Follow Through

Posted On: 03-21-2025

I see this idea in two ways: first to shoot better and second as purely style.  In the former it looks good, and it appears to the casual observer that the shooter is paying attention to the flight of the target even though they may have hit or missed the target.  I hope you caught my thought process here because I am saying for some the idea of follow through does not resolve whether the target was hit or not and really does little to explain what happened when they pulled the trigger.

 My logic behind the first paragraph is simply, why does one need to follow through and what does it accomplish.  If we breakdown the word “follow” we are in direct conflict with another word we all agree is important and that is “lead”.  Bottom line, we are not following anything, but rather we must lead the target always. 

Now let me try to answer why one follows through or better is follow through necessary?  As a starting point, one fact of shooting clay targets that is universally accepted is the gun must be moving when you pull the trigger.  Stopping the gun is a no – no, and typically creates a missed target shot well behind the flight of the target.  In fact, I would argue that among the leading causes of youth shooters missing targets is they stopped the gun barrel as they pulled the trigger.

Realistically, there are but a few ways for a gun barrel to get ahead of a target.  First, one calls pull and swings the gun to a point ahead of the target, stops the barrel and pulls the trigger; second they swing to intersect the target in a variety of sweeping, crossing angles and pull the trigger; third they swing the gun ahead of the target and then come back to a point on the flight path at which they stop the barrel and pull the trigger and finally; they swing the barrel establish a sustained lead ahead of the target and pull the trigger.  The latter is most related to follow through.  Take a moment to explain this to your youth shooters. 

Think about follow through now with this visual.  The shooters calls pull, finds the target, leads the target in a sustained lead matching the speed of the target and then they pull the trigger following on as the shot leaves the barrel to hit the target.  In this we see follow through is not just a style point or aesthetic, but rather a functional part of one’s ability to consistently hit targets.  So, the reason one follows through is because they have learned to get ahead of the target, match the speed of the target and never stop moving the barrel. 

Over time with consistent reinforcement a shooter begins to realize they have to lead the target on the same flight line and smoothly pull the trigger and keep the barrel moving.  This takes time and practice but can become the single greatest advantage to a competitive shooter over others.  Keep the barrel moving – simple as that.

David R. Vaught, Ph.D.

Executive Director