k_hunter

I am a young hunter and I have found a free shooting simulator
http://ap25in25.googlepages.com/

ducks and woodcocks…
viewing a correct forward allowance…
shotgun shooting (side-by-side, over and under)…
viewing a slow flight of pellets after a shot…
and more options…

Question:
How close to reality the shot and the forward allowance?

shamlin

Man.... Thats a video game. The reai thung is nothing like that. It actually depends on what type of duck you are shooting at as far as leading them goes. My advice is to try a little skeet shooting.

johnch

Only been hunting ducks for 30 years .......................But

Find a place to shoot Pigons ( live ones ) or starlings
Either will teach you a lot better than any game

IMO skeet and sporting clays are a great help also

Back yard hand thrown clay targets are still a lot better than the game also


John

SwampCollie

Pigeons will help a fair amount. Starlings can be tough targets. They can be harder than doves even... just depends how spooked they get when you stand up to shoot.

Woodcock and ducks (from a shooting standpoint) don't have a heck of a lot in common. Shooting quail or woodcock is often just about hand-eye coordination. Shooting ducks is about realizing how fast they are really going and in what direction. Geese even more so... you wouldn't think that a goose is flying as fast as a mallard duck is... but thats because he is so big... you have to focus HARD on the BEAK of the bird.. THE LEADING EDGE! You have to mount your gun properly and keep it moving! If you stop to calculate your lead... then you've stopped and you'll miss behind your target.

Here is a general rule that might help you... it works for skeet (the actual shooting sport of Skeet on an International field... 8 stations, high house low house): for every ten yards you increase your distance, you need to increase your lead by a foot... the way you rationalize this is by increasing you lead AT THE BARREL one inch. For example, go out in the back yard and place 5 soda cans in a line exactly one foot apart from each other... now, walk back ten yards and hold your finger (or the gun if you are in a rural area) up and point at the second can from the left... the can to its left should appear to be about an inch to the left of your shotgun bead... if a target was at ten yards... thats what the proper lead would/should look like. Now go back to twenty and hold on the center can... you'll notice you've got two inches to either can on the end from your bead... thats what your lead should look like at 20 yards... of course, one inch at the barrel equals about one foot at the target 20 yards away.

Hopefully you understand where I'm coming from... thats how I've taught new shooters, and they have always said that its that little lesson with the cans or clays that really gets them to start hitting consistantly... I know it helped me too way back when I started.

GordonGekko

some really good advice so far....

as for your primary question "How close to reality is the shot and forward allowance?" that is a tough question. There are several things that go into shooting game and clay targets. Speed of the bird, distance, angle, and gun speed will all influence the picture of "lead" thata personshould seewhen they pull the trigger. Swamp Collie's drill is a great place to start in order to see what kind of sight picture you might need. But, I have seen folks get caught up in lead and begin measureing their lead, and just like Swamp Collie mentioned the barrel stops and they miss behind the target. So first rule I always tell folks that ask me for tips "see that bead on the front of your gun, take a good look cause i don't want you too look at it again unless you are shooting a turkey." Keep hard focus on the front of your target.

Techniques vary for shooting different shots, "maintained lead", "swing through" and "pull-away" all require different speeds of the gun in relation to the target, and likewise different leads. But, this is way more than most folks ever care to learn. For now, what you want to do is, first find an NSCA instructor in your area. If you can't do thatget hooked up with a skeet shooting club, or a 4-H shooting sports team and start shooting. You must shoot to get better, all the reading in the world will not make you a better shot. Get out there and sling some lead.

Once you get some confidence with clay targets, eitherthrough skeet or trap,(which are nice because the speed and ange is consistent) move into sporting clays or game birds. You will have a variety of different angles and speeds presented. The best practice for shooting live game is, of course, shooting live game. Sporting Clays is a good primer for many game shots, and Skeet/Trap are great to work on the fundamentals, stance, mount, swing, etc. Really, if you can, find someone that can give hands on instruction, you will progress much faster that way.

Seif5034

it may help some but nothing can beat good old-fashion practice

k_hunter

This morning I went to the skeet field and have long studied rules and fundamentals of shooting and have learned the common errors that most shooters make. Next I have done several shots on each shooting station of skeet. Yes!!! 14 Hits!!! Week ago my initial problem was to learn how far to lead my targets, or how much forward allowance to give it, in order to keep from shooting behind it. Now I know how it. My instructor has told that this video game shows the correct forward allowance (keys Q, E) on all stations of skeet, but I slightly stop the shotgun when I pull the trigger and I should have more practice.

I thank all of you very much for your response.

psandhu

That's what I've been doing in the offseason for the last 25 years. Plus, it's alot of fun. The starlings around here will start to zigzig and dodge around once they know they are being shot at. They are a little tougher to hit than a dove.