Crow Busters Forum

The Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks along with local and national groups sponsors a free 2 day shotgun shooting class. It is taught by local Mississippi native John Satterwhite who is a champion shooter, captain of the 1976 US Olympic Team  and current exhibitionist. John has won multiple national and international titles. 

This was a beginners class that my oldest son (9) and oldest daughter (12) took with me. We learned a TON of great information and techniques from the three instructors that were present. It was a small class of 9 so there was plenty time for one on one instruction and practice time on the sporting clay range. I am going to describe some of the things that were said in class so I can articulate them and therefore remember them better and also so that maybe someone else may learn something.

Birds and clays are missed in 2 ways, lead and elevation. By learning to mount a gun correctly you virtually eliminate the vertical misses leaving you only to contend with the correct lead. I will attempt to explain how the gun is supposed to held in relation to your body and why it is important to do so.

The stock of the gun should fit snugly under the cheek bone with the eye looking directly down the rib so only the front bead is visible and not the rib of the gun. This positions the gun to shoot 50/50. 50% of the pellets will hit above the point of aim and 50% will hit under the point of aim. By keeping the stock welded to the cheekbone, it keeps you from "peeking" over the top of the barrel and subsequently, missing high. If you pick your head up off the stock to see the target, you will shoot high EVERY time. It works just like the rear sight on a rifle. Raise the back sight and you raise the point of impact. By doing this you eliminate the vertical misses.

Now for how to get the gun to the cheekbone and shoulder. Your head should never move down when you mount the gun. If you raise you elbow parallel to the ground, it will raise your shoulder with it. This moves the pocket of the shoulder that the gun rides in up so you can see directly down the barrel without having to lower your head.  Stand in front of a mirror and lift your elbow parallel to the ground. At first the shoulder does not rise but as you approach parallel  the shoulder follows the elbow. If you raise your shoulder you can control where the eye is in relation to the rib plane on the barrel without having to lower your head AT ALL. The gun should touch the cheek and the shoulder at the same time which is much easier to do if your head is staying still.

The last thing on gun mount was where the muzzle was while mounting the gun. The muzzle should be LOCKED on the target the entire time the gun is being brought up to your face. He stood in front of a wall to where the gun would almost touch a small spot that was in front of him. His gun was in both hands at the ready as he stared at the spot on the wall. The muzzle was first brought up to the spot he was focused on then the rest of the gun was smoothly brought to bear on his shoulder and cheek at the same time. There was NO movement in the muzzle once it reached its target. It looked as if it were anchored in mid air and the rest of the gun pivoted on that muzzle anchor point. The butt of the gun was smoothly seated in the shoulder and touched the cheek at the same instant.  He did all of this in the most fluid and easy looking motion you have ever seen. When the gun touched down, it looked like it was being seated in a custom vault in Fort Knox. There was NO MOVEMENT OF ANY KIND from his hands, head or shoulder. The gun just frozen to his cheek! At this point the only way to miss was to misjudge lead as all vertical misses were eliminated.

Try this in front of a mirror and see how much muzzle and head movement you have. I had a lot. My barrel would run up over the target then come down below it and then back up to the spot. I kept practicing this in the mirror in slow motion till I could get the muzzle in position and the shoulder and cheek to touch at the same time. I will make this a part of my daily routine. 

It is on rare occasion that I get to see people that are world class athletes. I go to church with one such athlete. His name is Jeri and he is a world class and world champion ballet dancer. I have seen him dance many times. He dances with a cast of paid professional dancers but when Jeri takes the stage you instantly know greatness just arrived. Even a totally clueless redneck like me can see greatness when it is that obvious.  It was the same watching John today. I never saw him take one shot but I was in awe of the way he handled that Beretta 391. As a side note, John used to shoot for Beretta as a exhibitionist shooter. 

So, here is what I learned today... Proper gun mount is EVERYTHING if you want to be a great wing shooter. One of the instructors told me that if you practice this to the point it becomes muscle memory then you will be able to split your focus 90/10. 10% on the gun and 90% on the bird and that my friends should kill a lot of crows.

Hope you learned something.