10 COMMON ERRORS TO AVOID
How to steer clear of the pitfalls associated with shooting high birds
1 Don’t be over-optimistic on range estimation – learn when to let a really high bird fly on.
2 Don’t unlock focus prematurely. Keep hard focus locked on – stare each bird to death.
3 Don’t come off-line – often caused by poor foot position. Line is as important as lead. Step into the bird’s line whenever possible (practise this). The shot should always be taken with the least possible body tension.
4 Don’t check the swing. Keep moving. Use core body movement to do this – the arms and hands provide lift and fine control.
5 Don’t let the rear hand dominate the mount (this will cause windmilling of the barrels, again bringing you off-line).
6 Don’t fail to lift with the front hand enough – another common error. Keep lifting with the front hand and arm, as you bend or arch (or rotate, if taking a crosser) to push you through your mark. Your body, not the arms, provides the primary power for the swing, but use of the (usually weaker) front arm is still critical.
7 Don’t let weight come on to the back foot unless that is your intention. Stay in balance. My preference is to shoot off the front foot in classical fashion for most situations, with the rear heel slightly raised. This doesn’t work for everyone (and doesn’t work for me on a bad-back day or on difficult ground). The alternatives are to shoot with the weight equally spread between both legs or to deliberately transfer weight to the rear foot as you swing through and back. Again, remember to keep lifting well.
8 Don’t swipe at the bird, but brush smoothly: ONE, TWO, THREEEEEEE. The eyes remain focused on the mark throughout as your body anticipates where you are going to take the shot.
9 As noted, but worth repeating – don’t stop prematurely. Keep holding the gun up on the line. Keep pushing on. As Lord Walsingham said: “Hold high and don’t check.”
10 Finally, confidence is essential with high birds. It promotes good movement. You cannot measure every shot. But, you will develop an understanding for what the bird looks like relative to the barrels at different heights and what the lead for that picture looks and feels like.
Michael Yardley is the author of The Shotgun: A Shooting Instructor’s Handbook; Positive Shooting; Gunfitting: the Quest for Perfection as well as many other works. He is a fellow of the Association of Professional Shooting Instructors and may be contacted at yardleypen@aol.com