Show HOW tiet 4 ba by bob nichols shooting editor field and fa EW upland gut iners evid even the good fores ones ever realize how fully folly good clod shooting depends on good standing stam llna most gunners go e trudging trudi ii 11 through ug the brush 1 without I phout ever it a thought of where their reft feet ought to tie be placed to be in the most position for quick and accurate shooting I 1 will venture to say that nl lit least IH per cent of all misses ml ases mide liy by good shots in the held field a are r e the result of poor toot foot and body position the direct cause of the miss may be oe shoot schooling ing or undershooting under shooting or in mure re probably shooting behind cut the primary cause en use Is bad stance and let us use this term instead his tead of the other ot h because it Is already a widely understood word through its ns association with ith correct form it in golfing form actually holds as much significance in shooting as it ft does dies in kolf golf once you understand tile the principles of good form you can through constant practice adapt these principles to your physique no two golfers use the same identical stance yet each Is applying the same identical principles to his bis own peculiar characteristics of height weight arm length an and d so on no two crack shots use the same iden idea tacal stance either but you can rest assured that each like the good golfer Is applying the self same set of prin chiples to his shooting good stance in shooting as in golfing Is simply the elimination of muscular conflict which results in ID smooth ordination coordination co with smooth moscu larco erdl ordination nation your hands and arms and legs synchronize chr onize in ID completing any given motion you net with speed and yet without hurry or bungling atlon your bird flushes your feet assume well practiced and unconsciously remembered positions your hands and arms function faultlessly through the familiar routine your gun swings onto your target and ban bang 1 I dead bird I 1 and the whole hole cycle took perhaps less than one second to complete having learned form the good shot appears to shoot and kill his game with an air of easy carelessness cut but behind ills his apparent carelessness ties lies an experience of perhaps thousands of 0 practice shots lie ile shoots in unconscious rhythm because form has become automatic and mechanical with him ile he no longer needs to think about it the average hunter walks too fast in the field and takes too long iong steps on a surprise rise lie he Is invariably caught off balance walk slower and you will not only kick out more game but you stand a much better chance of bagging it v hen it gets up in cover where it seems likely a bird or rabbit may pop out at any moment your good shot is a most careful walker if lie he is a right handed shot he will take short steps keep his feet fairly close together take shorter steps w with jtb his right toot foot than with his left foot and always his left foot out ahead of the right but his feet are never very far apart lie ile knows that to shoot well you must swing your gun using the body as a steady supporting pivot if the bird gets up and quarters to the lett left in front of a right handed shooter he pivots on his left foot for the right swinging shot he pivots on the right foot ills his movements are mechanical ch cli anical and smooth no putting pulling muscles to stop his gun swing his 1119 gun movements are almost pendulum like in their freedom from conflicting muscle strain some good shots often fall into a slight free moving crouch when shoot ing hut but they pivot just the same the loose kneed crouch sometimes gives one a feeling of increased security of footing put if the crouch becomes stiff and exaggerated the shooter will find himself missing quartering and crossing birds because the severe crouch freezes his muscles into ri rigid 1 ld I 1 ity 1 y 8 and nd therefore prevents freedom of swing neer try to shout shoot front from hid had h id footing it if you can help it if the game zooms out behind you dorit try to twist yourself into a pretzel to shoot turn around get gel your footle 1 then lien shoot showing shouting in good form mikes makes it easier to score 1 0 western New newspaper union |