Stationary-Target Practice
The first great mistake the novice is likely to make is the natural one of supposing that he must take his gun to the field and learn how to handle it by practicing at flying game. This is by no means the best method, and there is scarcely a poorer way of becoming a wing shot, because the gunner is intent upon bagging the game and forgets to observe the many little points of gunnery, shooting high and low, and making the hundred and one mistakes of judgment he would not be guilty of when practicing at a stationary mark. Snap and wing shooting is the last word in shotgun handling, requiring quickness in throwing the gun, as well as a trained eye to calculate the distance from and the speed of the flying target. To acquire confidence in using the gun, begin by shooting at a fixed mark. A good target may be made by obtaining a dozen, or two, sheets of stout wrapping paper and painting a 4-in. circle in the center of each sheet. Tack it up on a board fence or on a board hung on a tree, measure off 60 ft., and try a shot. The shot will not spread very much at this short range, and it will be an easy matter to determine the result of your skill in holding a dead-on to the large mark. To avoid flinching and other movements of the head and body, caused by the recoil, begin your first practicing with a light powder-and-shot charge, say, about 2 dr. of bulk measure, or its equivalent in smokeless, and ⁷⁄₈ oz. of No. 8 or 9 shot. There is no advantage in using a heavier charge, and the recoil of the gun will appear much greater in deliberate shooting at a target than is likely to be felt during the excitement incidental to shooting in the field. A dozen shots at these targets will enable the gunner to make a good score by deliberate holding, and when this can be done without flinching, snap and wing shooting may begin.
The Forward Hand may Grip the Fore End at Any Point, but a Well-Extended Arm Gives a Better Control of the Gun