Hey ya’ll! There is no better way to get out, enjoy the weather, and improve your shooting than to practice during the off-season. Doing so will dramatically increase your accuracy and help you build muscle memory that will result in more ducks on your strap this Fall! In this article, we’ll go over 3 ways you can improve your wingshooting today.
Practice Before You Even Leave The House
Before even leaving your home there are many ways you can start to improve your shotgunning skills. My favorite is gun mounting drills. Before practicing any mounting drills in your home double and triple-check that your gun is unloaded and the safety is on. Most of these drills require you to repeat the mounting motion by drawing your gun up from a ready position to your cheekbone and then into your shoulder.
You can do mounting drills in a mirror or even use a boresight or flashlight inserted into your gun while you aim at a corner of the wall. Doing so will let you see if you are waving the gun up and down or coming off target as you complete the mounting motion. This extra motion is what you want to eliminate. You want your gun to remain pointed at the target throughout the entire motion. Ten to twenty reps every morning can help establish muscle memory, eliminate bad habits, and even build strength. You can check out this video to get started.
Shooting Clay Pigeons
Shooting clay pigeons is a fun and affordable off-season pastime. To start you’ll need a box of clay pigeons and a thrower. You can get manual throwers for less than twenty dollars. To shoot more clays and do it faster, look for an electric self-loading thrower, and expect to spend a few hundred dollars. All of these things are available at your local sporting goods stores or online.
If you don’t have room to shoot clays at home or you’d like a more challenging shot selection your local skeet range or sporting clays course is ideal. A quick Google search will help you find the nearest shooting ranges or sporting clays courses to you. Skeet shooting is oftentimes the more affordable option to start with. I have paid as low as $5 for a round of 25 clays. Shots you take while skeet shooting are typically closer range and much more predictable. You will get used to your gun and build some more muscle memory by shooting skeet. I recommend spending some time shooting skeet before moving on to sporting clays.
Sporting clays are usually a little more expensive but better replicate shots you may take in the field. Pay close attention to hours, many of these courses do not open until late morning or afternoon. When choosing a sporting clays course take into consideration how you plan to travel the course. Sporting clays courses are often laid out much like golf courses with carts and cart paths to travel between shooting stations. You can normally rent carts and rates vary from venue to venue. Some venues also allow you to bring your own carts or ATVs. A day spent on a sporting clays course is my favorite way to get practice during the offseason.
Off-Season Hunting Opportunities
Depending on where you live there may be some opportunities to practice on live birds during the offseason. This is definitely the absolute best way to improve your shooting skills. There are typically three options for someone looking to get some wingshooting in when duck, goose, and dove seasons are closed. You can find the first opportunity for offseason bird hunting by searching for a local preserve. Shooting preserve seasons in some states extend past normal hunting seasons.
Some states have seasons for other birds that can be hunted after or before normal hunting seasons have closed. Two that come to mind are the snow goose conservation seasons across the country. You may also find your state has a crow season that opens in the summer and may extend into February.
The last option, if you can find it, is hunting an invasive species. Many places across the country have high concentrations of invasive birds such as feral pigeons, Eurasian collared doves, and even starlings. If you can find a local farmer that is having issues with these birds eating their crops or livestock feed you may be able to secure permission to hunt them. Always familiarize yourself with local and federal regulations before doing any hunting.
Try These 3 Ways To Improve Your Wingshooting Today
All you need to do now is start. Make a plan to do something to improve your shooting every day, week, or month. You can complete mounting drills every morning and visit the range a couple of times a month. Performed correctly we’re sure these 3 ways to improve your wingshooting today will help you bag more birds this hunting season!