March/April 2009 - New Zealand Clay Target Association

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MATAMATA GUN CLUB Est. 1904 Mangawhero Road, PO Box 323, Matamata Blackies Legendary & Famous 100 Target Sporting Shoot 15 March 2009 Starts 9.00 am Sharp Nominations close at 10.30 Matamata Gun Club, in conjunction with Richard Black, is once again proud to host Blackies Legendary & Famous Sporting Shoot. New Zealand’s Premier Sporting Shoot of the Year The excellent field will test and entertain every grade of shooter. Blackies magnificent prize table will reward the shooters who best their grade. Blackies Sporting rules apply Every entry qualifies for a good day out. Entry Cost: $75.00, Students $40.00. Ammo – Lunch – Refreshments available Matamata Gun Club is the trading name of Matamata Clay Target Club Inc President Graham Payze Mob. 027 246 1989 d.rankin@wise.net.nz Or visit our website www.matamata.co.nz Subscribe Now! THE TAUPO CLAY TARGET CLUB Presents GREAT LAKE 150 D.T.L. MATCH TO GUNSHOT - The Official Journal of the New Zealand Clay Target Association Inc. Write for further details: Freepost 1897 New Zealand Clay Target Association Inc PO Box 5355, Papanui, Christchurch NAME: ADDRESS: May 10, 2009 at 9.30 am HOA $200.00 1st A: $100.00 1st B: $100.00 1st C: $100.00 2nd A: $50.00 2nd B: $50.00 2nd C: $50.00 3rd A: $25 3rd B: $25.00 3rd C: $25.00 ENTRY: $65.00 including sweeps, levies etc Ammo, Lunch and refreshments available For further information contact: POST CODE: TELEPHONE: xx Steve Hanford a/h (07) 377 6253 xx Geoff Ferris a/h (07) 378 2479 xx Colin Shaw a/h (07) 378 1260 Gunshot 24
use of the forend hand to move the gun, and that resulted in lost targets. The ‘understanding’ aspect to good scores It seems that all trapshooters, no matter what class they happen to be in, will have their good days and their bad days. It just stands to reason that shooters in the lower classes seem to have more bad days than those in the higher classes. While scores may be relative depending on our class, we are all able to recognise a bad day or a bad score when we experience one. What is more difficult in these situations is recognising the reasons for bad days or bad scores and turning them into great days. One of the reasons for fewer bad days or bad scores among AAA shooters is that they are usually more experienced and far more consistent in doing what they need to do to break more targets. It is that level to strive for, and sometimes all it takes is time, understanding and practice. The purpose of this column is to offer a bit more on the “understanding” aspect of shooting good scores. Even great shooters will sometimes develop a bad habit. They may forget a simple fundamental or just fall into a habit that costs them an occasional target. The problem is, in their class, an occasional target is enough to lose the race. I was recently fortunate enough to watch a great shooter hammering handicap targets with ease. I was impressed with his shooting until I saw him miss a couple of targets because of a fundamental error. I like to use names (but never the actual name) of shooters that I have observed and write about, so I’ll just call him Smitty, a common name that could be anyone. While I was watching Smitty hammering his targets, I noticed that at times he failed to shift a bit of his weight to his front foot. I also noted that every time he missed a target, he hadn’t shifted his weight. When he missed a target on Post 1, he used his forend arm to move the gun toward the target. It was apparent that Smitty had lost track of this simple fundamental, and it was costing him targets. Whenever you mount the gun prior to calling for your target, you should shift a bit of weight to the front leg. For a right-handed shooter, this is the left leg; it’s the right leg for a left-handed shooter. This sound simple enough, but you also need to understand the reason for shifting the weight. To begin with, the feet should be positioned at shoulder width and comfortable. The weight shift should be just enough to have more than 50% of the body’s weight on that front leg. This will result in the shooter’s head being over the front leg. Now when the shooter mounts the gun and shifts the weight, he will form a straight line of pivot over the front foot. He can now lock the gun into place, and when he calls for his target, he will pivot to the target. He will not move the gun with the forend arm; he will only support the gun with the forend arm. The gun will be moved to the target using the pivot. If a shooter fails to pivot to the target, Sometimes all it takes is time, understanding and practice. he will likely find it necessary to use the forend arm to move the gun to the target. This could create a situation where the shot looked pretty good, but the result was a lost target. The reason for this is that the shooter’s mount fell apart when he used the forend arm to move the gun, and this can change the point of impact. Some targets will still be broken when a shooter makes this fundamental error, but as trapshooters, we are not after some of the targets – we’re after all of them. When Smitty failed to shift his weight forward, he approached the target flat-footed and did not pivot his entire upper body toward the target. This resulted in his When the weight is shifted to the front leg and the shooter uses a pivot to move to the target, he will also find that he is able to approach the target from the bottom and have a great view of the target all the way to the shot. As he pivots, the gun will automatically come to the target without the need to lift the gun up to the target with the forend hand. If the gun needs to come up, the pivot will allow it to happen. It will feel like your moves, especially to angle targets, are mostly horizontal. This method does not require the shooter to hold an exceptionally high gun, but he should be holding above the traphouse prior to his call for the target. If a shooter stands flat-footed – or worse yet, lets his weight shift to his back leg – the tendency will be force the gun to loop toward the target with an arc, and many times the shooter will lose sight of the target just as he is about to shoot. A left-handed shooter is more likely to shift his weight to the back foot when he is standing on posts 1 or 2, while a right-handed shooter will have this tendency on posts 4 and 5. The next time you get the opportunity, with an empty gun, stand on one of these posts and simulate your move to a hard right or left angle while allowing your weight to rock to your back leg. You will probably notice that the gun rises as you make this move and has a tendency to arc toward the target, and make it more difficult to see. Now maintain your weight on the front leg and pivot toward the simulated target. You will probably notice that you can approach the target from the bottom without the gun looping in an upward arc. This technique will allow Smitty and all other shooters a better view of the target without the clutter of the gun hiding it. The better you see the target, the better you will break it. In order for the pivot to work for you, good foot positions on each post will be required. You will want to avoid having your back turned to the angles, so on Post 1, a shooter should stand facing those angles, which will be all left angles. As you move to each subsequent post, you will move your stance slightly to the right progressively. This applies to both right- and left-handed shooters. When you arrive on Post 5, you will again be facing the angle targets, which are now all right angles. If your stance doesn’t allow you to pivot toward your angle targets, adjust it before you end up using the forend arm to move to the target. You should feel smooth Gunshot 25
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