Shooting Tips by Emily Blount
First is SAFETY! Always use eye and ear protection. Otherwise, I hold
4 rules close to my heart. In order they are:
- ALWAYS treat a gun as if it was loaded.
- Always point the gun in a safe direction (down range, straight up,
or straight down and not at your foot.)
- Keep action open and finger off the trigger until you are ready to
shoot.
- Know what you are shooting, and beyon
After that lets get to the basics. Keep in mind that these are guidelines
that I find helpful, and may not be for everyone.
- Keep a positive attitude and have fun.
- Have a gun that fits. Make sure it isn’t too heavy, has right stock
length, and you can see down the barrel with your cheek pressed to
the stock.
- Line up your foot position so that your natural point of aim is where
you want to break the target. Then swing back to your hold point before
you call for the target.
- Pause, and be ready before you call for the target.
- Don’t listen for the target to be thrown, instead look with your
eyes for the movement.
- Look at the target (preferably at the front edge) and not
at the barrel when you shoot.
- For beginners, swing through the target and pull the trigger as you
swing through. As you get better you won’t have to swing through and
you’ll automatically start moving your gun to the right spot.
- Keep a smooth follow-through. (If you’re having trouble, try shooting
the pieces of your target, or just keep swinging until your barrel
reaches the other house.)
- And as USA Shooting says, “Leave all hit and missed targets behind
you, look only at the next target, that is the only one you have control
of.
Now, when I started shooting, my dad gave me guidelines for how far
in front of the target my barrel should be to break the target for each
station. I’ve found them to be pretty accurate. I hope they give you
some idea.
Station 1: Shoot at the leading edge of the target.
Station 2: Shoot a foot and a half in front of the target.
Station 3: Shoot three feet in front of the target
Station 4: Shoot four feet in front of the target
Station 5: Shoot three feet in front of the target
Station 6: Shoot a foot and a half in front of the target.
Station 7: Shoot at the leading edge of the target.
Station 8: Breath, you’ve got plenty of time. Cover it up and pull the
trigger.
