Are You Ready 

You’ve waited all year for the season opener.  You pulled the old pellet slinger out of the closet and oiled her down.  Racked the action a couple of times, swung her up and followed through.  A trip to the store for a case of shells and you are ready for opening day.  Did I say a case of shells?  OK, excuse me, it only takes you a  box and a half on opening morning to get you limit.  Maybe you should take a ride down to Ben Avery and do a little practice.  Afraid of being embarrassed, well if you don’t mind your buddies laughing at you then I don’t.  OK now we’re talking.  First off , lets talk about how to point a shotgun.  Yep, I said point not aim.  In order to be effective you must point the end of the barrel at the moving target, swinging through the target and firing as you pass it.  Whole volumes have been written on this subject and there is a lot of discussion on proper technique.  Personally I think practice is the best teacher.  Shot gunning is mainly an eye hand coordination thing, while shooting a rifle relies more upon the eyes and a steady hold.  Most good shot gunners keep both eyes open but there are a few who don’t.  Lets take a close look at the rib along the top of your shotguns barrel.  I have a Remington 870 factory grade pump shotgun.  Its nothing fancy but it gets the job done.  The rib is about ¼ “ high in the middle.  This means that I have to cover the target with the end of my barrel as I swing through.  The higher the rib, the lower you may aim the end of the barrel.  Clay targets offer the best way to develop this eye hand coordination connection to the shotgun.   I’d suggest starting at Ben Avery and going with a friend who is familiar with this type of practice.  If you have to go alone don’t be afraid to ask for help.  You’ll find the great folks at Ben Avery to be very helpful.  Personally I have found sporting clays to be my favorite style of shot gunning but there also are 5 stand, skeet, and trap.   Range fees are $5 a round and you’ll need at least 25 or more shells for each round.  I have found that I’ll shoot 4 rounds and will need about 5 boxes of shells, that’s about $45.  Not bad Less than the cost of green fees for most golf courses.  You may find this type of shooting to get a little addictive.  Oh yea, they are also open at night so you can sneak out and practice without your buddies knowing.   If any of you are interested in more information on this type of shooting just e-mail shooting@azod.com.  Hope ya have a great opening day. 

Glenn Willis

Team AZOD