Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
Maybe I oughta stop busting my head beating it against the wall....
Did a couple back to back doubles this week, and needed to go burn some ammo up slaying evil clay frisbees. So off to PGC went I.
There was a trapshoot in progresss,so us non registered shotgunners were exiled to ranges 10 and 11,probably so we wouldn't pollute the rarified air near the regulated ranges.
There was a small crowd at 11. A mix of regulars and non regulars, there was folk using pumps, autos and doubles of both orientations. The trap wasn't set to regulation speed and height, it threw the birds higher and faster than usual.
Did I mention the nice breeze? Call it gusts to 20 MPH, and switching from quartering in to straight from behind. I checked the wind, grinned and got my ammo out. Fun time.....
As we waited, I talked to a shooter who I had seen once or twice. He had two sons with him, the oldest about 14 and the youngest 6. The elder was lined up to shoot for the first time with his new Browning Gold 20 gauge.
Right nice starter shotgun. Wish I had started with one.
I set up on Post 1 and the young man on 2. His dad was walking him through, and there was an immediate problem. Dad lined him up in that 90 degrees off the line often seen in offhand riflery that's as useless as a parachute on a submarine for shotgunning. There were other issues, and the young'un hit 2 his first round.
The little voice in my head was nudging me and saying something like" You have the time,experience and opportunity to get this kid started right. Why haven't you offered your services?"....
So, I offered my services. One minute later we figured out the young man is right handed, left eye dominant, and he know what his options were. I suggested since he was brand spanking new, we shift him over to the sinistral side. I had him square up so his lead foot was pointing at the break zone. I did the Shotgun 101 thing and walked him through his next round. He hit about half of them, and the grin when he got powder was worth it.
Naturally, he got directions here, so he may be into the 101 threads now. Hopefully he is.
I shot another round, and the kid did OK again. After, we talked about the angles needing a little more lead than the straightaways, and keeping the firing elbow up until form gells for consistency. I mentioned practicing mounts at home and why.
Next round was his Dad's turn. He shot 90 degrees also,took enough time to give me the idea he was aiming and missed maybe 18 out of 25. He seemed OK with that. As I headed the Jeep back, I wondered about some things....
Why did he not pay attention? He was there breathing in every word as I instructed his son.
Why did he not realize that his son now shot better than he did after one short lesson?
This man was NOT an idiot nor jerk. He cared about his kids getting started right, which is why he plunked down mucho dinero on his son's first shotgun.
But, he seems unable to realize that what works for his son will work for him.
Any ideas?....
Did a couple back to back doubles this week, and needed to go burn some ammo up slaying evil clay frisbees. So off to PGC went I.
There was a trapshoot in progresss,so us non registered shotgunners were exiled to ranges 10 and 11,probably so we wouldn't pollute the rarified air near the regulated ranges.
There was a small crowd at 11. A mix of regulars and non regulars, there was folk using pumps, autos and doubles of both orientations. The trap wasn't set to regulation speed and height, it threw the birds higher and faster than usual.
Did I mention the nice breeze? Call it gusts to 20 MPH, and switching from quartering in to straight from behind. I checked the wind, grinned and got my ammo out. Fun time.....
As we waited, I talked to a shooter who I had seen once or twice. He had two sons with him, the oldest about 14 and the youngest 6. The elder was lined up to shoot for the first time with his new Browning Gold 20 gauge.
Right nice starter shotgun. Wish I had started with one.
I set up on Post 1 and the young man on 2. His dad was walking him through, and there was an immediate problem. Dad lined him up in that 90 degrees off the line often seen in offhand riflery that's as useless as a parachute on a submarine for shotgunning. There were other issues, and the young'un hit 2 his first round.
The little voice in my head was nudging me and saying something like" You have the time,experience and opportunity to get this kid started right. Why haven't you offered your services?"....
So, I offered my services. One minute later we figured out the young man is right handed, left eye dominant, and he know what his options were. I suggested since he was brand spanking new, we shift him over to the sinistral side. I had him square up so his lead foot was pointing at the break zone. I did the Shotgun 101 thing and walked him through his next round. He hit about half of them, and the grin when he got powder was worth it.
Naturally, he got directions here, so he may be into the 101 threads now. Hopefully he is.
I shot another round, and the kid did OK again. After, we talked about the angles needing a little more lead than the straightaways, and keeping the firing elbow up until form gells for consistency. I mentioned practicing mounts at home and why.
Next round was his Dad's turn. He shot 90 degrees also,took enough time to give me the idea he was aiming and missed maybe 18 out of 25. He seemed OK with that. As I headed the Jeep back, I wondered about some things....
Why did he not pay attention? He was there breathing in every word as I instructed his son.
Why did he not realize that his son now shot better than he did after one short lesson?
This man was NOT an idiot nor jerk. He cared about his kids getting started right, which is why he plunked down mucho dinero on his son's first shotgun.
But, he seems unable to realize that what works for his son will work for him.
Any ideas?....
