I keep missing high bird @ 3 & 5

[distra]

I've been shooting skeet for about 9 months now and am starting to get the hang of it. I know, I'm a slow learner. I'm having consistant trouble with high 4 and sometimes high 3. I can hit the low house just fine, but the high house is killing my scores. Any idea why I would start missing those birds? I know it's tough to figure out over the net, but is possible my eyes are cross firing? I'm a right handed shooter with right eye dominance. I'm getting a little frustrated at this point.

 

[sm]

distra,

Hi, I hope you and yours are doing well.

Did you ever run down a copy of Score Better At Skeet by Fred Misseldine?
Misseldine not only shows you how to hit the stations, also shares why you miss and how to correct.

DVD: Get Will Fennell's DVD, he knows his stuff and what he shares is applicable to skeet or any use of a shotgun.

distra, just a reminder to only do one "fix" at a time.
That way one knows if something is helping or hindering.
Multiple "fixes" gets one more "confurser". *grin* as they don't know what , when or where they are and dig a bigger hole of "oh-heck-darn-phooeys!".


Without seeing you shoot, I am going to say it it one of the correct basics you are doing wrong, it always is.
You shared you have been shooting Skeet for 9 months.
You have changed in the last 9 months, point being, you have improved and therefore skill levels have improved, and your correct basics will have to be adapted for improments.

Share how you are missing the bird, this will assist me/us in assisting you.

Bird beat you, chipping behind or in front, slapping trigger but missed, do you hit these on doubles, but miss on singles...etc.

Are you shooting Pass/Swing Through, or Sustained?


-Check the gun fit to make sure when you shoot high birds you are not impeded by the gun's fit.

H1 is not going to reveal much being pretty much a straight-a-way presentation.
H2 one is pumped up because that bird is fast! Many shooters can hit this bird, simply because they don't have time to think, instead just get on it and slap trigger.
H6 , H7 -one waits for the bird to come to them

H3, H4, H5 is where some things come to light where they do not on the other High birds.

-Gun fit.
-Hold points.
-Foot position
[note, on shooting 3 and 5, I instruct changing foot positions for the Low bird, then on doubles, foot position is for low bird only]

-Riding the bird
[ as one gets better -they can shoot the bird faster, so you might be able to break the bird faster.
Many folks new will shoot past the stake, as they improve they can shoot closer to the stake and by riding out the bird (measuring, or waiting) they miss.
After 9 months, you most likely can break birds closer to stake.

-Looking up to see a miss.
[Gun fit can impede therefore having one raise head to allow for swing]

-Stopping swing.
On the "long birds" there is a tendency to slap trigger and not keep swinging.
Folks "think" they have swung, but they don't give enough "swing it like you mean it".





HTH

Steve

 

[Virginian]

Relax. A lot of people develop a "choke" station or two, no pun intended. Seriously, relax. You are not cross firing only on two stations and only on high birds. So you miss a little clay saucer flying upside down. It will not affect your home mortgage rate. Your wife will likely not really give a hoot.
Try keeping your head down and intentionally lead it just a little too much.
I can relate. I used to shoot skeet, a lot. I had the most straights in the league. I wanted that 100 straight badge. Never got it. Choked in the last 25 innumerable times. Best was a 97. Low house 7. I missed a low house 7 ! You have no problem.

 

[sm]

Virginian,

Good point about relaxing and having fun.
It is very easy to get too serious, and being too serious impedes shooting well.

I have "my" assisting with shooters style.
Oh this is serious, still fun.

I do a lot with ladies, and have earned a relationship with them.

One lady developed a problem with H4.
She had drifted her hold point too close to the house.
So she starts hitting this bird after bring her hold point back out.

Still not hitting the bird like she used to...humm..
My gut said she could break the break more close to the center stake, if not at the stake.

"Evil so-n-so is going to steal your chocolate, you better get on it and shoot 'e 'fore he does!" I said.

She dusted that clay.
She kept dusting that clay...that sorry clay was a evil chocolate thief and she said "some evil just needs killing!"


Her daughter, learning and at a low 7.
She was having a bad week, just one of them weeks we all have.
Frumpy, that pouty lip and all...

One thing on her mind was having mailed a package to grandparents and it had not been received and when it would be.

"If you have one leg standing on yesterday, and one leg standing on tomorrow, you are peeing on today" - I told her.

I got me a little grin and snicker...

She got a bit relaxed and busted L7
She missed the next one, laughing as she looked down between her legs just thinking about what I said.

Her mom eased up closer ( no telling what I am liable to say) to hear better, still not get in the way of my assisting her daughter.

Kiddo busted two more...now her confidence was back up.

"All Right! Thatta girl!, now do that 5 more times in a row and your mom is going to buy a big order of Cheese Dip and chips, and salsa..."

"I am??!!" said the mom.
"Yeah, cause if you don't your butt will get big" - I replied.

We cut up , razz and carry on like this...
Just the way we are...

Daughter pulverized seven low 7's in row.

The two extra birds were to get mom to go out to eat at the Mexican joint and still take home the order I promised.

I stay in trouble some say, still sometimes my "style" has merit.

Serious fun...

One of the funniest thing every heard was out dove hunting.
The first time these ladies and kids had gone dove hunting.
One of the ladies made a super great shot on a dove with afterburners on, juking and jiving and she made this shot.

"How far did you lead him?" asked the ladies.
"About 2 ex husbands" the lady that made the shot replied.

I mean even the dawgs had tears in eyes from laughing and rolling on the ground.


Serious fun means not trying so hard often times....

 

[distra]

sm, Thanks for the advice. I have Misseldine's book and Bender's DVD, I'll look them both over tonight. I am attempting to shoot sustained lead and do chip on the back side a bit. You might have a point about riding the bird, I have been hitting high 4 just after the stake when I do manage to break the bird. I have been using the 1/3 hold point with my belt buckle pointing into the low house window. I don't change foot positions through the middle stations i.e. I align my belt buckle to the low house window.

Relaxing is definately an issue for me. My first round tends to be my best round mainly because I'm just shooting and not thinking about it. I have better focuss on the target during the first round than the 2nd, 3rd or 4th.

 

[sm]

distra,

It is I that thanks you, and the rest of the folks around here.



I did not drop that bird, grass gotta eat too ya know!! -me


Steve

 

[distra]

So I watched the Bender DVD and read Misseldine's book last night and shot two rounds of skeet this morning. I think I figured out part of my problems at the middle stations. 1) I was holding a touch too close to the house 2) I was looking right in the window 3) I was not mentally focussed. For H4, I started by holding 1/3 of the way between the high house and the stake then looking back about 1/2 between my hold point and the high house. I found I had plenty of time to pick-up the bird, acquire sustain lead, and shoot it right at the stake. I think the contrast of the window was giving some trouble and I was really focussing on only breaking the bird nothing else. I'm sure I will miss again, but at least I have an idea as to why I was missing.