Looking for advice improving my shooting skill

pancuronium

Howdy Gentlemen,

I’m looking for advice on how to improve my shooting skills I’ll explain where I’m coming from, A friend of mine has asked me to shoot some Pigeons for him over a crop he's growing I took 2 hours out this evening & shot 47 for him not bad shooting I hear you all say well I agree but I also missed 53 so I’m obviously doing something wrong most of the birds were aprox 40 -50 yards max I recon & I have a Lanber u/o & was using 32g 6 Remington cartridges, I understand this is a near impossible thing to diagnose without seeing a person shoot but was hoping that maybe some people out there could give me some basic tips about shotgun shooting & maybe take a few educated guesses at where there might be a problem at least I can then look at all the things I maybe doing wrong, strange that most of the shots I missed were using a Modified choke on the bottom barrel not all but most.........hit the guts of them with Improved Modified on the top any guesses will be greatlt apriciated...........

westwicklow

47 out of 100.... have you tried specsavers?

meathstevie

Let's start with the simple fact that the woodpigeon in full flight is one of the hardest shots you'll ever take. They're deceptively fast ( flying with the wind at their back they do motorway speeds ) and what I found is that I didn't give them half the lead I had to. Let's say on crosser going at full tilt I used to lead about 3 feet and consistently missed. Doubling the lead to about 6-7 feet consistently resulted in a puff of feathers in the air and a pigeon on the ground. Your choice of ammo is spot on with a 32g nr 6.

pancuronium

westwicklow wrote: »

47 out of 100.... have you tried specsavers?

Well have to say i did think about it, but taught i'd do the next best thing & try here

arynne

I agree with Meathstevie -- 1 in 2 on pigeon is good, in fact in my view its very good. I'd use 34 gram though.
AR

foxshooter243

As with shooting clay pigeons , there are three things to be taken into account when shooting birds in flight-Speed,Angle and Distance.
It is generally considered in pigeon shooting circles that a kill ratio over 50 percent is a good days shooting, now considering that your targets were at 40 -50 yards and you killed 47 percent of your targets-then by any standard you had a good days shooting. I have been shooting pigeons over barley for 35 years and there is a vast difference in your kill ratio if your birds are at extreme range rather than having them hover over a pigeon magnet at 20 yards, some shooters will only take the bird when its practically on the ground, this is acceptable when your trying to protect crops and the birds are there in large numbers but it doesnt require the skill thats needed for the longer shots. If you want to hone your skills then a trip to your local claypigeon grounds and some practise on a skeet layout will replicate all the angles you will come across in the field and will give you an idea on how to address them. good luck! but I dont think youll be needing it:D

just to add on choke choice- try to set up that you pick the kill zone and use the chokes that suit that range.

greenpeter

pancuronium wrote: »

Howdy Gentlemen,

I’m looking for advice on how to improve my shooting skills I’ll explain where I’m coming from, A friend of mine has asked me to shoot some Pigeons for him over a crop he's growing I took 2 hours out this evening & shot 47 for him not bad shooting I hear you all say well I agree but I also missed 53 so I’m obviously doing something wrong most of the birds were aprox 40 -50 yards max I recon & I have a Lanber u/o & was using 32g 6 Remington cartridges, I understand this is a near impossible thing to diagnose without seeing a person shoot but was hoping that maybe some people out there could give me some basic tips about shotgun shooting & maybe take a few educated guesses at where there might be a problem at least I can then look at all the things I maybe doing wrong, strange that most of the shots I missed were using a Modified choke on the bottom barrel not all but most.........hit the guts of them with Improved Modified on the top any guesses will be greatlt apriciated...........

I'd say that was good shooting, just keep at it or try move your hide or decoys to suit your style of shooting