HuntingNet.com Forums - Shooting Advice...

Hi,

I just started waterfowl hunting recently. On my first trip, I missed most of the ducks I shot at. I did manage to drop 2 ducks, but 2 boxes of shells for 2 ducks did not seem like a very effective ratio to me. So, I have spent some time at the range shooting trap and have gotten my ratio up to probably 60%. I know it can and will get better, but at least it gave me an opportunity to try to figure out what was going on.

On the range I was shooting lead rounds while hunting I was shooting high speed steel (can't remember the specifics aside from Kent loads of size 3 in a 3" cartridge). On the range, one thing I realized was that I led the pidgeon less than I led the ducks that I hunted. I'm thinking it's pretty safe to assume then that when I was hunting I was probably out ahead of most, if not, all the ducks I shot at. I am heading out again this weekend and am going to try to follow something I saw posted on this board earlier... butt - beak - boom. We'll see how it works.

The other thing I found on the range has to do with my situation. I am a stubborn right handed shooter, but am left eye dominant. Many people have told me this is going to be a serious issue for me and that I should switch to left handed shooting. However, I find that my shot patterns better when I shoot with both eyes open than when I shoot with my left eye closed. Also, in a prior life, I played baseball. I never found that being left eye dominant really effected my ability to hit the ball right handed. Is this dominant eye/shooting side more hyped than it needs to be?

Sorry for the longwinded email, but I would be interested in your thoughts as to whether I'm pointed in the right direction or not.

Cheers,

Dan