help me get out of shooting slump!!

[Kodiak]

I am in a slump right now and i need to get over the schnied....i missed 4 roosters, 3 ducks, and hit one easy redhead but it took me two shots!!!! I am in a major slump and havent changed my equipment from earlier this year and I could hit anything early this year. What do you guys suggest i do to get me out of this slump, go shoot sporting clays or what???? Easy shots i am just sucking it up out there this past week or so!!! I feel like daunte!

[Steve Foss]

I have to quit thinking about it. The more you try to "fix" things, the harder I've found they are to fix. When I get in a slump like that, I just wait for a bird to get up or go by, and then clear my mind completely and let instict take over on the swing. Usually works just fine. Sort of like clearing the memory of a buggy computer and starting over.

[Ole #1]

Go shoot some easy clays, you're probably just trying too hard. Everyone misses, even us great shots so don't worry about it. It won't be the last time you miss either, that's just hunting. Just enjoy your time in the great outdoors.

[Kodiak]

just like my golf game this year, i was killer earlier in the season and then went to philly for class for 2 weeks and came back and game fell flat! I never recovered the rest of the year.

[getdowndog]

If you think your shooting high, then hold your elbow out from your body and then squeeze the trigger do not pull it.

try it

[hanson]

Kodiak-

I'm going to use the last poster's name as my tip... "Getdowndog."

I've found that when I start missing birds that I usually don't miss, I'm shouldering my gun in a slightly different position than usual. Usually I don't get the stock of the gun "up" into my shoulder and end up shooting high.

The other scenario is I shoulder my gun properly but am just not viewing down the barrel the way I should.

This is why I say "Get Down"

Get your head & eyesight "down" on your gun or get the butt end up higher into your shoulder to straighten out you sightline down the barrel.

Remember, you want to look "straight" down the barrel when you are shooting.

My big problem was shooting high and I was seeing more of the rib than I should have been.

Make sense if that might be your problem?? I'm guessing you are getting a tad lazy and your sightline down the barrel is a tad off because you aren't shouldering your gun properly, or you aren't getting your eye(s) lined up with the barrel/sights properly.

I'm not sure how many missed ducks it took me to identify this (including shooting over ducks on the water) and then I had to correct my dad as well as he kept missing birds on the water, in the air, or anywhere!

Hit the range, and let it come to you! Easy to say but the easy habits that come with shooting a gun tend to be the important ones which will produce consistent shooting.

Thought #2 Kodiak is you are not leading the bird as much if they are flying. Its amazing the kind of lead you can kill a bird with sometime.

Maybe you are messing up the basics of hitting a bird on the wing. Remember a couple of the basic approaches- consistent lead or swing through. Both require that you continue to follow the bird after you pull the trigger, don't stop your swing once you pull the trigger.

Thats just a couple thoughts I have.

[Kodiak]

i think i am getting lazy and not shouldering the gun properly, i am not bringing it up far enough and getting a good straight view of the rib....i was messing around last night and i think that is what it is. I will find out this weekend, i dont know why i just started doing this last weekend???funny how something you do all the time can get messed up.

[fish2live]

i had the same problem early in the year didn't quite as many birds as you haha. just kidding but, what has helped me is when walking through the field do some dry runs with beading up, i even bead up on hens just for practice after i did this a couple dozen times problem fixed and birds started dropping. hope this helps

[Kodiak]

Quote:

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I am in a slump right now and i need to get over the schnied....i missed 4 roosters, 3 ducks, and hit one easy redhead but it took me two shots!!!! I am in a major slump and havent changed my equipment from earlier this year and I could hit anything early this year. What do you guys suggest i do to get me out of this slump, go shoot sporting clays or what???? Easy shots i am just sucking it up out there this past week or so!!! I feel like daunte!

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this is what i missed on saturday!!! I have done GREAT all year, it has been a good season! Thanks for the help, i was planning on going out tommorrow morning but it is supposed to be 9degrees!?!?!