Bang on the button

Can you give me any tips on how to shoot rabbit clays that are thrown as slow crossers? No matter how hard I try, I can’t get the measure of them.

John says:

Rabbits that bumble along as you describe are incredibly easy to miss in front – even the momentum of a slowed swing can be enough to put too much lead onto them. And the faster you try to shoot them, the worse the problem becomes.

This rabbit isn’t going to beat you on speed, so take your time and be very deliberate with it. This isn’t to say you should track it with a mounted gun; instead, decide where you want to kill it, then address your gun muzzles a foot or two farther back. As the rabbit comes on to the muzzle, mount smoothly and shoot at the leading edge of the clay. If that doesn’t work, try shooting directly at it with no attempt to give it even an inch or two of forward allowance – the momentum of the moving gun will take care of things.