Simple Motion

Posted On: 05-25-2024

I talk to youth shooters all the time about motion.  I had heard from the Great Ralph Gates at Prairie Grove in Columbia that shooting had three elements: Footwork, Motion, and Faith. Let’s talk about motion.

Each of us has a strong side and a weak side regarding motion.  It is simple to determine based on your assignment of being right or left-handed.  A right-handed shooter can turn more easily to the left then they can to the right with their gun mounted.  A left-handed shooter can turn more easily to their right then they can the left with their gun mounted.  To test this theory simply place both your sets of toes on a line and then mount your gun and rotate AT THE WAIST.  For a right-handed shooter as you rotate to the right your body starts to bind up.  Not so good a thing when shooting trap. 

For this reason, I divert back to: Footwork, Motion, and Faith and note how important your foot work is to being able to rotate at the waist.  When addressing a target, one must understand where the break point will occur and center their stance to accomplish a free and unrestricted motion to the target.

So, what happens when you fail to place your feet so you can rotate freely?   All shooters start to disconnect their guns from a unified association with their bodies and now use instead their arms.  Simply put once this happens targets gets more difficult as one no longer has the line of sight down the barrel.

I notice as I get older, I have a much smaller range of motion.  Youth shooters seem to be able to do a 360.   Here though one must realize once your body starts to bind the seamless motion needed breaks down. 

Exercise is a great way to improve the range of motion and it is a great way to understand your range of motion.   Stand with your feet together or slightly spread apart and rotate back and forth.  Do this before you shoot to stretch yourself. 

Now before I go any further, I know some of you do not stand with your feet apart and parallel to the target line and instead have one foot way back of the front foot.  So, follow me here.  Try to stand with both feet next to each other and slightly spread and rotate both ways.  Now change your stance and place one foot on the line and the other way back behind the line like you may currently stand.  Now do the rotation and note the points and difference in your body binding up. 

As I watch great shooters, I notice many have their feet slightly spread and rotate across the station to free their movement.  But I also notice some have a foot slightly behind the other.  Now before you say “ah ha” you have me all wrong consider that great shooters know where the target is, move their body and gun only a slight amount and break the target.  Young new shooters move the gun a much greater distance as they learn to follow the target flight path and obtain a lead.

Do some stretches and improve your motion, but always remember Footwork, Motion, and Faith.