The Definition of Insanity

The quote "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" is often attributed to Albert Einstein.

With this article I am sure I will upset many, receive numerous critical comments from armchair and self-appointed experts! But at 72 years of age and after 35 years as a properly trained Professional Instructor and Gun Fitter, I don’t care! I am not going to soft soap or sugar coat what needs to be said to a good majority of amateur Shotgun shooters, especially those that shoot the discipline of Sporting Clays.

Having been fortunate to travel a good part of this world with my profession, I have discovered there is a worldwide phenomenon that indicates every man, woman, child and their dog, believe they can shoot a Shotgun, even if they have never picked one up before in their entire Life! And it’s all because of the word “GUN”, which, when the Conscious brain

hears it, it immediately gives out assumed but grossly incorrect information, telling the person with the Shotgun to shoot it using the same principles of shooting a Rifle (or Bow), because that’s what the brain is happy with! It cannot initially grasp the concept of any firearm with the

word Gun in its title, is not aimed but POINTED and is just an extension of the Pointing finger.

A SHOTGUN is NOT a RIFLE! It was not invented to be a rifle, it was never intended to be shot like a Rifle, it was never intended to be accurate like a Rifle, it has NO connection to a Rifle!! It has more in common with a Golf Club or Tennis Racket, as shooting a Shogun is just another “HAND & EYE CO-ORDINATED GAME”.

The Human has an incredible natural ability to Point, which most people take for granted and it is around this ability that the Shotgun was invented. It is said that the mother of invention is NECESITY and it was the demand of the 18th & 19th century English and Central European

aristocracy, whose favourite Sporting pastime was shooting Driven Pheasants in increasing numbers, needed a more efficient method to shoot them, than a Brown Bess muzzled loaded Musket.

So, the SHOTGUN was invented.

As a shotgun is an extension of the pointing finger it was designed to be shot from Gun Down (low gun), so to recreate the instinctive action of the arm lifting the front hand and the pointing finger to make contact with the flying object the eye is focused on, in a converging diagonal approach. It was only the advent of live Pigeon Box shooting and the imitation version of launching Glass balls with Feathers from a thrower, that Shotguns were used from a Gun Up (high gun) pre-mounted position.

Right, back to the main theme of this article, why do so few shooters get instruction? In fact one of the first things my great Coaching Mentor, Roger Silcox said to me the first day I started

working for him was “ Don’t expect to make money out of Clay Shooters, because they know it all, even if they have only been shooting two weeks”. Is it because of what I call shooting “EGO’, especially relevant to Males, the times I’ve heard “I’m a man I don’t need to be taught how to shoot”, “My Grandad taught me”, “My mate/pal showed me and he’s been shooting for twenty years”. Well, whether he's been shooting for 20 odd years or more, it doesn’t mean to say he’s been doing it right. In fact the Old Chap that gave me my first Shotgun shooting lesson, back in 1980, thought what he was teaching me was right but far from it,

and it wasn’t until I went on my CPSA Club Coaching course that I realized how wrong he was.

No Instruction or Bad Instruction

Proper Instruction leads to Perfect Skills

I find it both amazing and illogical that Shooting a Shogun for Clay and Field, is the only “Hand & Eye’ co-ordinated sport where the majority of participants don’t learn the basic skills of HOW TO PLAY THE GAME BEFORE GOING OUT AND PLAYING IT!!! But still expect to be successful at it!

Do you or have you played any of these Sports and if so did you receive instruction before playing them?

Did you take instruction in how to shoot a Shotgun or are you one of those that believe “the more I shoot the better I will automatically get”, well you know what they say “throw enough

Mud at the wall and some will eventually stick”.

Do you get frustrated with inconsistency when on the course or out in the field, having a good day and then a bad one and not knowing why? Do you spend as much money using cartridges to “make holes in the sky” as you do hitting targets or birds? Are you a shooter that “hits things, despite of what they do, not because of it?

Then surely Logic should tell you to do something about it and spend some money getting Instruction from a properly trained, qualified and experienced Coach. Whatever you spend on this, it will eventually prove an excellent investment as your skills will improve and develop consistency, that will bring you more success that equals “ENJOYMENT & PERSONAL SATISFACTION!”, which is the main reason why we spend lots of money and time taking part in it.

In my opinion, the way to improve your shooting is to take that “Shooting Ego” and put it away in a dark place and find a proper Instructor and book a lesson! You know it makes sense.

Best wishes.... Keith