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l98ster · June 11, 2012, 11:03 AM

Dyl,

If we are talking about a stationary target, then you are basically correct. The only difference would be your mental and physical eye focus.

If we are talking about a moving target (clay bird), then its a lot different. To hit a moving target, your barrel must be pointed in one direction, your eyes are looking at the target from another angle, and then everything is swinging to get everything lined up as the target moves.

If you are farmiliar with a skeet field: lets pretend you are on station 4, and ready to call for the high house bird.

1) Your barrel should be pointed about half way between the center stake and the high house window.

2) Your eyes should be looking basically right at the high house window.

3) When you call for the bird, you start your swing and (with practice), INSTINCTUALLY, you will know when to pull the trigger.

The reason I say instinctual, is because high house station 4 has about a 4 foot lead. That means when you pull the trigger, the barrel should be 4 feet in front of that bird (which from the shooters perspective the front bead is about 4 inches in front of the bird). As the pattern travels toward the target, the target is flying into the pattern. It literally takes that much lead (time) for the shot to reach the bird. If we were on the skeet field, there is no way I could tell you an exact point of aim, because there is none.

If you were to aim at that bird in the same scenario, your barrel would be aimed directly at the high house window. Your eyes would be looking straight down the barrel looking into the high house window. When you call for the bird, its going to come out so fast, that even if your eyes pick it up, your barrel is going to be "chasing" that target, resulting in a miss. You would always be behind the target if you were going to aim instead of point. Its not good to play "catch up" to the target. The technique I use is a sustained lead.

Remember, a stationary target is not going to move out of your sights, so you have time to line everything up. If you take that same amount of time to aim at a 4.5 inch target moving at 55mph, I can GAURANTEE a miss.

-George

June 11, 2012, 11:03 AM	#19
l98ster Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2010 Location: Hopewell Junction, NY Posts: 454	Dyl, If we are talking about a stationary target, then you are basically correct. The only difference would be your mental and physical eye focus. If we are talking about a moving target (clay bird), then its a lot different. To hit a moving target, your barrel must be pointed in one direction, your eyes are looking at the target from another angle, and then everything is swinging to get everything lined up as the target moves. If you are farmiliar with a skeet field: lets pretend you are on station 4, and ready to call for the high house bird. 1) Your barrel should be pointed about half way between the center stake and the high house window. 2) Your eyes should be looking basically right at the high house window. 3) When you call for the bird, you start your swing and (with practice), INSTINCTUALLY, you will know when to pull the trigger. The reason I say instinctual, is because high house station 4 has about a 4 foot lead. That means when you pull the trigger, the barrel should be 4 feet in front of that bird (which from the shooters perspective the front bead is about 4 inches in front of the bird). As the pattern travels toward the target, the target is flying into the pattern. It literally takes that much lead (time) for the shot to reach the bird. If we were on the skeet field, there is no way I could tell you an exact point of aim, because there is none. If you were to aim at that bird in the same scenario, your barrel would be aimed directly at the high house window. Your eyes would be looking straight down the barrel looking into the high house window. When you call for the bird, its going to come out so fast, that even if your eyes pick it up, your barrel is going to be "chasing" that target, resulting in a miss. You would always be behind the target if you were going to aim instead of point. Its not good to play "catch up" to the target. The technique I use is a sustained lead. Remember, a stationary target is not going to move out of your sights, so you have time to line everything up. If you take that same amount of time to aim at a 4.5 inch target moving at 55mph, I can GAURANTEE a miss. -George Last edited by l98ster; June 11, 2012 at 11:19 AM.