SHOTGUNSHOOTINGLESSONS
With over 30 years of experience Steve Norris has established his reputation as one of the premier shotgun instructors in South Florida. Whether he is guiding a beginning shooter through their first shots or perfecting an advanced shooter’s game, Steve is the go to coach at Markham Park. He has worked with over 1,000 Youth
shooters in Markham’s Youth Program and has helped guide six of them to national championships. Steve is available for lessons in Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays. At $200 for three hours of instruction, targets included, Steve is by far the best shotgun instruction your money can buy!
Call him at: 754-264-9584.
5 STEVENORRIS
CLAYTARGET-NATION – 2023 July
Reaching Station 7 in skeet without a miss on your score card is like rounding the last turn of a footrace and your nearest competitor is 50 yards behind you. All you have to do is trot across the finish! You’ve shot all the hard targets, now you can relax, and finish out on routine targets requiring only minimum swing and gun movement. How can you screw it up! There’s no such thing as routine surgery, routine drives to the grocery store, or routine targets.
Tim Short’s first piece of advice on Station 7 is just this, there are no routine targets. Don’t let your concentration flag, execute your shot process just as you would on the high or low 4. Foot position, stance, hold point, look point, and that final clearing of your mind and going into soft focus must all receive their requisite attention, even for routine targets. Not adhering to your preshop routine/process is what Tim calls “shooting process frustration”.
According to Tim, all missed target causation is lack of attention to the pre-shot routine or shooting process. True, most misses are the result of mistakes made before calling for the target, because those mistakes can cause a disconnect between your eyes and the target. This is the “why” of the miss. Your eyes weren’t on the target, thus no true sight picture is created, therefore you miss. Attention to your pre-shot routine assures your eyes and mind are in the right place, looking for the target as you call. As Tim says, “Execute your shot process for every target consistently”.
I agree with Tim’s gun placement for the low 7, 20 degrees above parallel, give or take a few degrees based on the day on conditions, and in line with the center stake. Set your eyes 3-4” above your barrel with soft focus in the distance. Nothing to argue with here.
When he talks about stance, I have issues. He calls for a “Churchill” like stance with shoulders and feet parallel, basically facing the high house. I see many skeet shooters also assume this stance on Station 8.
I prefer the ‘Modern Stance” on every station, lead foot ahead at 1:00 and the trailing foot at 2:00. Truly it’s more like 1:00 and 2:30, but that’s me. Some say 12:00 and 2:00, or to point the lead foot at where you
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are going to break the target. Personally, nope, I can’t do that. Can’t point my foot at 12:00 and 2:00, I need a slight turn to 1:00, comfort above all else. Modern Stance suggests a sightly bent lead knee, 60% weight on it. All this is relative based on comfort. I recommend and teach this stance since it is the most athletic
Most swing related misses on low 7 are because the shooter tries to spot shoot it or they “pop” the barrel up at the target. Both these attempts are accomplished with no sight picture associated with the shot. There should be a gentle, smooth easing of the barrel up to the target. The sight picture should look like the target and barrel are merging at the instant of the trigger pull or release. If you cannot recall what the sight picture looked like, how can you duplicate it?
stance, allowing a full body swing from the ankles up. Full rotation of the body is affectively possible with this stance, not with a Churchill type stance. So, Mr. Short and I disagree on stance for Low 7. Low 7 in skeet is the only target on a skeet field that cannotbe shot with sustained lead, which explains why Mr. Short’s description of the shot is so incomprehensible. “Once you call for the target, allow your eyes to track it, pulling the trigger the instant you bring it into clear focus”. What?!?!? Aren’t we going to move the gun? We’re just going to spot shoot it?
This is why, when someone falls off the wagon on a target like low 7, they can’t figure out what they’re doing wrong. It’s because they didn’t really know what they were doing to begin with. It’s an easy, routine target that can be broken tens of times in a row over numerous rounds, then suddenly the timing is lost and with no fixed sight picture in mind, it’s hard to repair the damage. That’s because not seeing the target as you shoot is what your mind recalls and it keeps repeating something that has no target in the sight picture. The other problem is your body is swinging by feel and is simply reacting. Been working so long it’s a reflex. Each target must be shot as an individual event. There are no routine targets.
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How do you deal with tournament pressure and nerves? Anthony Matarese gives advice on the subject this month. Be confident in your equipment. A tournament is not the time to be trying out a new gun, glasses, chokes, or ammunition. Find what works in practice sessions and eliminate equipment from being an excuse to be nervous. The main emphasis of the article however is about being consistent with your preshot routine and staying in the process. Watch the look targets and formulate a detailed plan for each station. Execute your pre-shot routine and execute the plan. Advice Anthony relates from Vincent Hancock the three-time Olympic gold medalist in skeet supports this plan. Vincent says he tries to be as perfect as possible, breaking down each shot into manageable chunks, then learning those chunks “very, very well”. In competition he focuses on mechanics to the smallest detail.
Concentrate on the pre-shot routine, the shooting process, and your plan for each station. This crowds out negative or distracting thoughts. Focus on the effort, not the result. Don’t think you must shoot a particular score, focus on the process and the score will take care of itself.
I like Don Currie’s definition of move, mount, shoot in this month’s issue. He prefers move, mount, work-it, shoot. For those of you unfamiliar with this technique, the shot is initiated with the gun in the low-gun
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position, off the shoulder. As the target nears, you move your body and the gun, following the target. As the target nears the break point the gun is raised to the shoulder. At the break point the cheek is in full contact with the stock, which is fully mounted to the shoulder now. At that point trigger the shot. I liken this shooting form to a turnaround jump shot in basketball. You don’t just execute as spin-
moving thru the air as you shoot.
The whole process is the result of numerous attempts at execution in practice. I saw Jordan play at the Arena in Miami once. His jump shot in real life is nothing compared to what you saw on television. It was smooth, simple, athletic artistry. No wasted motion. The ball seemed to float through the air. The ball travels so much faster on a TV screen. A low-gun shot using move, mount, shoot should be the same thing, simple, smooth, athletic artistry.
That wasn’t the question Don was answering, however. The question was, how long do you linger after the gun hits your cheek before you trigger the shot. Going back to the jump shot, some are triggered almost instantaneously and some are held for a fraction of a second before the ball is released. This is where Don’s work-it part of the equation fits in. There will be times where the shot is triggered almost instantaneously (close shots) and times where you need to let your eyes and mind “work” the target before triggering the shot.
ning jump in air then launch a shot. There’s a moment where you acquire the basket and allow your subconscious mind to tell your “basketball shot mechanism” how much loft on the ball is required, how much flip effort to expend from your fingertips, and where the basket will be, also factoring in how you are
Most of that “work” for me occurs right before I mount to the cheek. When I follow the target with my barrel from the low -gun position I subconsciously build in small amount of linger into the mount as the stock hits my cheek.
This happens on longer shots or faster targets where you may find you linger for a moment with the gun fully at your cheek before you trigger the shot. I think some of it has to do with the momentum of the swing getting the barrel to the right lead.
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Mark Chestnut interviewed three expert skeet shooters this month about their Mental Game. His first interviewee was Alessandro Vitale. Like Anthony Matarese, Alessandro emphasizes focusing on the process not the outcome. Like golf, one stroke at a time, shooting is one shot at a time. Alessandro says, “I’ve got to worry about the exact one I’m doing right now.” As to shoot-off’s he enjoys the pressure. He figures, if he’s made it to the shoot-off with the other top shooters, then he deserves to be there. “I’ve earned my spot.” As to tournaments, no one is ever ready to shoot in competition the first time. The bigger the tournament the better in his mind. Shooting in bigger tournaments means you’ve experienced the intimidation factor of top competition. When you go back to your home club you will feel better about yourself and your shooting.
Next interview is with Rachel Barringer and up and coming young Women’s competitor. She advises having a positive attitude. Instead of fretting over past missed targets and the fear of repeating the error, make sure you’ve gotten a practice round in before the event. Manage you time is another gem of advice from Rachel. Give yourself enough time before the event to eat, prepare your equipment, and get to the field in time to watch the targets. Next, get on a supportive squad with people you know. Distractions are always a problem during an event. If something distracts you, put the gun down and reset. Finally, focus on shooting the best you can.
The final interview is with Michael Schmidt, truly one of the today’s top skeet shooters. First off, Michael advises building your game through good equipment, guns, ammo, and patterning. Confidence in your equipment is key to success. As to distractions, he likes to think about what he would do if he was shooting at his home club. He might think, “On station 3 at my house, this is what it’s like.” This puts him at ease, calms him, and takes the pressure out of the situation.
During a competition, warding off negative thoughts is best done by keeping a positive attitude according to Gil and Vicki Ash. You need to make a conscious decision to keep a positive outlook, stop thinking, and just shoot. They mention something that will strike a note with most shooters, evaluation is not helpful during a competition.
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Evaluating the quality of your shooting engages your conscious mind and once you start fueling that process, it’s hard to stop. Evaluation ultimately leads to negative thoughts. They believe conscious thought leads shooters to stop focusing on the targets and start focusing on the barrel. I’m sure it does since this is a great focal point for the conscious mind when it takes over. The fix is to quit focusing on the negative thoughts and get back to focusing on the process of shooting and the target itself. Next, they suggest varying the break point on your practices targets. Predict the new move to the changed break point, then execute the prediction. I wholeheartedly agree with this. This is good advice for trap, skeet, and sporting clays. Don’t learn just one way to break a “routine” target. Break it sooner, break it later, slow your move to the target (which in some cases could cause you to shoot the target sooner), then speed up your move. Phil Ross used to call this trigger control. I was told the Army International
Skeet shooters used to practice shooting to the left, right, in front of, and behind a station. Breaking up the routine is a key to real learning.
When practicing chipping, golf instructors don’t recommend hitting ball after ball from the same distance aiming at the same target. They suggest moving around the target, varying the distance, hitting by feel rather than rote memory. Basketball is the same way. Shoot from the free throw line, move three steps to the left, three steps back, three steps toward the basket. It’s all about feel for the target. Memorization doesn’t earn you a PhD, you must know the subject inside and out and be able to manipulate that knowledge to use it to create new ideas. Memorizing one move, on each shot won’t win in windy conditions. Too much routine work can guarantee failure when conditions aren’t perfect. You also aren’t learning how to shoot. You also won’t be of must use in the field shooting doves or ducks.
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Shotgun Sports—July 2023
Why do we stop the gun? Target takes flight, you swing, shoot, and miss. You turn to your shooting buddies and ask why. They say, you stopped your swing. That’s what you did, physically, but what caused the miss. Frank Neumayer expounds on the whys and I will run through his suggestions, then I will tell you the real reason.
Stance can stop your swing, this is true. In Skeet, stance will stop you like none of the other shotgunning sports. Bad stance in trap can also severely handicap your swing radius, especially in Doubles. If you read the first review in this newsletter you know I advocate the Modern Stance for all shotgunning sports. Go back and read about it and com-
pare it to your current stance. I promise to post a picture of the Modern Stance in the next newsletter. Anyway, check your stance, swing right and left and have a coach or friend give you their opinion on ways to improve your stance to prevent swing limitations.
Next Frank says, see the target, then swing to it. Keep your eye on the leading edge and stay in the gun. I agree with the first part, get hard focus on the target. The second part, stay in the gun is complicated. If you’re coming out of the gun (raising your head, pulling the gun away from your face, etc.) you have fundamental issues. Your gun fit is wrong, stance is wrong, hold point, look point, all kinds of things can be wrong. Stay in the gun is not helpful.
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Finally, Frank thinks aiming at the target is the main cause of stopping the gun. It is a cause, but the real cause is usually spoiling the line, swinging over the target. Once you swing over the top of the target you lose sight of it. This causes most shooters to trigger the shot and they stop their swing. Aiming is easy to pick up and is evidenced by a stopping and starting of the barrel during the swing. Totally stopping your swing means you lost sight of the target and the shot is over. There’s no follow-thru because you weren’t looking at the target when the shot was triggered. When your eyes are on the target at the time of the shot, you will follow-thru. Frank suggests following pieces of broken targets to the ground as practice for staying in the shot. This only works with broken targets Frank. Those are the ones where you didn’t spoil the line. It doesn’t fix spoiling the line.
Spoiling the line, swinging high, over the target has many causes, most are visual. The chief culprit is swinging the gun without keeping in mind why you’re swinging. You see the target and swing the barrel to the target. If your eyes aren’t always on the target as you swing or in the case of a second target in a pair, if your eyes aren’t out ahead of your barrel looking for the target, you may spoil the line and swing over the target. That’s why the barrel stops, you don’t see the target anymore. Practice swinging the gun on purpose, that purpose is to get to the target you are looking at or are searching for with your eyes. Swing with purpose not to simply move the barrel.
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Shotgun Sports—July 2023
I always enjoy Michael J. Keyes’ psychological explanations on how our minds can mess up a good score or help create one. To be honest, unless you are well-schooled in the mental sciences of sport, his articles can be tedious. A lengthy diatribe followed by a smidgen of advice. Michael’s article this month is on Match Stress. Match stress/ pressure is a problem of our own making. Our mind gets involved predicting the outcome of an event because there is uncertainty as to the outcome. We fall into the fight or flight syndrome. This causes not only emotional distress but physical distress in tensed muscles that require a relaxed state to perform properly. All because the outcome of our performance is unknown.
The solutions are the common ones, relaxation, visualization (of a positive outcome), confidence skills, self-talk, pre-shot ritual, and planning. This isn’t helpful when you are in the throes of an emotional collapse. Here’s the real issue when it comes to negative thoughts. Vision is our most important skill in sports after mastering the fundamentals. Visual lock on the target whether it be a baseball, tennis ball, golf ball, or clay target is the most important part of executing the swing and contact with the ball or target.
Thoughts, most of the time negative, interfere with our ability to see.
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If you are thinking, your vision is locked inside your head at what you are thinking about. How can it give its full concentration to the target if your thoughts are pulling your vision away to see what you are thinking? There’s the real problem.
Process is really your best tool when you want to perform at the highest level. Go through your pre-shot routine, get yourself ready physically and mentally for the shot. If something isn’t right, reset. Open the gun and start over. Visualize the shot you are going to make, set your eyes, and call for the target. All the positive thinking in the world is exactly that, thinking. Get your eyes out of your head and into the real, physical world, where the target is. Stop thinking about outcome and start thinking about breaking the target as you envisioned it. Funny thing, when I’m hunting, that bird coming towards me has my full attention. That duck or dove is the only thing in the world at that moment. This might be the last bird of the day, my attention is rapt on the beak of that bird. Why isn’t a clay target the same thing, because you know there are X number of targets yet to be thrown. Stop worrying about how many you’re going to break. Break the next one you see. Mine the attention you have for that lone duck or dove or that pair racing towards you and apply it to clay targets.
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MarkhamSkeet,Trap&SportingClays ATATrapshoot Sunday,August27th Signupstarts8:00 ShootingStartsat9:00 10016Yardtargets 100Handicaptargets 100Doublestargets $40first100targets $34foreachadditional100 AdditionalShootDates SeePage34
TrailTrap&Skeet ATATrapshoot Saturday,August19th Signupstarts8:00 ShootingStartsat9:00 10016Yardtargets 100Handicaptargets 100Doublestargets $40first100targets $34foreachadditional100 2023 Trail Shoot Dates Saturday September 16th
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was never work for me, tennis was fun.
the battle
the
had.
954-846-2336 Tennis
And the tougher
and the longer
match, the more fun I
Jimmy Connors
Trap Tour- Youth
JACK NICKLAUS
