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Quartering Targets Have you ever thought how many types of angles a range owner can throw targets. It may seem like hundreds, but it really comes down to only 2. Crossing shots and quartering. Probably 80-85% of your shots on most courses are going to be quartering shots that do not require as much land space as a crossing target does. These may be quartering in or out--from the right or left, or a teal going straight up--you get the picture. You must consider this when you set up for that target. There is no swing on a quartering shot. It is more of a perfect point at the target with the gun. Your eyes must be focused on a specific part of the bird. That way you will not out swing the target. If your eyes are focused HARD on the target you will go to it and it is almost impossible to swing past it, which is the most frequent reason for not hitting it. You must have HARD FOCUS, on a specific part of the target, not the whole target. If you focus on the whole target your risk of hitting the target goes up because your point can be to the right or left or over or under. With that much of a deviance, your point can be off by feet--not inches, but FEET. Any extra movement with the gun will make a big difference at the distance to the target. Those of you with children or pets know how to point. Think about how you find a specific place to look, then you point at it. There is no doubt about what you are pointing at - you know it and so do they. It's always perfect and exactly where you want it to be. Let it work for you here. Focus on the leading edge and make a perfect point with the gun to the target, not a swing. When you get there, pull the trigger. Trust your point. If you hesitate, the information you have given your brain will be different and you will miss the target. Your point is always correct if you are focusing on the target. Let it go. Back to Article Directory   Ladies...3 Feet in Front of the Bird This section is for the ladies who for all these years have been told to be 3 feet in front of the bird. Now you guys all know what that means, but us ladies don't have the foggiest notion of what that means. "Do you mean that you put that little bead 3 feet in front of the bird. Then why do you always tell me I am behind? I keep putting that bead 3 feet in front." This is the way the dialogue goes until one of the people in this conversation becomes very frustrated if not both of you. Guys, don' tell the ladies to be 3 feet in front. All you have told her to do is to look at that "miss me" bead and put it 3 feet in front. Most of the time she will literally put 3 feet of lead on the bird, which is actually about 15 feet at the distance where the bird is. Women see lead in terms of inches at the barrel, not feet at the bird. That does not mean that they look at the barrel, it just means that their sight picture is taken in reference to the barrel. They don't see lead like you guys do so please make this easier on yourselves and them and tell them to be this far in front (fingers an inch apart). Ladies, so that you will understand what the guys are saying and to see the picture, put two targets on the ground that are 3 feet apart. Step back 20 yards and hold the gun up on one of the targets and look back to the other one - that's what 3 feet looks like. We all learn in pictures, this is the picture to remember for all those "3 foot leads." Remember, its a guy thing. When we are teaching people how to shoot a teal target, we tell the ladies to look at the bottom of the target then go to it and pull the trigger. The guys we tell to look at the top of the target. It's just one of the many different ways that women and men look at things. What is important for everyone, is to look at just the target and move to the front edge of the target and let the gun go where it wants to. It will go to the front automatically and stay in front as long as you keep looking at only the target. Back to Article Directory Have other questions on other issues? Visit our Clinic FAQs section or submit your own question. How We Teach • Teaching Schedule • Tips & Articles Our Services • Clinic FAQs • Products & Programs • Meet Gil & Vicki Client Comments • More Info/Sign-up • E-mail Us • Home OPTIMUM SHOTGUN PERFORMANCE SHOOTING SCHOOL Toll Free 800-838-7533 P.O. Box 826 • 29354 McKinnon Rd., Suite A • Fulshear, TX 77441 Voice: 281-346-0888 • Fax: 281-346-1500 Copyright © 2000-2006 Optimum Shotgun Performance Shooting School