Here is an assortment of small topics that have arisen during lessons over the past couple of years.  Most can be answered quickly and don’t require an entire article, but they are important. Therefore, I’ve broken them down so I can cover more topics in this column.

The “cheat mount”

Students often ask how low their stock should be if they’re starting from an unmounted position. The length of your mount should vary depending on the time you have to shoot – and that is a function of the target’s angle and speed.

The No. 1 error when using the cheat mount is head position.  Mount your gun to your break point and bring the gun back to your hold point with the gun fully mounted.  Now keep your head still and lower the gun slightly out of the pocket, keeping your hands loose on the gun. The gun should be about two or three inches off your face.  If you mount properly, the gun comes back to the face and pocket simultaneously while the head stays still.

Head lifting

Too often, students lift their head as they take the shot. Sometimes it’s a gun-fit issue, but other times it’s simply a bad habit of trying to see the target break.  The cure is conscious training where you are telling yourself to keep your eyes on the clay with your head on the gun until it breaks.

Don’t worry if you miss targets at the outset – the idea is to build a new habit, not to break pairs.  Once you solidify this habit, then start working on doing it subconsciously while you focus on breaking each target.

Letting it rip

If you’re struggling with shooting more aggressively and with more trust on going-away and quartering shots, it’s surely related to the hold point and your setup.  You need to study the background on view pairs while you make your plan.  On these presentations, I look at the background as much as I watch the targets.  You need to learn how and where to look for these targets.  Looking through and around the gun might be the key.

With crossing targets, hold points are less of an issue. The critical variable is seeing the clay early and getting in sync early to get a good insertion.  If I am shooting a crosser aggressively, with an early break point, I want to sync up with my first move to get the gun to where it needs to go.  Done correctly, this becomes a bit of a timing-based shot.

Eye placement

It’s usually a bad idea to rotate your head to try to pick up a target.  Moving the head can disrupt your vision at precisely the wrong time.

I teach shooters that the muzzle should stay under their master eye and to minimize their head movement as much as possible. I always “cut” my eyes back to my look point to pick up the target, and move my head only when necessary.

When your shooting eye gets too far out of alignment with the muzzle, your brain loses track of the gun and you are simply uncalibrated.  Turn your eyes, not your head and if you need to, bring your hold point in a little tighter.

Flat, edgy crossers

These targets bedevil a lot of shooters, since the target gives you very little to lock onto visually and your brain doesn’t get good feedback.

You have two options: Spend less time “in” the gun running with the clay to stop prevent you from measuring the lead. Option two is to rehearse shooting the “gap” as opposed to feeling the lead develop.

When done correctly, you will sync up with the target to the proper break point and the correct forward allowance.  These are hard, and are missed more often than targets showing belly or dome.

Proper rotation

Sometimes students push the gun with their arms and their face comes off the gun.  I do it myself at times.

This generally means you are not starting your move with your feet/lower body. Narrow your stance, making sure your feet are not outside your armpits, and rotate on a balance point between your feet.  Your head and shoulders should stay level through the rotation.