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So my son has been having trouble shooting ducks this season, and I've tried to correct him but all my help has just made it worse for him. In the past he has been right there with me , when it comes to killing birds. When he's with me i try to keep all are shots within 25 yards of the blocks. We have patterned his gun , shot sporting clays you name it ,and he has done good with that but not the ducks this year. I guess he is going to have to work this out on his own , but dam my wallet is starting to hurt LOL. He just turned 15 and he's a little guy for his age. Have any of you guys with older boys or girls have this trouble and did you find a Solution , or did you let it run it's corse.

Typically what I've seen is issues with leading birds. Trying to explain how it works doesn't get you anywhere. If it looks like lead is the issue tell him to swing behind the duck and when he passes the bill pull the trigger and keep the swing going. That's fixed a lot of the guys that I dove and duck hunt with. Could be flinching to but I don't know how to fix that other than maybe giving him a 20.

If he's a small kid it might just be too much gun for him. Or he isn't leading it right. Or he isn't keeping his head down on the gun.
The last one was always and still occasionally is my biggest problem. If I remember to keep my head down, then I usually hit what I'm looking at.

I know how it feels to be in a slump. It gets frustrating and that only makes the shooting worse.

My guess is stock fit. Usually you can't hit as many once someone has outgrown their stock. When I started really getting competitive in trap shooting, I had a length of pull of 14 1/4". By the time I Got sick and tired of trap shooting I was at a length of pull of almost 16" that's just in 6 years going from 10 years old to 16. If you're trying to explain lead, tell him to look at the bird, focus on the whole bird, not the bill and some other part but the whole bird. It is a much easier target to focus on than one specific spot.

Probably just need to buy some Hevi Metal BB or #3

He shot this same gun ,same load last season without any problems , and he hasn't grown much either. Going to bring the 20 gauge out for his tomorrow and see if that helps. I don't know mabey it's the recoil.

Have you tried Hevi-metal?




Sorry,...I just had to.

Duckdog wrote:Have you tried Hevi-metal?




Sorry,...I just had to.

Banned!!

Duckdog wrote:Have you tried Hevi-metal?




Sorry,...I just had to.

Hang a pop bottle in a tree, swing the bottle, make him follow it with his gun to learn how to lead with the gun and swing through the bottle. You can really do it anywhere. I always did the tree so after the kids go the hang of it then they can shoot at it to see if there lead is right.

Always fun to fill with water and shoot.

Thanks that's a really good idea.

Take the bead off his gun

Duckdog wrote:Have you tried Hevi-metal?




Sorry,...I just had to.

Hey! Steeling my jokes, huh?

So many times we've heard someone say , hard focus on the lead edge of the target is what we need to do but , this can
cause looking at the barrel or flinching or peaking too ! With a good gun mount ( if the gun fits ) , finding the line of flight
of the target with the barrel, along with focusing on the gap in front of the bird , does wonders !

Forget the barrel , it will shoot where you're looking.......and .....old-time waterfowlers proved this with the pass-through
Method !
As long as you're matching the speed of the target , both maintain and pass through methods work ! my only .02

Oh another thing that may be it, if somebody else didn't already say it, is he might be lifting his head off the stock. Before dove season this year I was shooting clays and couldn't hit shit, not normal at all. Once I slowed down I realized I was pulling my head up right before I shot, to get a better look I guess, and it was changing my point of aim. Slowing down, keeping the stock tight to your shoulder and your cheek tight to the stock helps.

Kids are funny at that age, their body and mind are going through a lot of changes that you may not see on the surface. My boys went through this as well, they were pretty good shots in their younger teens and went through some time when they couldn't hit ****. They eventually grew out of it or figured it out, I would try to not make a huge deal out of it to the extent he begins to over think it to a point where he makes so many changes that he cant get back to his memory functions of when he was shooting well.