Be led by your shooting instinct
Tony Bracci addresses some common problems shooters have with forward allowance, or lead
People tell me that they hear mixed messages from other shooters about how much lead to give and often what they see is vastly different to the advice given. It is a subject that generates much conversation at clay grounds and shoots across the country. I will add to these conversations to help you get a clear view of what is needed.
Method
This moves us onto method. If you shoot swing through, your gun will be moving faster than the target. If you shoot pull away, your gun will be with the target then accelerating away from the target. If you shoot maintained lead, then your gun will be moving at the same speed as the target. If one shooter is shooting one method and relates his perception to another shooter using another method, this may not be correct for them. Taking advice from another Gun should be avoided unless you know them well and you shoot a similar style. The advice may be given with the best of intention but may not help you at all.
There are a great number of factors that can influence your perception of forward allowance, or lead. How you swing the gun can have a big influence. If your swing is fast, then your perception of lead will be reduced. If you swing steady and deliberately, the perception will be greater. This doesn’t mean fast is good as a certain amount of control is needed, but if you change your swing it may alter your perception.
Mind the gap
Taking advice on forward allowance gives you a precise measurement, which is not helpful
and amounts to you going into the stand with your own predetermined ‘gap’. To measure anything you have to have two reference points: one, the target; two, the gun. We should always be focused on the target and not on the gun.
Also, with a pre-determined gap in mind it is more likely that once the ‘gap’ is achieved the Gun will stop to take the shot, resulting in a miss behind. We must have a moving gun for a moving target.
Instinct
Lead should not be measured but, rather, used instinctively. The shotgun has a pattern of shot rather than a solid single projectile. This allows you to shoot instinctively rather than with the conscious mind, as you would when shooting a rifle. Perception of lead is not exact or precise but approximate. Any conscious awareness of where your barrels are will impede your swing; the barrels should only be in your peripheral vision, certainly not in focus, as your focus should be on the target. All too often we see a Gun shooting well only to drop the last one or two targets. This results from checking and trying to make sure and not focusing on the target and trusting instinct.
Position
Body position can alter some shooters’ perceptions of lead, as they don’t adjust their body position for some targets. If your body is in the wrong position it will tighten and slow your swing. Your body should be set up in a neutral position where you will be taking the shot, to allow your body to move freely and follow through. A compromise may be had with two similar break points, but if the break points are in very different positions your feet should move between shots to allow a free-moving swing. If you set up for the first shot and don’t adjust your position, your swing will be impeded by resistance from your body tightening and your swing will slow and miss the target.
“Any conscious awareness of where your barrels are will impede your swing”
Hold
Hold points, whether starting gun up or gun down, can have an effect on your perception of lead. Starting your gun too far away from the kill point will elongate the swing, allowing you to have time to look at the gun and measure. Too close to the kill point will encourage you to poke or stab at the target. Poking in front of the target with a static gun will enlarge your perception of lead to break the target.
Readjust
If you think everything is in place and it is not working, try to alter your perception of lead. More is not the only option. Is the target that far away? Is the target as fast as you think, or are you moving the gun much faster? When adjusting, try to ‘feel’ if the gap is bigger or smaller rather than measuring a difference.
Lead is a very personal thing and taking advice from someone else is not the answer. Try to do everything you can to shoot consistently and instinctively. The best result and test for a client is when they are asked, “How much lead did you give that?” and the response is, “I don’t know.” This would indicate that they are happy to move the gun to a similar position consistently and instinctively without the need to check. Try to do your own thing and trust your eyes.