Most hunters assume shooting waterfowl is an easy thing to do. They think because they spend a couple of days on the shooting range, dove hunting, or quail hunting, that shooting ducks or geese is going to be a sinch. Usually after firing a couple of rounds, they either look at me or look at their gun in disgust. Shooting waterfowl is a different ball game. Why? I think it is a combination of a few different things.
- The shooter thinks too much.
- The shooter is too excited.
- Tighter patterns with the choke and less shot make it more difficult compared to upland hunting.
Here are a few things to check, change, or do to make you a better shot when it comes to waterfowl hunting:
- The first thing I want you to do is to make sure your gun fits you- If you are a 34 in the waist, you aren’t going to wear a size 28 or 44 waist size pants. The same goes with guns. Make sure you can shoulder, cheek to stock, look down the barrel, and take the gun back down easily. When your gun fits, this motion becomes second nature. This is going to sound crazy, but you and your gun should become one. If it doesn’t feel that way, you should probably see a gunsmith to make adjustments.
- The second thing you can do is practice- I played basketball all the way up through college. I have shot thousands of free throws. They are free points hence the name free throws. The key to making a free throw is not so much about the shot, but it is about the rhythm. Every time I would go to that line, I would use the same rhythm. Shooting a gun is the same way. To be successful, you have to establish a rhythm. I want you to join a range or buy a cheap clay thrower. There are basic clay throwers for less than a hundred bucks. Buy one and shoot, shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. The main thing you will need to work on is the rhythm of your shouldering technique. You may miss a lot, but get the motions in a rhythm. Once you get the shouldering motion, aim, and shooting motion smooth, then worry about your percentages.
I hope these two things help you become a better shot. If you become a better shooter, it means less wounded birds and less pressure you will put on a duck hole. The less pressure you put on a duck hole, the better the hunting gets. So, as you can see, the better the shooter you are, the better everything gets.
