Best answer yet. LOL
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Leading Doves!!
- Thread starter Tana 2009
- Start date
Best answer yet. LOL
I would say that 60-70% of missed birds on a dove shoot are from shooting "Behind" the bird. This is from stopping the gun or just not swinging far enough through to apply enough lead to begin with.
If your missing often on a shoot, the first thing you should try is to double your lead. Yes DOUBLE . I have watch my father on dove fields and in sporting clay tounaments all over Ga and SC. When Im missing them and hes smokin them, I ask him what im doin wrong and thats all he says. It takes a few shots but he is right. Doves fly a lot faster than your brain says they do!!
The other 30% (give or take) of misses comes from shooting OVER the bird. You should never see any of you barrel in the sight picture or your going to shoot high. All you should see is the bead and the bird. Git down low on the stock and swing all the way through the bird and you will save a lot of shells.
All of this has been covered on the above posts.
the third thang you should do if you miss................
Keep Shootin
If your missing often on a shoot, the first thing you should try is to double your lead. Yes DOUBLE . I have watch my father on dove fields and in sporting clay tounaments all over Ga and SC. When Im missing them and hes smokin them, I ask him what im doin wrong and thats all he says. It takes a few shots but he is right. Doves fly a lot faster than your brain says they do!!
The other 30% (give or take) of misses comes from shooting OVER the bird. You should never see any of you barrel in the sight picture or your going to shoot high. All you should see is the bead and the bird. Git down low on the stock and swing all the way through the bird and you will save a lot of shells.
All of this has been covered on the above posts.
the third thang you should do if you miss................
Keep Shootin
To keep your gun barrel moving use this analogy. Remember when you were young and you tried to shoot a hose at someone that was running? You had to keep ths hose moving and let the person run into the water. If you aimed directly at the running person you'd shot behind them everytime. Same goes for shooting a shotgun.
I hope this helps
I hope this helps
That's the best advice that can be given about wingshooting. Shoot where they're going to be.
I've sprayed a LOT of lead chasing after doves over the years, and the last few years, it's all started to come together for me. Now I can count the number of rounds I've spent, instead of the number of boxes! As often as not, I'm dropping birds at 60yds. And I honestly think I'm leading them by 12-15ft depending on how fast they are flying.
easbell
Senior Member
My other advice is...wait till the get closer. If the bird is coming in don't move. Just wait until he is about 30 yrds. I see a lot of 70 yrds shots on opening day. We try to shoot a one box limit (with 20 ga).
That is very important also. I also shoot a 20 ga and like them in close but the same goes for a 12.
This is very good advice, in my opinion. I have been dove hunting a total of 4 times. The very first time was about 3 or 4 years ago. I knew I was new and inexperienced. Although I had shot skeet a little i was in no way a very good wing shot.
So beforehand, I made up my mind I was going to wait for closer shots I was pretty confident in making, otherwise hold my fire. This first hunt I got invited too, there was a total of 4 shooters on the field and the birds were coming in pretty steady but not spectacular.
So over the course of the whole afternoon I shot 17 shells, but I bagged 8 birds.
tullisfireball
Senior Member
I don't know if that is completely true, I can hold my own on a sporting clay course or trap or skeet. I am even pretty decent on other birds... BUT them little supersonic missals are a different story.
But like my son says... missing is still pretty fun too!
I like to think I am helping the guy on the other side of the field by turning them back to them
I watched my dad kill a lot of birds using the "wait till you can see their feet" method.
