Shooting style

Labradinger

Labradinger

Well-known member
I read a lot that people claim to not see or look at the bead when shooting, but only look at the target and a properly fitted gun should shoot where youre looking.
My question is how do you know how far/where your lead is if you arent seeing your bead? I actually tried this shooting clays by only seeing/looking at the target on some birds. It failed badly. When I paid attention to the bead, i did fine. Ive shot this gun for over 20 years and a lot of birds have been taken with it.
 
When my aftermarket neon bead fell off my Montefeltro about 25 years ago, my shooting improved…I don’t think about the beads on my other shotguns…I believe I’m focused on the bird
 
No, do not look at your bead. Never take your eyes off the target. You will see the bead in your peripheral vision. Lead is relevant to barrel speed. So, someone says lead two feet, that may not be correct for you.
 
Both eyes open and look at the bird.

I had an old shotgun that lost it's bead at some point - I don't even know when it happened or how long it was gone - and I continued to shoot it well for years. Never should have sold it, in fact.
 
After reading your question, I was puzzled. Not by your question, but by my own shooting. I believe it was instinctive, gun came up, bird went down. Don't remember specifically looking at bead, or the bird. Must have been doing one of them but I honestly don't know. Not much help, just shoot how you're comfortable, and get results.
 
Mara5 said:
After reading your question, I was puzzled. Not by your question, but by my own shooting. I believe it was instinctive, gun came up, bird went down. Don't remember specifically looking at bead, or the bird. Must have been doing one of them but I honestly don't know. Not much help, just shoot how you're comfortable, and get results.
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Ya i hoped it wasnt confusing. I dont close an eye, never have. But the other day, it was like i could almost block out the bead and literally only see the clay. When i did that, i missed. When i allowed my eyes to focus on both bead and clay, i did much better. So i guess it was kind of an experiment on focusing, if that explains it better
 
John Singer said:
Chris Batha has said: "(In shotgunning) there are two things you should see but never look at, the bead and the lead."
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I should never read this stuff and i kind of regret making this post. Im gonna overthink this and start missing every bird. I know i notice lead and bead on long crossing shots!
 
I never see the barrel or the bead when shooting at birds. But when shooting sporting clays I do focus a little more on the barrel/bead.

It has always been the consensus that when shooting a shotgun you keep both eyes open.
 
Labradinger said:
I should never read this stuff and i kind of regret making this post. Im gonna overthink this and start missing every bird. I know i notice lead and bead on long crossing shots!
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You can do okay shooting that way but it is not the best way, which is to do all your barrel-noticing and lead-measuring with your subconscious. Doing it consciously also leads to a lot of perceived "eye dominance problems."

But it does take work to switch to subconscious "aiming," let's call it. I did a podcast with top sporting clays shooter Bayne Horne a couple of years ago talking about this stuff, if you are really interested. He had come in 6th place in the NSCA Nationals Main Event when we did the podcast. He came in 2nd at the same event later in 2023, when he was 60 yrs young.
 
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Most experts (which I'm not) would say shoot a shotgun with both eyes open. Give full attention only to the target. Make sure your gun fits & that you've practiced enough, so your gun mount is consistently right, without having to think about it or be concerned with your bead.

I do my best to focus on the target, but I know I "see" the bead somewhat. I mean, it's between my eyes & the bird. I can't not see it. And there is (although maybe not on every shot) a very quick "visual calculation" as to what looks like enough lead. But I think most of that is judged by just knowing where the muzzle/bead is without really "seeing" or paying attention to it, all the while concentrating on the bird. Does that make sense?

For good or for bad, I think my shooting could best be described as mounting at the bird & then pulling ahead. But to mount at a moving target, the gun has to be swinging as it's coming up. That, in conjunction with squeezing the trigger during the pull ahead, I think makes me more likely to have at least some follow through & at least "some" lead (hopefully just a bit more than my brain wants). I suppose determining the instant to squeeze the trigger (based on lead, etc.) could be described as instinctive, but I think it's more accurately based on experience. I've shot enough (& all kinds of shots) that my brain has an idea of what looks right & what doesn't. It's right much of the time. Occasionally it's 100% clueless.
 
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The hardest thing for your brain to do is switch from rifle/pistol shooting at a stationary target to moving targets with with a shotgun. For rifle/pistol, you use fine aim with sights focused on the target and one eye closed. Switching to shotgun, both eyes are open focusing on the moving target instead of aiming with barrel/bead. Since your eye can only focus on one spot, aiming a shotgun barrel/bead at the target will never allow any lead.

I spent many years missing birds due looking down the barrel instead of at the target. Only after shooting lots of skeet and clays while learning how to focus on the bird instead of aiming the barrel did the hits start coming. Regarding leads, it takes a lot of shooting at different angles/speeds/distance to configure your brain's automatic response. Some folks get it quickly while others take a lifetime. In fact, I've seen hunters with 20+ years experience still miss a lot. Some bad habits are hard to fix.
 
Labradinger said:
Ya i hoped it wasnt confusing. I dont close an eye, never have. But the other day, it was like i could almost block out the bead and literally only see the clay. When i did that, i missed. When i allowed my eyes to focus on both bead and clay, i did much better. So i guess it was kind of an experiment on focusing, if that explains it better
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I am so confused and I was a shotgun instructor. 😀 How can focus on a bead 28 inches or so from your eye and a bird say 30 yards away. There is no way, you can only focus on one thing and I hope it is the bird.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
Most experts (which I'm not) would say shoot a shotgun with both eyes open. Give full attention only to the target. Make sure your gun fits & that you've practiced enough, so your gun mount is consistently right, without having to think about it or be concerned with your bead.

I do my best to focus on the target, but I know I "see" the bead somewhat. I mean, it's between my eyes & the bird. I can't not see it. And there is (although maybe not on every shot) a very quick "visual calculation" as to what looks like enough lead. But I think most of that is judged by just knowing where the muzzle/bead is without really "seeing" or paying attention to it, all the while concentrating on the bird. Does that make sense?

For good or for bad, I think my shooting could best be described as mounting at the bird & then pulling ahead. But to mount at a moving target, the gun has to be swinging as it's coming up. That, in conjunction with squeezing the trigger during the pull ahead, I think makes me more likely to have at least some follow through & at least "some" lead (hopefully just a bit more than my brain wants). I suppose determining the instant to squeeze the trigger (based on lead, etc.) could be described as instinctive, but I think it's more accurately based on experience. I've shot enough (& all kinds of shots) that my brain has an idea of what looks right & what doesn't. It's right much of the time. Occasionally it's 100% clueless.
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This!!!!
 
Labradinger said:
I should never read this stuff and i kind of regret making this post. Im gonna overthink this and start missing every bird. I know i notice lead and bead on long crossing shots!
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I connected with the part about long crossers here. When dove hunting on a large open field, with plenty of time to try and 'calculate' the lead on a distant crosser, is the only time I consciously 'notice' or focus on the lead and bead (as i sit here thinking about it). I usually miss.... then I start trying to shoot more instinctively, with different increasing/decreasing amounts of lead until I may finally hit one. When I hunt smaller fields and the birds are right on top of me, or a bird flushes and I have time only to shoulder and shoot quickly, I am more successful and consistent. Instinctual snapshooting versus trying to 'calculate' the right amount of lead, I think, is the answer. But I still have to close that left eye... cant do the both open thing
 
CRP said:
The hardest thing for your brain to do is switch from rifle/pistol shooting at a stationary target to moving targets with with a shotgun. For rifle/pistol, you use fine aim with sights focused on the target and one eye closed. Switching to shotgun, both eyes are open focusing on the moving target instead of aiming with barrel/bead. Since your eye can only focus on one spot, aiming a shotgun barrel/bead at the target will never allow any lead.

I spent many years missing birds due looking down the barrel instead of at the target. Only after shooting lots of skeet and clays while learning how to focus on the bird instead of aiming the barrel did the hits start coming. Regarding leads, it takes a lot of shooting at different angles/speeds/distance to configure your brain's automatic response. Some folks get it quickly while others take a lifetime. In fact, I've seen hunters with 20+ years experience still miss a lot. Some bad habits are hard to fix.
Click to expand...
My dad couldn't hit the side of a barn when he got older.
 
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