Establishing lead in Skeet

Aamdskeetshooter · Jan 16, 2019

Due to some of the other threads discussing leads I thought I would explain how I attain my lead on Skeet targets. It’s a little different than the traditional methods. First I need to explain sustained lead. This is the most common method taught today. The idea is to match the speed of the target and to always be in front of the target. It requires a hold point that is further away from the house than swing through. When you match the speed of the target with your gun the target appears slower. Just like when you’re in a car going 55 and the car next to you is going 60. Neither car appears to be going fast. Now stand on the side of the road and look at the cars. They’re going fast. Then you increase or decrease your lead then pull the trigger. Lastly, you follow through after pulling the trigger. Regarding follow through. Don’t think of the action as pulling the trigger. The action is breaking the target. When you pull the trigger you are not done shooting the target. Follow through is just as important in shooting shotgun as it is in golf, baseball, or tennis.

I use decreasing sustained lead. My goal is to never let the target get closer to my barrel than the lead required to break the bird. In other words I bleed off the lead with the gun moving slightly slower than the bird and when the lead is good I pull the trigger and follow through. This is not to be confused with spot shooting. The gun is not still. I’m not shooting at a spot and hoping the target runs into it.

I look forward to your questions and comments.

duckslayer · Jan 16, 2019

I usually shoot swing through. If the target or situation warrants it I’ll shoot another method.
I’m left eye dominant and shoot right handed so I do things a little differently.

Aamdskeetshooter · Jan 16, 2019

duckslayer said:
I usually shoot swing through. If the target or situation warrants it I’ll shoot another method.
I’m left eye dominant and shoot right handed so I do things a little differently.

So do you close your left eye? Has anyone shown you how to put a dot or occluder on your left lens? I actually shoot left handed with a dot on my right eye. The first round of a Skeet I shot with the dot I ran my first 25 straight.

Pinecone · Jan 17, 2019

duckslayer said:
I usually shoot swing through. If the target or situation warrants it I’ll shoot another method.
I’m left eye dominant and shoot right handed so I do things a little differently.

You should switch hands. You will shoot much better.

Every person I have taught or worked with, that was left eye dominant, picked up several targets in score the first time they shot using their dominant eye.

And you are actually better off, as now your stronger, more agile, hand is on the fore end, swinging the gun.

PJDiesel · Jan 17, 2019

Aamdskeetshooter said:
I use decreasing sustained lead. My goal is to never let the target get closer to my barrel than the lead required to break the bird.

I like it.

Matching speed (in my opinion, as taught by Bruce Ney) is the absolute best way to figure lead on a crossing target.

Watching people shoot true pairs and knowingly choosing a top bird to break first is hard for me to watch. Having that second bird below your barrel is the kiss of death for most novice shooters.

Aamdskeetshooter · Jan 17, 2019

PJDiesel said:
I like it.

Matching speed (in my opinion, as taught by Bruce Ney) is the absolute best way to figure lead on a crossing target.

Watching people shoot true pairs and knowingly choosing a top bird to break first is hard for me to watch. Having that second bird below your barrel is the kiss of death for most novice shooters.

You can always come up to a bird but if the bird gets below your barrel you’re toast. At least in Skeet. There are exceptions in Sporting. What happens is that you lift your head off the stock to find it. Game over. In Skeet I can improve students scores by several birds just by having them lower and lengthen their hold points.

CrazySanMan · Jan 17, 2019

PJDiesel said:
I like it.

Matching speed (in my opinion, as taught by Bruce Ney) is the absolute best way to figure lead on a crossing target.

Watching people shoot true pairs and knowingly choosing a top bird to break first is hard for me to watch. Having that second bird below your barrel is the kiss of death for most novice shooters.

I do almost the exact opposite. I wait to see the clay then trace my aim behind it, moving in the same arc as the target but at a higher speed until I get far enough in front of it that I feel the lead is good and I squeeze the trigger. I feel that I get a more accurate estimate of the future position of the target if I've followed it's same path and can continue along it before the target gets there.

PJDiesel · Jan 17, 2019

CrazySanMan said:
I do almost the exact opposite. I wait to see the clay then trace my aim behind it, moving in the same arc as the target but at a higher speed until I get far enough in front of it that I feel the lead is good and I squeeze the trigger. I feel that I get a more accurate estimate of the future position of the target if I've followed it's same path and can continue along it before the target gets there.

I don't think this is wrong if it works well for you. As the speed increased (and shot window/optimal break point decreases in most cases) you'll have to make that move much faster. This is where gun placement before even calling for the target comes in to play.

We don't make it through three stations on a Sunday before I see someone call for a bird with their gun basically pointed at the ground 6 feet in front of them. Puts them at a major disadvantage.

Pinecone · Jan 17, 2019

If you shoot sporting clays, you need to use all of the different methods. As things change from station to station.

And even at a station, you might not pick up the bird in time to be sustained lead, so have to use pull away or swing through. Or just how the shot is presented.

Plus, with doubles, you muzzle position for the second shot may not be correct for one method, but perfect for a different one.

And I never even think about lead. I concentrate on the target, and like all the evolution of my ancestors using sticks, rocks, spears, arrows, etc to take moving game.

duckslayer · Jan 17, 2019

Aamdskeetshooter said:
So do you close your left eye? Has anyone shown you how to put a dot or occluder on your left lens? I actually shoot left handed with a dot on my right eye. The first round of a Skeet I shot with the dot I ran my first 25 straight.

I actually shoot both eyes open. I focus on the background and only see target.
I’m actually probably a little codominant as if I shoulder a gun left handed I don’t get a perfect sight picture either.
I tried the lens spot and couldn’t see well enough to satisfy myself. At 49 I m not changing now LOL

Aamdskeetshooter · Jan 17, 2019

duckslayer said:
I actually shoot both eyes open. I focus on the background and only see target.

I’m actually probably a little codominant as if I shoulder a gun left handed I don’t get a perfect sight picture either.

I tried the lens spot and couldn’t see well enough to satisfy myself. At 49 I m not changing now LOL

If I shoot without a dot I don’t perceive a lead. I can break birds but I can also miss birds with no idea as to why. It’s hard to carry a 98+ Skeet average if you don’t know why you’re missing a target. Therefore I wear a dot. What you probably have is called mixed ocular dominance. Without the dot I had to close the off eye. That is very unnatural. The dot does take some getting used to for some people. Others take to it quickly. When I get people early enough in their shooting career I have a lot more success with putting them in a dot. Mostly because their scores go up dramatically. I’ve had students go from 10 and 12 to 18 and 19 using the dot. The “trick” is getting them to ignore the dot and focus on the target. That’s easier said than done with some people.

duckslayer · Jan 17, 2019

I think that’s where my misses on long droppers go
I’m a pretty consistent 96 to 98 shooter.
I don’t work hard enough at skeet to do any better.
I’ve never shot a registered target in my career. I know your correct about the fot but I think it would hurt me at other games. ZZ birds for example. You really need your peripheral vision

duckslayer · Jan 17, 2019

I do think a dot will benefit my oldest son. He’s bordering on a phenomenal shot at game but struggled with skeet.
Of course he’s struggling with the 99% mental game there

PJDiesel · Jan 17, 2019

ZZ and live bird shooting seems to be way more dependent on how quick you can knock em down out of the box. We shot ZZ last summer, fun game if you've got a good group, even better with some money involved. They can get up and sideways quite fast.

duckslayer · Jan 17, 2019

If you get a hard driver toward the fence straight back he’s probably going out no matter what. If seen many killed stone dead and still scored as lost

duckslayer · Jan 17, 2019

Is your avatar a Weatherby or an SKB?

Aamdskeetshooter · Jan 17, 2019

duckslayer said:
Is your avatar a Weatherby or an SKB?

I’ll try not to take offense to your question. My avatar is a Beretta 682 silver.

PJDiesel · Jan 17, 2019

Huh,...... I was gonna say Stoeger.....

Aamdskeetshooter · Jan 17, 2019

duckslayer said:
I think that’s where my misses on long droppers go
I’m a pretty consistent 96 to 98 shooter.
I don’t work hard enough at skeet to do any better.
I’ve never shot a registered target in my career. I know your correct about the fot but I think it would hurt me at other games. ZZ birds for example. You really need your peripheral vision

Where are you shooting ZZ’s? I’ve never shot them but I’ve wanted to.

duckslayer · Jan 17, 2019

Aamdskeetshooter said:
I’ll try not to take offense to your question. My avatar is a Beretta 682 silver.

Humble apologies I was viewing on my phone

Establishing lead in Skeet

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