Ask the Instructor

Point of Aim

Point of Aim My shotgun shoots to the point of aim. However, this doesn’t build the skill of proper gun mount and the resulting desire of the firearm shooting where I look. What procedure would you suggest for practice that promotes hitting where you are looking, specifically when using a patterning board? First of all, let’s define something. The term “point of aim” is a misnomer but is commonly used in the shotgun world to mean the point at which the shooter is applying visual focus. We don’t aim a shotgun unless we are shooting in a tactical setting or at turkeys. When … [Read more...]

Barrel Angle

Barrel Angle Is it generally better to keep the barrel angle on the target line throughout the move from the hold point to the break point, or should it start below the target line at the hold point, then move up toward the target line until just before the break point? Muzzle angle, or barrel angle, is a critical element of the ready position. Inappropriate muzzle angle can cause a shooter to occlude the target with the muzzle (if too high), or generate excessive gun movement if the muzzle is too far removed from the target line. First, let’s differentiate “principles” … [Read more...]

Cheek Bruises

Cheek Bruises I have recently begun to get a bruise on my cheek from the recoil of my new gun. I am a mid-level shooter, and I have a smooth move and mount, but probably once per 25 rounds I will feel myself getting whacked. Can you help me? My guess would be that one of two things is happening (or a combination of the two): 1) Your cheek might not be in contact with the comb of the stock during shot execution, thus the comb might be impacting your cheek as the shot is executed and the recoil causes the gun to jump into your cheek. 2) Your shotgun might not have … [Read more...]

Center Ocular

Center Ocular My wife is “center ocular.” She is a beginner but seems to only hit birds when she closes her left eye (shooting right-handed). How do you compensate for center vision in gun fitting? Or is she better off just learning with one eye? The short answer is, we never want to adjust the fit of a shotgun to compensate for any “bias” in eye dominance. We treat eye dominance and gun fit as two critical but separate issues with distinctly different fixes. When a shooter is center ocular, it means that they do not have a dominant eye and, in some cases, the … [Read more...]