To think too much at the wrong moment and stop mid-swing or as you pull the trigger, may be noted as amongst the cardinal sins in shooting (breaches of safety apart). The Marquess of Ripon, arguably the greatest game shot of all (and a man who had despatched half-a million birds before he died in the heather shooting grouse in 1923), left this brief but sage shooting advice, quoted in King Edward VII, as a Sportsman, by Alfred Edward Thomas Watson: “aim high, keep the gun moving and never check…” The tendency to hesitate, stop mid-swing and then miss afflicts the most experienced Shots as well as novices (myself included). It may be a habitual or occasional error. (It is also notable that many Guns rush to a stop – rushing is another cardinal sin.) (Read forward allowance – tips for shooting well.)

Stopping the gun

Hesitation is hard to override, something I noted while watching an old friend shoot recently. He is a solid performer on game or pitch disks, but, like many intelligent men, he is in the habit of thinking too much when shooting. When he does, you can see the effect on his barrels: they begin to judder, slow, and his head rises. It almost always leads to a miss. Too much rational thought, especially as we are taking the gun to the bird – that is, mid-swing – leads to physical and mental hesitation. It’s a negative circle: focus comes back to the gun and the gun slows (often to a dead stop) and may come off line. A miss behind ensues.

Sustained visual contact is an important part of this equation, as is commitment to the shot and a positive mental attitude. If you lock your focus onto the bird and have a bit of self belief, there is a positive knock-on as far as your physical movement is concerned. Confidence leads to fluency. Shooting becomes more decisive and enjoyable. You shoot in the present moment without distraction. The gun almost shoots itself (as Eugen Herrigel’s bow did in Zen in the Art of Archery – a much recommended read). Too often, however, you will see someone coming to the bird with the gun, moving in front, then deliberating on lead. You can actually watch the fluency of gun movement disrupted as this happens (the head often rising, too, as mentioned). They almost always miss. Part of the deal, as noted, is learning to trust yourself. If you do and develop absolute focus discipline – looking for the eye, the beak or the head of the bird (or ridges of the clay) – every time, you will unlock wonderful natural hand-to-eye coordination.

Let’s be quite clear: once you are committed to a safe shot, the time for thought and calculation has passed. You need to understand this to shoot well. Having fun is important, too. Not getting too hung up. I set out to enjoy myself when I shoot these days. I lose myself in the act of shooting. I am more fearless, less deliberate, than I was when the result mattered more. It has paid benefits. There are disadvantages to ageing with vision and muscle tone, but this renewed confidence and verve when shooting has balanced them. (Read how to improve your shooting.)

The hands and arms must be in the right position to lift the gun – don’t extend the front hand too far along the barrels

Dedicated practice

To shoot well you must learn to use the eyes well and keep the gun moving and this takes dedicated practice and literally thousands of repetitions (there’s no short cut). The goal is to develop an elegant, flowing style. You should, as they used to say, ‘brush’ every bird out of the sky with a good rhythmic movement: One-TwoThreeeeeeee. It’s not One-Two…maybe… Three. It’s not One and flick. One-TwoThreeeeeeee every time (the only time you shoot to two beats is when shooting walking up or rapidly departing clay birds gun-up). It’s always three-beat time with the tempo changing depending on the speed and angle of the shot.

Most good shots follow through well (watch tennis players and cricketers, too). They finish the shot properly. When teaching, I always emphasise the need to follow through with the body, not just arm movement (and the importance of keeping head on stock and eye/s on the bird throughout). Don’t think, however, that you must not use arms (and hands) at all. Their role is vital. They lift the gun and control the muzzles. To do this efficiently, they must, moreover, be in the right position. Don’t extend the front hand too far along the barrel as was once fashionable for high birds as this will also check the swing.

See the bird hit while you are still connected to the gun

Shoot more smoothly – don’t rush

Good body movement – core body movement – powers you through the swing and prevents hesitation and swing interruptions. This is upper-body rotation for crossing birds and full and fluent use of the hips and back for high driven ones. On a high, driven bird one must bend the back whilst controlling the muzzles well. On a crossing shot, one moves the upper body like a tank turret – core body movement with head, gun, arms and torso acting as one locked-up but free-moving unit. Those who learn to do this will shoot more smoothly. They will be in more control. They don’t need to rush. They display economy of movement and finesse.

Other points? You need to understand intellectually that there are times when you should not be engaged in conscious thought when shooting, that you need to ‘hand over control’ to your unconscious (but trained and trusted) self. This is not as simple as it sounds. People who use their brains in the office all day analytically may find it hard to do initially. When they do ‘crack’ it, it can be liberating. It can come as a revelation to discover just what hand and eye coordination can achieve rather than more calculated thought and action. Hesitation is something everyone suffers from on occasion. The less you shoot, the more likely it is to happen (the only possible exception is the young who have no preconceptions).

Chris Bird, the hugely experienced head instructor at Holland & Holland, talks about “mental interference” and the necessity for practice. “Practice is such a good thing. Eventually, with enough of it, you have the mental pathways and muscle memory to allow the shot to be beyond the conscious,” he says. Bird now notes two aspects of follow-through: “some go through the target beautifully but they stop as they pull the trigger. They have followed through the clay but not through the point of trigger release. The follow-through is not finished until after you’ve pulled the trigger. Lots of people have got the concept that they need and efficiently as possible and, of course, safely, can’t be overstressed.”

“Fortune favours the brave. Some say you need to be stupid to shoot really well. That’s not true. You need to be intelligent enough to know that your intellect won’t help you with the act of shooting,” says Peter Croft, a former Olympian and much respected high-level coach. “It doesn’t matter whether you are shooting grouse, high, high pheasant in a Welsh valley or standing on a line in the Olympics shooting trap, it’s the same basic problem – a shotgun and a moving target. The minute you get the conscious brain involved in the actual act of shooting, you’re doomed. Trust your reflexes, trust your hand to eye coordination. Look at the target as if your life depended on it and allow it to happen.”

Fast moving target

Mark Goddard is a member of the current England Sporting squad and a keen game shot, too: “You should get to the point where the gun will shoot itself, not in some unsafe way but rather the act of pulling the trigger is an unconscious act as you trust the in-built calculator to have done all the calculations, with a fast-moving target you haven’t got a chance to check With a fast moving target you haven’t got a chance to check the arithmetic to follow through the target, but many don’t get that follow-through must be continued as and after the trigger is pulled. The longer the shot, the more important this becomes.” When it comes to hesitation he also commented upon the ‘shall-I-shan’tI’ dilemmas in some field situations: “The predator in you should assess the covey of partridges in front of you and select the bird or birds to be shot. The need to assess the covey and take your shot as quickly the arithmetic,” he says. “My driven target mantra is: I’ve got a shotgun not a rifle. If I miss, I repeat it as invariably I’m measuring and you can’t do that with a target that disappears behind the barrels. In competition, when it really matters you have to shoot like it doesn’t matter, which as I think about it is a statement meaning you should focus on a good process and the outcome will take care of itself.”

Finally, Jonathan Irby, managing director of the Royal Berkshire Shooting School, a vastly experienced instructor and top game shot himself: “I describe shooting as a conditioned reflex much like riding a bicycle and driving a car. They all seem so alien at first but with practice comes confidence and with confidence grows ability. Shooting is the same, in that if the techniques are well taught and then reinforced with proper practice your shooting becomes subconscious, reflex based. The problems arise when you start to think about what you are doing. Be sure that you are really focused on the bird,” he advises. “When you recall your best shots you’ll be able to do so in minute detail, which is only achieved in moments of supreme attention. The bird, nothing but the bird. Don’t go to all the effort of finding line, establishing speed and reading the lead only to stop. See the bird hit whilst you’re still connected to the gun and the gun connected to the shot,” he says.

Having seen so many hesitate, I routinely tell myself to go for it when I shoot now. We should all learn to shoot deliberately and with different methods once we have learnt to shoot instinctively. But it is the latter that is most important. Trusting yourself and shooting naturally with a bit of flair is always more fun. But don’t forget instinct needs training, too.