THE TECHNOID IS SET UP...
"Setting up" for a shot means properly
arranging the position of feet, gun and eyes before calling for the bird.
One of the harder things for newer sporting clays shooters has always
been to figure out how to do this. As a matter of fact, most newer
shooters do not really think about setting up for the target at all. They
just sort of stand there waiting for the bird to show itself and then take
whatever remedial action they deem appropriate once the bird is in the
air. By that time, it is usually too late. Proper setup is far more
important than having the right gun, shells or choke. Let the Technoid
show you a method for setting up that is both simple and occasionally
effective.
Setting up takes place after you enter the shooting station, but
there is a little preparatory work involved. As you watch others ahead
of you shoot the target, make sure to take note of four things: 1) exactly
where the trap is located, 2) where will you first be able to see the bird,
3) the trajectory and speed of the bird and 4) where you intend to break
it. This is a lot of "homework", but it is going to pay off for
you. You
have plenty of time to do it while those in front of you are shooting, so
take the time to get it right.
When it is your turn to shoot, enter the stand and set up in the
following order: Foot Position, Gun Position, Eye Position. Note that all
directions are for right handed shooters. The Latin word for left is
sinister. The French word for left is gauche. The Technoid can take a
hint.
FOOT POSITION: Proper foot position for sporting is very
difficult to describe. Few authors have done it successfully because each
shooter does it a little differently. Naturally, this does not stop the
Technoid from jumping right in with both feet. Better wrong advice
than no advice at all, he always says.
You already know where you are going to break the bird because
you have done your "homework". Consider the breaking point to
be at
twelve o'clock on a clock dial. You are standing in the center of the
clock. Simply assume a comfortable, shoulder width stance that has a
line running from your right toe through your left toe to eleven o'clock
on the clock dial. Keep your weight centered and your knees unlocked.
Avoid: taking a fencer's or trap shooter's stance where the right foot is
at almost a right angle to the left. Avoid: starting with most of your
weight on that left leading foot. In both cases you will be sacrificing
the
ability to move laterally if your stance is too narrow or you lean too far
forward.
GUN POSITION: Now that your feet are pointing in the right
direction and you feel comfortable, move your gun muzzle to a point
about half way between where you will first be
able to see the bird and where you intend to break it. If the shot is one
where you are going to want to swing through, you might want to start a
little closer to the trap. If you are going to sustain lead it, you might
want to start out from the trap a little further. However, half way is a
good rule of thumb. The butt of the gun should be at the level of the
armpit and pushed back under the armpit about one inch. This will
encourage you to push the gun forward slightly as you mount it and thus
help you shift your weight forward slightly as you swing on the bird.
Although the Travelers permit starting with a high gun, it really is not
the best way for most shots. The muzzle of the bird should be just a
little below the anticipated line of flight of the target. You know exactly
where that line of flight will be because you have done your
"homework". Didn't you?
EYE POSITION: Make it a rule to look wherever you must to
see the bird as soon as possible. This sounds simple, but naturally the
Technoid has some tricks to make it more confusing. If the bird is
starting out fast and close, as in many quartering away shots, look out
a
bit to pick the bird up. This will make the target clear at a mild angle
when you first see it, not a speeding blur at an acute angle.
When the bird is coming out of heavy cover, if you look back
you can often see it coming through the trees before it emerges into the
open. This can give you a useful head start on things. Only use this
trick if you can always see the bird back in the woods. If you can only
see it sometimes, it is best to pick it up when it gets to the clearing.
Seeing it early is nice, but seeing it consistently is imperative.
When a bird is coming out of cover against a bad background,
shooters have a tendency to fix their vision on a branch or twig where
the bird will be emerging. If visibility is just a little poor or the bird
quite fast, the shooter will often miss seeing the target entirely because
he has focused on the twig. In this case, it is best to use a broad or
wide angle focus, not on the exact spot of target emergence, but just a
little further out. It gives the eye a chance to adjust to the bird and
greatly lowers your chance of not seeing it at all.
There you have it. In general the method of setting up is very
personal and most successful shooters vary from one of the above
approaches in one way or another. Each target presentation is unique.
Having said that, if you follow the above steps you are going to be in the
ball park. Hitting that home run is up to you.
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