Screwing up... bad habit that has cost me a couple birds this year...

[nastynate]

short shucking.... which is when you don't fully pump a pump shotgun all the way back and forth, re-chambering the spent round rather than a new one. I primarily shoot a winchester model 12 which is a pump shotgun. I do not have a habit of short shucking when my gun is on my shoulder. For example, if I miss the first shot and pump for a follow up I'm always putting in a live shell. However, if I take just one shot (perhaps kill the bird on my first shot), I immediately unshoulder the gun, and suspect I pump it on the way down or something like that- in the heat of the moment I don't really know what I do. But the gun may be a the wrong angle/ etc. Point is that I don't do that perfectly every time. Then I unknowingly walk around with a empty chamber and mess up the next opportunity. This past weekend I had a beautiful and easy going away shot after my dog pinned a rooster in a bramble thicket... took my time and "click". Woulda been a memorable bird... instead went home empty handed. I know I should check to make sure I have a live shell chambered after the action subsides each time, but in addition to that, I should be pumping when my gun is on my shoulder every time- even if the bird crumples... follow through!

What stupid and avoidable mistakes do you make when chasing birds?

 

[JLS]

One year undeveloped a funny hitch where I would subconsciously put my safety on after then first barrel. I think it came from shouldering practice in the basement. Thought my gun was broken because I couldn’t pull the rear trigger

 

[MThuntr]

I used to do that but you can break yourself of that habit. FWIW I had new 870 supermag that would leave some brands of shells in the chamber (extractor issue) and it was definitely the cheap Remington stuff I had cases of. Talk about frustration.

I'm relatively new to over/under shoot...I shot a duck with my 16ga and pop the action open ejector sending my expensive empty into the snow. In a panic, I pick it up and forget to put another in the chamber. Next duck cruises by and CLICK. WTF? Open the action and my lower barrel is empty. Shooting non-tox shot in a less common gauges is really expensive but an empty barrel makes for less fun

 

[OntarioHunter]

Kinda had the opposite problem. After I joined the trap club several years ago I found myself occasionally walking around in the field with safety off. When shooting at the range the safety is commonly left disengaged (some trap guns don't even have a safety). Fix for that was to make myself engage the safety after every shot at the range. I shoot all stations at clays and every skeet station but #8 low gun. Sometimes at skeet I'll actually pull the target with gun under my arm like I'm in the field on a very cold day (I CANNOT shoot wearing gloves so right hand is usually in pants pocket on those days or tucked inside my coat). Safety must be disengaged, gun mounted, and target hit all in one smooth motion. I rarely miss ... clay or bird. Only once this year (30+ days hunting uplands) did I discover safety disengaged while hunting. Blame it on frozen fingers. Whether at the range or in the field it's always a good idea to have the safety engaged when loading the chamber of an auto or pump to prevent slam fire.

I am wondering if the OP has short arms? How tall? Also, those old Model 12s were usually outfitted with "corn cob" fore end. A conventional trap style fore end would be longer and might work better for him. Gripping it closer to the receiver would shorten the stroke. Boyd's can make one up fairly reasonably. Do NOT make a practice of dry firing a Model 12. You'll break the firing pin. Been there, done that.

 

[jejack26]

My shooting has been horrible
To some extent I think due to not practicing weekly with ammo shortage.

Th e re isn't enough time or room to list all the ways I've found to miss a bird
But I've come to the point where most resolve around just not relaxing taking your time and swinging the gun.

 

[nastynate]

I am wondering if the OP has short arms? How tall? Also, those old Model 12s were usually outfitted with "corn cob" fore end. A conventional trap style fore end would be longer and might work better for him. Gripping it closer to the receiver would shorten the stroke. Boyd's can make one up fairly reasonably. Do NOT make a practice of dry firing a Model 12. You'll break the firing pin. Been there, done that.

If you had a hunch I was the ultimate predator, you are correct.



But, in seriousness, I do not think it is a gun fit problem since it works just fine when it is shouldered. The problem is after a single shot, I dismount the shotgun and pump it then. 95% of the time I do this without short shucking (after the first "click" of the year I've been double checking that I have a live round in the chamber). This past weekend I forgot to double check and had short shucked- thus the empty chamber.

 

[nastynate]

My shooting has been horrible
To some extent I think due to not practicing weekly with ammo shortage.

Th e re isn't enough time or room to list all the ways I've found to miss a bird
But I've come to the point where most resolve around just not relaxing taking your time and swinging the gun.

I improved my pheasant shooting by going through the motions (safety off, mount gun, swing through) on each hen I flush, without shooting of course. By doing this, you realize how much time you really have, and it slows things way down for me when it's finally a rooster. (I hunt a fair bit of public where the sex ratio get's pretty hen heavy!).

 

[Jamen]

short shucking.... which is when you don't fully pump a pump shotgun all the way back and forth, re-chambering the spent round rather than a new one. I primarily shoot a winchester model 12 which is a pump shotgun. I do not have a habit of short shucking when my gun is on my shoulder. For example, if I miss the first shot and pump for a follow up I'm always putting in a live shell. However, if I take just one shot (perhaps kill the bird on my first shot), I immediately unshoulder the gun, and suspect I pump it on the way down or something like that- in the heat of the moment I don't really know what I do. But the gun may be a the wrong angle/ etc. Point is that I don't do that perfectly every time. Then I unknowingly walk around with a empty chamber and mess up the next opportunity. This past weekend I had a beautiful and easy going away shot after my dog pinned a rooster in a bramble thicket... took my time and "click". Woulda been a memorable bird... instead went home empty handed. I know I should check to make sure I have a live shell chambered after the action subsides each time, but in addition to that, I should be pumping when my gun is on my shoulder every time- even if the bird crumples... follow through!

What stupid and avoidable mistakes do you make when chasing birds?

Back in my younger days i would do this a lot. I still use the old browning PBS. What i started doing was being faster at putting my new shell in after i took a shot. I'd be walking shoot a pheasant pump to reload and then toss another shell in. if the shell didn't go in i knew i didn't have a round in the chamber.

 

[OntarioHunter]

My shooting has been horrible
To some extent I think due to not practicing weekly with ammo shortage.

Th e re isn't enough time or room to list all the ways I've found to miss a bird
But I've come to the point where most resolve around just not relaxing taking your time and swinging the gun.

A few suggestions. Make sure your gun fits. This is very important for wingshooting. Go to the patterning board and DO NOT aim the gun. Mount and shoot all in one motion like you would in the field. Do not take your eyes off the target. Lots of adjustments can be made to make your shotgun fit better.

Second, check for eye dominance. If you are opposite eye dominant, that could be a big problem ... but not insurmountable.

Third, learn to watch the target, not your gun. Practice mounting and swinging in the house. Follow a designated "line of flight" (i.e. where wall meets ceiling) and do a hundred repetitions a night. Eventually you'll be swinging instinctively without looking at the gun.

Fourth, avoid overthinking the shot. Make yourself shoot quickly. Quickly = instinctively. The more you think, the more likely you'll look at the gun. Look at the gun = miss the bird.

 

[nastynate]

Back in my younger days i would do this a lot. I still use the old browning PBS. What i started doing was being faster at putting my new shell in after i took a shot. I'd be walking shoot a pheasant pump to reload and then toss another shell in. if the shell didn't go in i knew i didn't have a round in the chamber.

That's an interesting point. My model 12 fits 6 in the tube, and I usually don't put that many in, so wouldn't notice that in the way you do.

Shooting non-tox shot in a less common gauges is really expensive but an empty barrel makes for less fun

Mine is also a 16, and I usually use bismuth because my gun is old. Not cheap.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

I have struggled with a related but different problem with my pump action shotgun. When I started shooting sporting clays, I thought I needed to get the action cycled quickly after each shot. And it got so bad that I was often throwing away the first shot and breaking the action too quickly afterwards.

It took me a while to work on slowing down my shot process to break that habit, but I am not 100% better at it. I don't find that I have the same problem when I am hunting since that ends up being a little more instinctual and this problem is connected to me "thinking too much."

 

[OntarioHunter]

I have struggled with a related but different problem with my pump action shotgun. When I started shooting sporting clays, I thought I needed to get the action cycled quickly after each shot. And it got so bad that I was often throwing away the first shot and breaking the action too quickly afterwards.

It took me a while to work on slowing down my shot process to break that habit, but I am not 100% better at it. I don't find that I have the same problem when I am hunting since that ends up being a little more instinctual and this problem is connected to me "thinking too much."

The "Shotgun 101" column in recent issue of "Safari" magazine (SCI) deals with the issue of too much thinking. The authors' point was shooters who try to figure out what's going wrong during the middle of competition usually do worse. Some of their logic was a bit abstract but in general I tend to agree. Stop thinking about what may be wrong ... especially during a round at the range. Keep the gun down till the last second and fire quickly. For trap, where it's high gun in the pocket before the target is pulled, I know many shooters who hum a tune in their head the entire time they are at the line, concentrating on nothing but their memory of that song. Keeps them from thinking about what they are doing or should be doing.

 

[Jamen]

That's an interesting point. My model 12 fits 6 in the tube, and I usually don't put that many in, so wouldn't notice that in the way you do.

Mine is also a 16, and I usually use bismuth because my gun is old. Not cheap.

we can only use 3 here so i guess that probably plays a big role in why i do it too. 2 in the tube one in the chamber.

 

[nastynate]

we can only use 3 here so i guess that probably plays a big role in why i do it too. 2 in the tube one in the chamber.

I have a plug that I removed at one point when cleaning (I don't waterfowl hunt). Maybe I'll stick that back in.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I have a plug that I removed at one point when cleaning (I don't waterfowl hunt). Maybe I'll stick that back in.

Model 12 is heavy enough with just two shells in the magazine. You'll be lucky if you ever get three shots off at pheasant(s). I just bagged my first triple a few weeks ago (three at once with three shots). And I've shot a helluva pile of roosters in my lifetime. Even then the last two birds got up late as I was trying to shove another shell in the gun after dropping the first two. Someone with an O/U might have been able to do it in that situation. Anyway, it's pointless loading an upland shotgun with more than three rounds. Easier to carry extra ammo in your pocket or vest.

 

[nastynate]

Model 12 is heavy enough with just two shells in the magazine.

Mine's pretty light.... ~6 1/2 lbs unloaded. They made the 16s on the 20gauge frame, as I understand.

 

[thusby]

Seems like an easy fix is trading up to a semi-auto.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Mine's pretty light.... ~6 1/2 lbs unloaded. They made the 16s on the 20gauge frame, as I understand.

I also have a 16 gauge Model 12. It was my first gun. Yes, not heavy but if you fill the tube with shells it may not balance well. Or perhaps the added weight will make it swing better? I wouldn't know. Mine never had the plug out of it. Only hunted ducks with it when I was a kid. I always thought it only held five shells total. You say yours holds six? Nowadays I use a ten pound magnum A-5 12 gauge for pheasants, the same gun I use to shoot competition trap and skeet. What choke is yours?

Not sure if you know it (though I'd be surprised if you don't), the Model 12 can slam fire so be especially attentive when loading the chamber. Except for follow up shots, I always make sure the safety is engaged before cycling a round into the chamber.

 

[BrentD]

Seems like an easy fix is trading up to a semi-auto.

That would be trading down

He knows the fix, yet he resists. A couple more lost pheasants and he will come around. A few more stink eye glares from Nate and he will seccumb to the sirens that are English doubles.

Or he could use an 870...

 

[nastynate]

That would be trading down

He knows the fix, yet he resists. A couple more lost pheasants and he will come around. A few more stink eye glares from Nate and he will seccumb to the sirens that are English doubles.

Or he could use an 870...

Other dumb mistakes this season include borrowing one of your doubles and then hammering on trigger one for the follow up while trigger two went unpulled and the grouse got away . Not that it would have done me any good anyways...