So, I have had my Silver for a year now, and when I first got it, I was doing OK with it. I shot a few clays and got around 38 out of 50. This year, I shot clays and averaged around 28-30 out of 50. Now, this was a pretty big blow mentally and that didnt help, I never got my head back in the clays after teh first few easy shot misses. So, I took it dove hunting thinking, I can take a limit of birds with a box of shells no problem. 4 boxes later and 5 birds down, Im baffled. So, I took my 1949 Ithaca Model 37 out to see if it helped the matters.....hitting just about everything I shoot at.

So...clearly, im not lined up on that Silver, and I have no earthly clue why or how or what to do to fix it.

My only possible solution is to put a dot on a big ass piece of paper at 35 yards, close my eyes, open them, shoulder the gun without any fine adjustments and fire at the 'bird' to see WTF the pattern looks like, and more importantly, where its actually shooting.

Any other tips? Im not a stellar shot to begin with, but jesus christ....its a bit much. Now I am at the point where I have decided mentally that I CANT hit anything with the Silver and I CAN with the ithaca...and thats a terrible waste.

keep your head down. When I start missing I try to slow down and concentrate on keeping my head down and it seems to help. Also try leading a little more than you are, you might be shooting behind them.

Give it to me. Two short years and I'll get it all straightened out and get it back to you. I'll meet you at the skeet range and prove to you that it'll hit at least 22 out of 25.

It ain't the gun. Its the user. The gun has been solid.

You sound like an athlete in a slump. The problem is not the fine weapon you are toting.

Maybe a little reading will help.

http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Slump-Players-Survived-Golf/dp/0061685992

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/shooting/overcome-shooting-slumps.html

http://www.salesgianttraining.com/2011/06/how-to-get-out-of-sales-slump-fast/

Get some lessons. There are people that are capable of getting you "on target" for a nominal fee.

nm, oops wrong forum.

[This message has been edited by Ark03 (edited 9/5/2012 11:08a).]

yup...gonna have to try all of these. Ill go for the cheapest solutions first and see how they pan out. Shooting with my ithaca and getting hits actually seemed to help when i switched back over. More birds, more ammo, more shooting....not the worst thing int he world!

I'm far from an expert, but I think you are on track with starting by getting the pattern of the silver vs. the Ithaca. I had this problem the last time I switched guns. I'm assuming you have spent a long time with the Ithaca, got accustomed to how it fit you, and the Silver has a slightly different fit and feel (whether you realize it or not). If they are, a competent gunsmith could help with the fit. However, I'm too cheap so once I found the pattern difference, I just adjusted my lead accordingly.

As for missing more this year vs last. I dunno, Maybe you are like me and when I start missing a couple I start "aiming more" by focusing more on the bead and not the target.

Took me 32 shells to get my limit on the 2nd. I could blame being tired, shooting too far, etc. but I just wasn't shoot well. Last year I shot 60 birds in less than 3 boxes of shells, so I've already missed more this year that I did the entirety of last year.

Sometimes you just don't have it.

Did you ever pattern that shotgun? Did you have any idea where it was shooting when you got it?

Never patterned it. Figured the shot comes out of the end and I just kind of shot it like I did my others and hoped for the best. It worked for a while, but I think now that I have shot it and really started to get it settled to me, its settled in the wrong way, so I need to make an adjustment of some sort. Usually, i just shoot until i start hitting things and then try to do that over again.

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However, I'm too cheap so once I found the pattern difference, I just adjusted my lead accordingly.

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Yeah, me too. Not having anything 'fitted'. I usually have no problem swapping between my wingmasters 20 ga, ithaca, etc. But I think the mental crushing of missing 4 clays going nearly straight away dicked me up. That and the fact that I was shooting with a few guys who had 'never shot clays' before. They hit it, I missed. Not good for moral, and the more they hit, the more I missed, and the more pissed off I became...spiral of fail. :/

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They hit it, I missed. Not good for moral, and the more they hit, the more I missed, and the more pissed off I became...spiral of fail. :/

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This. This can happen to me dove hunting sooo easy. Too much thinking and I get in my own way.

The first time I ever went pheasant hunting, I used an old 16 guage shotgun that had been in the family since the 1940s or before.

I couldn't hit a thing. I used a whole box of shells in the greatest target-rich pheasant environment I've ever encountered and I didn't get anything.

When I switched to my dad's new 12 guage shotgun, I could hardly miss a thing.

So I put the 16 guage shotgun up and never used it again. Years later, my younger brother took it out and couldn't hit anything either. So he took it out to the barn and aimed for a specific point on the barn. He missed that point by a wide margin, but still hit the side of the barn.

That's the last time the shotgun ever got used.

Most misses are usually due to a failure to keep the barrel moving after establishing the lead you want...the shooter will stop the barrel as the trigger is being pulled which results in shooting behind the target since it contimues to move. Keep in mind you can sometimes kill the target if you are too far ahead because of the shot string...you can never kill the target if you are behind....a good thought process is to "Hustle the Barrel " on each shot and exagerate the swing after the shot is taken(keep swinging the barrel after the trigger pull)



Col. A 1976

You know, I am almost positive that I do this....I know it, and I tell myself I am going to actively address it, but I think I totally forget to take care of it when the birds start flying.

Thanks for the reminder!

Yep, proper lead and follow through are HUGE to hitting birds. You have to lead those little jets by a lot more than most give credit for.

I guess I am lucky and took naturally to a shotgun from an early age. At 12, I was already breaking straights in skeet and dove were "easy" to hit. I just had a natural swing and never have had problems hitting them.

I had a horrible years last year. Embarrasing. First morning this year I only saw a few dove but hit 4 with 7 shells. The trend is my friend. I have shot 15 dove with less than a box, but that is as good as I get. I take some 'lengthier' shots than I should, but hey....I want enough to fire up the grill.

I'm having a similar problem adjusting to a browning citori. Think it's something about moving to an O/U. I started with the O/U opening morning, dropped 2 birds with a box.

Came back that afternoon with my 1100 (my go-to) and finished my limit with much more stellar results.

my guess is the increased RECOIL of the silver is causing you to move your head/body.

Pretty sure it's related to that silver and it's semi humpback and the way it fits. Normall I can nail birds with 85% success. That includes the Ithaca and my 20ga wingmaster. Think I just need more practice with that auto. The others naturally fit me.

I think my choice of lite dove loads is biting me a bit too. More than a few higher flyers lose tufts of feathers but don't go down.

[This message has been edited by Brazosdog02 (edited 9/5/2012 8:36p).]

I totally agree w it being the recoil. But check your chokes also.

There could be a difference in how the stock is set up on the two guns. This could result in how your barrell levels. Try imagining a bird jumps up in front of you and quickly shoulder the gun as you would in the field. Then freeze and observe where the sight is in relation to the barrell of each gun. If you can see alot of "barrell" under the bb on the end, then you are not level and are probably shooting high. Your cheeek needs to rest low enough on the stock so that when you shoulder and sight the gun, the bb on the end of the barrell should look like it is sitting on the stock or receiver (depending on how your gun is set up).

I frequently catch myself being lazy when shouldering the gun too low which results in poor shooting, well even poorer than the norm for me.

[This message has been edited by EskimoJoe (edited 9/6/2012 10:18a).]

I think doing this exercise in the backyard with a big target at 'bird distances' will allow me to not only pattern the gun, but see where Im truly aiming with it.

I know this has been said, but I shoot two different shotguns and when we travel to Midland I shoot my FIL guns and they are different then mine. Keep you head down and make sure you are looking down the barrel correctly. My auto-5 and O/U have completely different looks from the back.

+1 for Eskimo
Could be from the different "sightline drop" between guns. I caught myself not bringing my gun up good last weekend and was missing high on some shots.

Jackpot.

Ok I did some dry mounting (fify protected). While I don't look at my barrel or bead, I took note after mounting both guns tonight. On my Ithaca, I see a little bit of barrel and the bead. On my auto, when brought up and mounted I see a whole lot of barrel, rib and the bead. Which means at 35 yards I'm probably shooting a foot or more above the bird. No **** I'm missing.

Think that's the prob so lll make sure I'm down on that stock. Gonna pattern it too but I think you guys nailed it.

Patterned the gun. Got my had as low as physically possible so the target was at the top of the bead. My pattern is denser about 1-2" above the aim point.

I tried at 20 yards, same thing. 10 yards is still a little high. How do I adjust this? I can't get my head any lower to move the pattern down. So at 20 yards I need my target about 1" above the head. Normal?

If when you look down your sites, you're still seeing some barrel, It sounds like the stock may be a little long where the shotgun may not fit you.

If it's too long, you may not be able to get low enough on the stock - you may just need a shorter stock.

Yeah, but I see some barrel on my pumps too without a problem. Guess I need to compensate by putting my target a touch higher. I don't aim when shooting. I use both eyes and get the bird covered by the barrel and bead. There is enough pellets to kill it but a few more would be nice. I CAN get my head lower but it's not comfy. Looks like more bird hunting and clays is the answer. Cause I'm not cutting or paying to adjust the stock. Gonna have to work around it.


On second look, the pattern is pretty good on target. Maybe a hair to the left. I think it needs a lot more shooting. I'll get my head low. Of course I might not be leading either. Most of my missed shots are quick last minute ones where they fly over head. No way I'm lined up right on those.

[This message has been edited by Brazosdog02 (edited 9/8/2012 8:34p).]

"I can't get my head any lower to move the pattern down. So at 20 yards I need my target about 1" above the head. Normal?"

"I CAN get my head lower but it's not comfy"

^You keep saying this. Bring your gun to your face not your face to your gun! If you are shooting right handed it may be that you need to raise your right elbow more to achieve this.

For those who shoot O/U's, shoot the lower barrel and shoot only singles until you get accustomed to acquire, swing, lead, squeeze and follow through.

[This message has been edited by Msgt USAF Ret (edited 9/9/2012 8:22p).]

Well, with practice I am now able to mount the gun pretty consistently where I see no rib or barrel, just the bead sitting on top. I did start raising my elbow to facilitate this. So I'm going to go shoot more targets and more birds and see if things start meshing.

I've shot my pumps so long that I know where to put the bird so it dies even though I shoot high. I've managed to find a comfy shooting setup and compensated for it. Going to have to UNFIX that. That's the wrong way to do it.

Thanks for the help folks.

Let us know how things work out.