SO WHAT IS THE SECRET TO SHOOTING SUCCESS? THE RIGHT GUN FIT, FOR A START
Irecently returned from a hunting holiday in Victoria, where I hunted duck, quail, pheasant and hare. I did it all with one gun, my Browning SXS.
I took on the ducks at dawn in the swamp in freezing conditions. I mean it, the temperature was -1C with an apparent temperature of -6C. I was wearing four layers of heavy clothing at the start and shed clothes as the morning sun warmed my bones.
It was easy to see my shooting improved as the day wore on, not because of the practice I was getting, but the fact it was easier to shoulder my gun correctly without the bulky parka and jumper.
The pheasants were shot early in the morning, but as a walk-up over pointers. They were quite easy to shoot and provided great table fare. I was down to only two layers for most of this and the gun leapt to my shoulder and pointed straight.
The quail and hares were shot in the arvo when the dew had been burnt off the grass over a flushing labrador. My clothing was a light shirt as I traipsed around 600-acre paddocks hoping the dog would flush the quail in front of me. She did and I knocked down more quail than my mates.
Gunfit is essential to good shooting, and there are plenty of ways to alter a gun to suit. Sometimes the stock is too short. This is easy to fix with spacers between the recoil pad and the butt. If the length of pull (LOP) is too long the stock will need to be cut shorter. Most of my guns have a 14.5” LOP, or close to it, with just an eighth of an inch difference between them.
Some guns have the wrong pitch. The pitch is the angle of the butt in relation to the comb or top edge of the stock. This can be altered with wedge-shaped spacers or the stock cut to suit. The gun may need a higher comb to put your cheek and eye at the correct angle to the plane of the barrels. This can be done if the gun has an adjustable comb or one can be fitted.
The cast of the gun is usually straight on Brownings, but many Italian guns have a cast for right-handed shooters. When purchasing a gun, left-handers should take this into account.
Cast can be altered, but it is a slow and painstaking process using steam and pressure on the stock to bend it, to allow the eye to be centred over the rib of the barrels.
The NT Field and Game range is open for practice from 9am until noon this morning, while weekly Friday night practice continues at Micket Creek Shooting Complex, Brandt Rd, Knuckey Lagoon. There are now two grounds with the token system in operation. The ranges will be open from 3pm on Fridays for those who plan ahead and pre-purchase ammo and tokens. The sales desk normally opens at 5pm. The next competition is the Festival of Clays from Friday, July 28 until Sunday, July 30. Coolalinga Guns and Ammo has sponsored a Fausti Camo 12ga shotgun as a door prize for one lucky competitor. A ticket will be issued to each shooter for each event they enter.