Summer and Becoming a Great Shooter

Posted On: 06-18-2024

School is out and youth shooters find themselves between work, play, vacations and relaxing.  Now is the time to rachet up your skills in preparing for the season ahead in the next school year.  Take some time to do the following:

1. Gun mounts.  Set your sights (sorry for the pun) on doing 50 each day and 250 each week.  Increase this amount over the weeks.  Get that dressing mirror ahead of you and do those gun mounts.
2. Exercise. Start walking, running, visit the gym and do the exercises you think might improve your shooting.  Ask the trainer at the gym what they recommend.  Build strength in your arms, neck, and across your waist.
3. Read. Find some time to read about what it takes to be a great shooter.  Your local club might have a library or consider subscribing to shooting magazines. 
4. Teamwork.  Even though the team is separated over the summer consider asking your coach for setting a time to maybe shoot and have a BBQ.  Use this time to talk about shooting.
5. Find someone that reloads shells.  Again, the local club will know several people and from them learn loads.  Start to better know what you shoot as a shell and load and why loaders re-load to their needs.
6. Take a lesson.  I truly believe a lesson can go a long way in correcting and building confidence in shooting.  Most are an hour or longer and cost around $100. 
7. Get to the range and SHOT WITH A PURPOSE.  Consider taking mom and dad and ask them to pull for you.  After each shot and each station talk to them about what you just did.  Share with them why you think you hit targets and why you missed targets.  The practice is not intended to take 15 minutes but rather slow it down and make each shot count. 
8. Ask around the club and see if anyone has a ShotKam they would let you use.  Shoot a round and download the content.  These units use a micro-SD card so if you have one your shots are downloaded to the card so you can watch them later.
9. Pattern your gun.  Wow how can you not do this?  Use the load you will shoot during the season and do a pattern.  There is so much one can learn from the pattern board. 
10. Cut a shell apart.  Being careful, open the end of the shell and pour out the pellets into a container.  Count them and see if you can confirm the number on pellets in a 2.75 #8 load.  I read 410 pellets so can you confirm?

Don’t get lazy this summer.  Get out and do whatever you can to make yourself a better shooter in the up-coming season.  Be aggressive at your efforts to improve and I can assure you any one of the above will move you in the right direction. 

Don’t get lazy this summer.  Get out and do whatever you can to make yourself a better shooter in the up-coming season.  Be aggressive at your efforts to improve and I can assure you any one of the above will move you in the right direction.