Shooting really close birds

BrownTrout

Using 32g 6s for crows and taking them comfortably at 30 yards with my SxS but I get caught off guard by the odd corvid that would appear inside 20yards and I cannot for the life of me hit them. I've tried shifting my head to look down the length of the barrel that I'm firing out of rather than using the bead at the muzzle but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

How do I hit these close range birds?

FISMA

BrownTrout wrote: »

How do I hit these close range birds?

First, record every miss and see if there is a pattern.

Are you a right handed shooter? Are the misses on birds flushing from left to right? If so, you're probably taking the firearm off of your cheek. In trap, one of the most common place for righties to miss is the right most station with clays going to the right.

If you find a pattern, get to a trap and skeet range and practice the weakness.

If the error shows no pattern, get to a trap and skeet range and practice everything.

Do you recall anything in common about the misses? L-R, R-L, straight away?

BrownTrout

FISMA wrote: »

First, record every miss and see if there is a pattern.

Are you a right handed shooter? Are the misses on birds flushing from right to left? If so, you're probably taking the firearm off of your cheek. In trap, one of the most common place for righties to miss is the right most station.

If you find a pattern, get to a trap and skeet range and practice the weakness.

If the error shows no pattern, get to a trap and skeet range and practice everything.

Do you recall anything in common about the misses? L-R, R-L, straight away?

I'm left handed shooting an ambidextrous stocked gun.

I'm missing more going from right to left in front of me

FISMA

BrownTrout wrote: »

I'm left handed shooting an ambidextrous stocked gun.
I'm missing more going from right to left in front of me

Ah ha!

You're doing the lefty equivalent of what I mentioned above, which I just edited.

Righties often miss the shot when the bird is going from the left to their right. In this swing, for a righty, it is common for the firearm to come off the cheek.

Most righties I know have no problem with shots from the right to the left. When a righty shoots from R-L, the cheek usually stays on the stock.

Sounds like you may be doing the lefty version of the above.

If you shoot lefty and miss the target going from right to left, I would suspect that your cheek is leaving the stock.

Practice keeping your cheek on the stock on a R-L swing. Get to the range and practice the first station with clays from R-L.

Hopefully, an easy fix. As always, swing through.

BrownTrout

FISMA wrote:

Hopefully, an easy fix. As always, swing through.

Thanks man, I'll give that a go tomorrow

cookimonster

As above , very common miss depending on dominant side.....but may I add.....

I would be a mediocre shot and use every advantage I can, both real and imagined. If your gun is tightly choked and your swing and follow through not so smooth you may be missing just behind, below, over etc. Even with a mod choke a close in shot will throw a tight enough pattern that if you'r off form it's easy to miss a bird.

Another issue is perceived leed, smooth and precise swing throughs don't need a perceived lead as hand eye co-ordination, swing matched to speed of target, follow through etc all compensate and put the shot infrount of the bird. But again depending on form, many shooters use leed and many don't use enough on close in targets. If you think your leed is to far, then give it more.

Good advice in previous posts get to clay range and bash those cross'ers....

Longranger

I was doing the exact same thing for ages and it was driving me crazy! A few days on the clay range sorted me out fairly handy though. It also helped my snipe and woodcock shooting a huge amount. I was doing the same thing you may have been, as in pulling the stock from my cheek on left to right shots. Get to the range for a few sessions and you'll be grand. Best of luck and I hope you can sort it ourt soon.
LR

Sika98k

Full choke,spread of 16 inches.
1/2 choke,spread of 21 inches.
Cylinder,spread of 32 inches.

Even less spread as the range decreases.

Ghost.

Sika98k wrote: »

Full choke,spread of 16 inches.
1/2 choke,spread of 21 inches.
Cylinder,spread of 32 inches.

Even less spread as the range decreases.

At what ranges would you say these spreads are for?

rsole1

Ghost. wrote: »

At what ranges would you say these spreads are for?

I think they are usually patterned at 40 yards.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2013/08/truth-about-shogun-ammo

Sika98k

Ghost. wrote: »

At what ranges would you say these spreads are for?

Read my post. Title says spread of shot at 20 yds.

Ghost.

Sika98k wrote: »

Read my post. Title says spread of shot at 20 yds.

I did read your post. And quoted it. And I still can't see where you said it was at 20 yards. But thanks anyway for clearing that up for me.

goss101

Just my 2 cents, i've done an awful lot of crow shooting in the last few years and a crow at 20 yards 90% of the time won't need much/any lead, they are fairly slow moving birds so just be careful your not getting out to far in front of them. nice smooth swing through the bird and pull when you get to its beak should do the trick (and never stop swinging the gun after the shot) . i find the RC Sipe 6's are deadly for the crows.