Shotgunning: Working the Angles

On the days we like to remember, ducks and geese hang over the decoys for easy shots. On the days we’d rather forget, the birds show us every imaginable angle and shooting becomes a challenge. The key to success on the difficult days is knowing how to work those angles.

The best time and place to learn is during the off-season on the clays course, but any practice will help as long as you build good habits. The three most important habits include maintaining a hard visual focus on the bird; moving the gun at a speed that’s in sync with the target; and following through by keeping your head on the stock and your eye on the bird until after it folds. Practice those, along with the following tips, to improve your shooting at any angle.

Going-Away Shots

A simple straightaway is the easiest target to hit and the most frustrating to miss. If you lift your head to watch the target break, you will shoot high. Keep your head on the gun until after the bird falls. Besides increasing your chances of making the shot, watching the bird fall tells you right away if it needs a follow-up shot. Choosing a gun and load that won’t kick your head off the stock makes it easier to “stay in the gun,” as target shooters say. If the bird is rising sharply as it goes away, you’ll have to swing up, cover its head, and then shoot with enough vertical lead. If a bird stays low, make sure you can see it over the gun.

Incoming Shots

Incoming targets are the bread-and-butter shots of waterfowling, and you’ll shoot better in these situations if you learn to resist a couple of temptations. First, don’t get excited and shoot too soon. Let the bird come in. A big duck or goose looks large at the edge of range. It looks huge when it’s in range. Wait for it to get huge. Second, as the bird approaches, it’s tempting to mount the gun too soon and track the bird. Do that, and your eye goes back and forth between the bird and the bead. Eventually you’ll slow or stop the gun and miss. Work on a slow, smooth gun mount, bringing the gun to your face as you keep an eye on the approaching bird. As the duck or goose comes in, look at the bill and shoot without riding the target.

Quartering Shots

Quartering shots are common both when birds come into the decoys and when they leave. Incoming or outgoing, quartering shots are best accomplished by swinging through the bird from behind. Shots at this angle don’t require very much lead, so shoot just as you pass the bill. Move the gun just fast enough to overtake the bird. Swinging too fast requires split-second timing, because the gun is only in the right spot for an instant. Moving the gun more slowly means the muzzle stays in that sweet spot a little longer, making the shot easier.

Overhead Shots

Gun speed is critically important when shooting at birds lifting over the blind, and the higher the overhead shot, the more slowly you need to move the gun. It feels wrong, but it works. Bring the gun along from behind the bird and swing through it. This ensures that you’re moving the gun along the bird’s line of flight. You’ll blot out the bird as the gun comes through, so you’ll have to “feel” the lead, although shooters who keep both eyes open can “see through” the gun somewhat to keep the bird in view.

Crossing Shots

The easiest way to shoot crossing birds at longer distances is to start the gun ahead of the bird. Focus on the target and mount the gun ahead of it, where the muzzle appears only as a blur in your peripheral vision. Match the bird’s speed, see a gap, and shoot when it feels right. The more crossers you shoot, the better your feel for the target becomes. Don’t be tempted to try to measure your lead; that ensures a miss behind by either slowing or stopping the gun.