Originally published in Guns and Ammo February 1969

How do you teach someone to shoot a shotgun? Well, you start by asking the Gods to give you the patience of Job. Once endowed, you start quite literally from the ground up. However, there are a few concrete requirements the would-be coach would be well to have. First of all, let's make one thing quite clear -- and perhaps step on a lot of toes. The fact that a shooter may be in AA class and have won every championship does not automatically enable him to teach anyone else. He must be able to express and demonstrate the same facts that make him a winner in a variety of different ways until he finds the key -- which unlocks each individual's understanding. Conversely, I often find the near-novice just raring to air his new-found knowledge. Another must for an instructor is the ability to see the shot pattern in relation to the target. Very few people are blessed with this peculiar ability. It is less a matter of study than an optical ability you either have or not. On countless occasions I have sadly watched as well-intentioned, but hopelessly incorrect advice was given to a puzzled, dejected shooter. I'd like to tell you my procedure for teaching the novice. He is the best person to teach as he hasn't already developed the bad habits that can be so hard to correct. I don't claim to offer the perfect method and there may be those who disagree with my way, but it works for me.

[See picture above:] Starting from the ground up means just that. Blowing a sizeable hole in a safe area not far in front of your feet! I have found this to be the most effective way of instilling respect for the fact that a gun is a lethal weapon, and if pointed in the wrong direction is going to blow a similar hole in a human being. Though an instructor needs a lot of patience, one area where you must be sharp is that of safety. I teach very simply that a gun should be considered as loaded at all times and not pointed at anything that is not to be shot immediately thereafter. I like students to wear ear protection of some sort, perhaps "muffs," for a lot of older shooters who grew up when it was considered sissy to protect their ears have suffered acute loss of hearing. I believe in glasses as protection for all, even those with perfect sight. A most important fundamental to check at this stage is the master eye. With both eyes open, extend the right arm and point the index finger at a small object, some distance away. Then close the left eye. If the finger 'jumps' to the left, the left eye is the master eye. The simplest way to compensate for this is just to close the left eye when you shoot. I have seen many top-flight shooters do it. Back to the ground. Comfortable rubber-soled shoes are best and as a general rule, the more natural you are and the more comfortable you feel and look, the better you are likely to be. Just stand as if you were talking to someone, your weight evenly distributed, with feet and body at approximately 45 degrees to the line of shooting. When ready to shoot, hold the gun with muzzle up at about chin level, slightly in front of the body. Then, when mounting it, the butt just clears or scrapes along the body till it fits into the shoulder, which is cupped to receive it. As you raise the gun, lift the right shoulder up and slightly out. This expands the pad of flesh to receive the butt and also brings the comb of the gun into the face at the right height. The gun should always be brought up to the face and never vice versa. The only movement of the head can be a slight, straight forward and downward move when the comb touches the face, to lock the cheek onto the comb, comfortably and very firmly. The right elbow can be parallel with the shoulder or slightly lower -- whichever is more comfortable. The left arm, if extended too far, will give excellent muzzle control and restricted swing; too far back -- excellent swing and no muzzle control. A position where the weight of the gun is evenly balanced between the two hands is best. The left arm is little more than a pivot and the forearm should not be gripped any more tightly than sufficient, to keep the hand there. The grip is all in the right hand which keeps the gun firmly back into the shoulder. The trigger should be pulled with the ball or pad of the index finger. Some people prefer the first joint, but this is far less sensitive, and some control is sacrificed. As the gun is mounted, the whole body should incline slightly forward from the ankles up, so that a straight sloping line could be drawn up the right-hand side of the body with no projections. The weight is transferred to the left foot and the left knee just broken. If it is not broken, the body is too rigid and free movement to angle targets is restricted. The whole body must flow after targets. The slight lean forward also serves to help the body absorb recoil fluidity. An inflexible body will be jerked back and the head thrown off the stock for the second shot. The incline also helps the head into the slightly forward position necessary to receive the stock. Good stance is the basis of good shooting. Many shooters work themselves into extraordinarily awkward postures. All they are doing is adding physical tension to a sport where the only "tension" permissible is in the mind. Sometimes they are unconsciously compensating for an incorrectly fitted gun. The greatest shots in the world generally have the simplest stances. Mounting the gun in exactly the same place every time is of paramount importance, for the tiniest deviation or mistake at this end is greatly magnified out at 35 yards. A shirt or sweater which fits snugly to the contour of the body and moves smoothly with the body, without binding, is essential. A material which will bunch or crease is out, for it will prevent precise gun mounting. Also, the folds of material will often pinch the skin and so cause bruising. Over whatever you choose, you should wear a "skeet" vest with a soft, suede-faced leather shoulder pad. It should be snugly fitted to you so that the gun tucks into exactly the same place each time. Whenever you shoot, keep some spare shells in your right pocket. This weight will keep the shoulder pad in position, without riding up. A device called a stock "Lo-Kater" helps to overcome this problem. It ensures exact gun-mounting and removes the weight of shells from the shoulder. To familiarize yourself with the gun and get muscles working that have never been called on before, the beginner should practice dry gun-mounting at home in front of a mirror. It's so much simpler if you can see yourself and the posture you get yourself into. One picture is still worth a thousand words and a Polaroid shot on the line can save hours of difficult explanation.

I believe precise gun fit to be terribly important, but for the beginner I employ two rough methods. With the butt of the stock in the crook of your arm, extend the index finger and lay it alongside the trigger guard. The trigger should meet the top joint of the finger to ensure a reasonably good fit. The other simple method for ascertaining length is to have your stock as short as possible -- until you start hitting your nose with your thumb. A good method for determining overall fit is to mount the gun with your eyes closed, settle into it comfortably and then open your eyes. If you're looking straight down the sights at the right height, the gun is a good fit. Remember that the standard factory gun is designed for the average-build man, 5 feet, 10 inches tall. On recoil, a gun goes backward and upward. If the gun is fitted well and you lock it firmly in so that it becomes a part of you, you will move with it. If not, the gun is going to smack into you with the proverbial painful results. A beginner at anything must be broken in gradually and gently on something easy that he can do. Shooting is no exception. To start, a hand-trap is best, for you can give easy targets. At trap, start from the center position with straight targets only and at skeet on station 1 or 7 until they master these simpler targets. Then, again gradually increase the angles to the more difficult ones. Each time they miss, I ask "Where?", for when a person begins to know where they are missing, it's the first step towards more consistent hitting. When they hit, I try to get them to remember exactly how it looked. I teach only one method -- swinging-through. This requires the target to be passed and the gun fired at the moment of passing -- the overtaking speed providing the necessary lead. This is so much more positive than the pointing-out theory, for which you must calculate a distance, a different one for each different target, and then maintain it till the trigger is pulled. I defy anyone to calculate an exact distance 20-40 yards away in mid-air -- let alone describe it accurately to anyone else. With swinging-through, you treat every target the same -- you simply overtake it at whatever angle or speed it's going and pull the trigger as your muzzle passes it. Depending on how fast your recognition reflexes are, you should focus your eyes a little beyond the target exit from the trap house. Those who have fast reflexes may, at skeet, look directly at the opening, but most people can't discern a target from a flash in the air till some feet beyond the exit. So, each person must experiment to find his best place to look. Whatever you do, don't squint down the sights or focus on the foresight -- you will start shooting the gun like a rifle and rifle shooting is one thing shotgunning ain't! Many beginners do well to start with and then subsequent scores deteriorate. The first time(s) they were doing whatever they would do according to their built-in instincts and reflexes. Then they started thinking about it and trying -- Disasterville! Our instincts and reflexes are far more efficient than our thinking procedures -- another reason I prefer swinging-through to pointing-out.

Here are some of the most common "beginners' faults" - but even experienced shooters sometimes make the same mistakes -- myself included. 1. Raising the head from the comb. You feel you must see if you broke that clay -- just a moment before you pull the trigger and your shot charge passed harmlessly under the target. This is the most common reason for lost targets -- all the way up to Olympic-level shooting! It's the hardest fault for factor responsible for most lost targets of the majority of the more advanced shooters. 2. Stopping the swing when the target is reached. That target's going to keep on moving, so you had better, too. Shoot where it's going, not where it was. 3. When shooting a target moving to the right, the head comes away from the stock. This is impossible in the opposite direction as the head doesn't leave the stock. 4. Moving the gun with the arms only. Your whole body, from the ankles up, must flow after that target. 5. Then there's the problem of flinching -- not wanting to pull the trigger when you should. This is a form of mental block preventing the physical action from taking place in response to the brain command. With a few exceptions, I lay the blame squarely at the feet of American-style trap and skeet. Slow-moving targets and the commensurate pace of firing with the calculated pointing-out method, allow the mind too much time to think -- to think that in a moment something is going to came back and hit the firer. With the exception of England (almost the only other country where American style trap is shot), no one in Europe has heard of a release trigger (designed to over-come flinching -- you first set the trigger by pulling it back and then fire the gun by releasing it) because flinching is virtually unknown. Why? Because they shoot fast-moving targets and by relying on reflexes and instincts, the mind doesn't have time to panic about the forthcoming explosion. Never let a beginner shoot too much and never go on if they make a mistake and hurt their face or shoulder as any subsequent, even correct firing, will only aggravate the bruising. A useful accessory to avoid bruising for women (and which is also popular among men in Europe) is a heel-pad which is capable of being set at an angle. This overcomes the problems which mythological female warriors are supposed to have resolved by the drastic means of removing one breast to permit free passage of their bow strings across their bodies. The ideal combination for successful shooting is a relaxed body and keyed-up mind -- but it is vital not to let one seep into the other. Many competitive shooters exhaust themselves by concentrating ferociously every moment of the round they're shooting and even during the periods between rounds. There is only one moment you need the intense concentration -- the moment before and during the time you are shooting your "pinch of pellets" toward the target. For those brief seconds, your entire being, charged with black, destructive thoughts, must be concentrated on that poor, innocent, little saucer which will emerge to meet its fate on your command. If you call before you are fully mentally prepared to shoot, you might just as well lower your gun, turn around and ask the scorekeeper to mark a zero -- you will save a shell! Some years ago, I composed a memory trick to help me remember what I considered the basic essentials of successful shooting. I called it the 'CONDITIONS' of good shooting: Concentration, Oblivious application, No physical tenseness, Determination, Interest, Timing -- be bold, Enthusiasm, Alertness, No "slow to be sure" -- the first time you "think" you're on a target is the time to fire, not a moment later. Smooth routine -- the mounting routine prior to firing, which must be identical every time. Yes, there sure seem to be a lot of things to think about when you're starting. Even when you're comparatively advanced, it can still be a bit confusing. But stick to it and like a jigsaw puzzle, it'll all fall into place, bit by bit. Just remember the ultimate aim is to free the mind of everything except the urge to press the destruct button on that lil' ole clay and ... "The more natural you are and the more comfortable you feel and look, the better you are likely to be."