Clay Shooting Tips to Improve Your Skills
No one becomes a great clay shooter overnight. If you’re trying to improve your clay shooting, you need to practice. While the most obvious tip is to hone your craft with a clay target thrower, there are several tips that can help you become a better shooter in only a short time.
1. Always Be Safety Conscious
If you don’t put safety first, you’ll end up with an injury that could have a permanent effect on your shooting and your life. You should always wear proper eye and ear protection. When you have a gun, treated as though it is loaded - even if you know it’s not. This means always keeping the muzzle pointed to the ground until you’re ready to line up for your shot.
2. Use a Gun That Fits You
Your gun needs to fit you well, or you’ll never be able to master clay target shooting. Before you start to practice with a clay pigeon thrower, ensure your gun is the right fit. Set up a target approximately 16 yards away from you, and take a few shots at the target without aiming. If your cluster of shots is not on-center, you need to have your gun fitted.
3. Practice with an Unloaded Gun
Although you might be eager to practice with real bullets and targets from a clay target thrower, don’t underestimate the importance of practicing with an unloaded gun. Stand in front of a mirror and take a few practice shots. As you watch yourself, be sure to keep the gun in the same position on your face. Don’t mount it on your shoulder and keep your feet narrow.
4. Pick Your Dominant Eye
If you assume that a right-handed person is right-eye dominant, you’re not necessarily correct. It’s possible for you to be dominant in either eye, regardless of your handedness. To check your eye dominance, stand straight and point to something across the room. Then, close your left eye. If you still see the object, you are dominant in your right eye. However, if the object moved, you’re dominant in your left eye.
5. Keep the Barrel Moving
As you’re attempting to shoot a target, keep the barrel of the gun moving. You should only stop the movement when you’re about to pull the trigger. Additionally, be sure to keep your eye on the target the entire time.
6. Keep Your Focus on the Target
It’s not uncommon for novice shooters to focus on the gun barrel before taking a shot. But this is a crucial mistake that will leave you shooting behind a target. If possible, train yourself to only focus on the target. Constantly remind yourself to look at the target as it moves.
7. Don’t Ignore Your Misses
While no one likes to ignore their mistakes, you shouldn’t completely forget about your misses. After you have a series of misses, think about what went wrong. How was your posture? Did you have your eyes on the target? You probably made one or more mistakes during the process, so figure out what they were and correct them.
Practice Makes Perfect
Remember, the more you practice, the better you will be. With a clay pigeon thrower from Atlas, you can shoot until you can’t anymore. Be sure to check out our Hare: Rabbit Trap as well as the rest of our selection of clay target throwers.