wing Shooting enthusiast Mr Gus Kalpake was recommended through an existi

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

"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” 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

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

'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

“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

“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

'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

A Yorkshireman's Tale Well after chatting on Facebook for 7 months I finally met up with "Uncle Keith Coyle" (Legend & Hero) After a gruelling 4 & 1/2 hr drive I arrived at Park House, a gem of a place hidden away in the Southern Counties greenest countryside. i was greeted upon arrival by Aunty Brenda, Poppy the dog & Uncle Keith & promptly presented with a cool glass of beer to saviour whilst we chatted & swapped historical stories explaining how we had all ended up where w

For Successful Wing & Clay Target shooting. Next Date: Course Saturday 15th April. @ The Green Acres Sportsman’s Club, Roberts, Illinois. A full day interactive seminar presented by: British Shooting Instructor & Gun Fitter, Keith Coyle & Custom Stock Maker & Master Class Shooter, Alan Braner. Following on from the success of our last day Course, Alan and I are pleased to announce we shall be running another seminar on Saturday the 15th April here at the Green Acres Sportsman

Saturday 11th February Deer Creek Hunt Club, Three Oaks, Michigan. A full day interactive seminar presented by: British Shooting Instructor & Gun Fitter, Keith Coyle And Custom Stock Maker & Master Class Shooter, Alan Braner Seminar Content & Itinerary 9.00 to 9.30am Arrive for meet and greet with Alan and Keith over coffee and morning pastries. 9.30. Introduction to the day and its program, short background brief by Alan & Keith. 10.00. Alan begins the first session with an

The Essential Importance of a Correctly Fitted Shotgun For Successful Wing & Clay Target shooting. 21st January 2017. Alan Braner and I would like to thank all who came to our first Gun Fit seminar and made it such a brilliant success The interactive seminar covered correct Gun Mount Technique and Stance, Shooting at the Pattern Plate to establish point of impact and correct fit, practical shooting instruction and the day finished with a a round of our Super 5 Stand course j

ONLY PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT “A Correct Gun Mount is the Bedrock of all Good Technique “ The best place to start, as always, is at the beginning, go back to the basics, which is what we should all do every now and again. How often when you go to the shooting club do you go there to practice your technique, as opposed to shoot a round and chase a score. Serious golfers spend as much time on the driving range and putting green, practicing their swing, as they do playing