Most everybody that writes to me over the years want help with training their dog. Presumably, these folks want to hunt alot or at least seem to take the hunting that they do pretty seriously. From the emails I get back from those same folks, I am at least able to get them on the right path to success with their dogs.

But one area of this whole undertaking that I seem to find whoefully lacking at times is the idea that one needs to be able to regularly shoot and kill the birds we are all working so hard to enable our dog to find and point. In general, the markmanship of the average weekend hunter on game is pretty poor, to say the least.

I hunt alot, with a lot of different groups of folks, every season. For the most part. With a few noteable exceptions, I can say that the upland game bird poplulations are in no grave danger in hunting season from the folks that are doing most of the shooting on any given weekend.

Now, first let me say that shooting flying birds is not easy. It's not all that tough, either to be an above average shot. The best shooters make it look effortless, but even they have gone through countless boxes of shells to perfect their prowess. Most great shots are more made rather than born.

In this piece I will attempt to give folks some ideas of the why's and how's to go about improving their score on birds this season. It's not too late to take steps to insure heavier game bags this Fall.

Killing game birds is not everything. Any fool with a gun can do it. No one needs to kill a bird with a shotgun. I don't care if I ever shoot a limit at all. I don't care if the folks I am with kill their limits either, even when I am the host or a guide on a given hunt. It's nice, but it's not what hunting is about. BUT, the fact remains that when a dog puts in a nice effort and points a particulary tough bird on a nifty piece of bird work, it sure is great to know that someone in the party can walk up there with a gun in his hand to surely kill that bird for the dog who has earned it. If it is your turn to be that someone, there really isn't a greater thrill in hunting, if you are prepared.

Pure and simple, the dogs deserve to get their mouth on their quarry once in a while. To a dog, this is the reward for all of their efforts. If a dog is allowed to get his mouth on a fresh killed quarry at least a couple of times a day, this will go a long, long way in keeping your four-footed friend enthusiastic and focused on his task.

Many folks will tell me, "Oh, he just enjoys pointing them, it doesn't matter to him if I ever hit one". Maybe so, but the dog will be alot more tuned in and alot more purposeful in his hunting and pointing if he gets the reward for doing it. The reward is a fresh bird in his mouth once in a while. If you doubt that, you are kidding yourself. This is still hunting and these are still dogs.

So, how do we go about making sure that we can hit a bird with some regularity for our dog? How does one get to Carnegie Hall?... Practice!!

Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds success and nothing breeds success like success. Too many folks I hunt with walk in on pointing dogs looking like they are about to be whipped and then sulk about afterwards when they have missed yet again on what looks like easy shots. This is supposed to be fun!!

I highly recommend taking up, at least in a casual way, the shooting of clay pigeons in a regular manner in the off-season. There are a couple of "games" that one can take part in in almost any area to quickly whip your shooting into shape and keep it there. As with golf or tennis or even cooking, the more you do it, the better at it you will be when the pressure it on.

These games, primarly are Skeet, Trap and my favorite, Sporting Clays. Each is a bit different in how they are played, but all can be used to empahsize the basics of shotgun shooting. If these basics can become second nature to a shooter, his or her percentage on target and birds with skyrocket.

I think alot of folks think that Trap and Skeet especially are games that require specialized equipment and alot of expense to take part in.

Nothing could be further from the truth. You can and should use your hunting weapon, regardless of gauge or action type and just go out and shoot it. In most areas, you will see alot of folks on these ranges with guns that are built just for the purpose of playing the game that cost about as much as a new car. Such weapons are not needed for our purposes, which is to get you to shoot you own gun better in the field.

All you really need in the way of extra equipment to take part in any of these games is a good set of ear protection in the form of muffs or ear plugs and a set of shooting glasses to protect your eyes from target chips and richocheting shot. A shell bag or vest is nice, but really not needed, but they do look cool.

Skeet is a game developed in 1800's in America. Like most games, the "range" is a set of stations that you shoot at the clay targets from. In skeet there are eight stations that you shoot a series of single and double targets from. The stations are set up in a large semi-circle with one "house" on your right and another off at the other end of the semi-circle on your left. The targets are thrown from theses houses out in front of you as you call for them. The house on the left is called the "high" house as the targets come out of a chute that is higher than your head. The opposite house on the right is called the "low" house. The release chute on this house is about chest or waist high. Pretty tricky, huh? You start at the first station on the left and move through a series of 24 targets. You get one extra shot at any one target you miss as your "option" for a total of 25 possible points in each round. Which is why shells normally come 25 to a box. Again, pretty tricky stuff.

The are are a couple of nice things about skeet for the beginner.

Second, each target from each of the right and left houses is thrown exactly the same. Exactly the same, every time. The targets all take the same, predictable flight path and you just moved around the course.

Third, the shooter calls for each and every target. The targets do not fly until you are ready to shoot. You may mount your gun to your shoulder and are completely ready to shoot when you call for the target. In skeet, some target come as singles, others in pairs.

This last point is a major advantage to practicing with a shotgun. In shooting a shotgun, gun mount is everything. In other words, how you put the gun to your face and shoulder more to do with if you will hit your target than anything else.

Most great shooters practice shooting posture and gun mounting more than shooting. One can practice gun mounting every day in your home. It's a great way to get a newbie off on the right foot.

If you get to where you are standing and mounting the gun correctly, you are halfway home. I always concentrate on mounting my gun correctly before I call for the target. Sometimes this takes me several tries on the range, but I never call for a target unless I am totally happy with the way I have mounted my gun when shooting trap or skeet.

This is not the way we shoot in the field, obviously. But, this is practice and we need to take first things first and in shooting a shotgun, if you ain't got a good gun mounting technique, you ain't got nothin'.

So, skeet, for me, is primarily about shooting posture and mounting the gun correctly and then of course, learning to swing in front of a moving target and learning the lead for each target on the course, which varies a bit. Some skeet targets require almost no lead, some a lot more. Since you know ahead of time when and where each target will appear, this is all very easy to practice at a skeet range.

Like anything, the gun mount and the learning to lead and swing with targets is just all reptition. Do it correctly over and over and it will become second nature to you in the field.

The other great thing about all of these games is that like with anything resembling a competitive endeavor here in America, on any given day on any given range you can find any number of folks who are very good at the game and are all too willing to show you how much better than you they are at it. Turning this to your advantage is easy.

So, I like to just leave my pride in the car once in awhile and ask the clerk to point out someone who is quite good and wouldn't mind me joining him or her on their station while a I shoot a couple of rounds.

This is a great way to get some help if you are struggling with your shooting. Usually, you get the advice at a range from complete strangers without even asking for it. The guys and gals who are good at this game can look at you shoot one target tell you in an instant how to improve your shooting technique. Some of these guys can actually see your shot charge flying through the air and can tell you exactly how you are missing the targets. Listen to everything they say about mounting the gun, swinging with the targets and even the fit of your shot gun. Sometimes alot of the trouble one has, especially kids and ladies is that the gun they are shooting does not fit them right.

Go shoot a few rounds and listen and try to apply what you are told as you go to shoot regularly over a few months time. Not all of what you are told will be exactly right, so seek out a few different folks to shoot with at the skeet range and sort through it a bit as your shooting improves. Above all, watch how the really good shots at the range do the little things, how they stand and mount and swing the shotgn particularly.

If you run into real problems and are not improving at all, you may want to seek the help of the local "pro". Every range has a couple, one of them usually runs the joint. I inquired this summer about taking a lesson from our public range "pro". Now, I know he must be quite good as when I shoot on this range, I know there are more than a handful of folks that I have shot with on many days that I almost never see miss a target. I assume that the "pro" on the grounds (in this case, a state champion at several games, several times over) must be a diety of sorts when it comes to shooting shotguns, but as I say, I only inquired about lessons. At $100.00 an hour for his time, I decided that I am not bad enough with a shotgun to need that kind of help, just yet.

For certain, get the opinion and aid of a good gunsmith before having a gunstock cut to fit for you. This is a huge help to most shooters, but it must be done right. Good stockwork is not expensive compared to benefit you will gain from having the gun fit you properly, but poor stock work is to be avoided like the plaque. Again, ask the good shots on the range who it is locally who can do this kind of work for you. Ask a number of folks, you will get a name or two that come up over and over again. That is who you need to go to for a good fitting job.

So, again, Skeet, for me, is all about the basics. The targets are close and they are not all that fast, really. Once you start to get the mounting and swinging at the proper lead worked out with a gun that fits you right, those targets will start to break alot more regularly. Almost anyone can break targets on the easier stations right from the start. It is a game that builds confidence as you come to hit the harder targets more regularly. Confidence is everything is shooting. If you know that the target will break before you call for it, you will break that target more often than not.

There are plenty of books, videos and websites out there that can guide you in the baics of each of these basic elements of shooting a shotgun and each of these games, so I will not elaborate much here. Besides, you know what they say about a little knowledge being a dangerous thing.

All I will say, from a technique standpoint is that, if you grew up like I did, Americans seem to be rifle shooters, by very nature. It seems we all grew up playing "cowboy's and indians" or "Army" (or a game of some other now un-PC name...hey, get over it, where I grew up, even the indians played "cowboys and indians"!) and moved from there to shooting a BB-gun and then, many like me, took up deer hunting with a rifle long before we ever got serious about shooting a shotgun.

Well, go grab your rifle and throw it to your shoulder a couple of times. Then get your shotgun and throw it up there a few times. If you are mounting them both with basically the same motions and technique, you, like me, need help. Mounting and aiming a shotgun is to be done very differently than swinging your old deer rifle up there. If you mount a shotgun as you do a rifle, you won't hit very much with the shotgun. It's time well spent to learn and practice the difference and I'll leave it at that, for now

Trap, is the next game we will look at. Trap, I assume was invented in the states some time ago as I know skeet was. Personally, I think trap was invented in hell.

Trap is at the same time similar and very different from skeet and most public and club ranges do offer both. Start with skeet, go to trap once you need some humbling.

Trap is a longer range game with the closest you will ever be to a target is 16 yards when it is launched from the single trap house in front of you. I assume demons live in the trap house, although I am too scared to look in there.

Trap is a five station game. You shoot at five targets from each station in succession. The stations are in a straight line behind the trap house. The targets all come out of the same house in front of you, one at a time and again when you call for them. However, the targets can fly from that house, rising in any one of several directions. So, you cannot predict what your swing and lead will be ahead of time on any bird from any station. You have to pick up and judge that very quickly and then swing properly at the target when shooting trap. Most target at trap are hit at between 25 and almost 40 yards. Many more trap targets are missed at those same distances.

Trap is more of a specialized game. Most folks who shoot trap well and have some form of specialized gun made just for shooting trap. First off, because of the distance, tighter chokes are needed. At least modified and sometimes full is called for. Specialized guns with somewhat odd stock, barrel and rib dimensions are also called for, due to the very fast nature of the rising targets. Heavier loads are also called for most of the time at trap than at skeet.

However, trap is a great challenge once you are starting to break birds well on the skeet range. I regularly now go over and shoot some trap for the extra challenge of it. Shooting with good trap shooters is very humbling. The basics of shooting trap and skeet are similar. Trap targets seem faster and are definetly further away. Much of this challenge to do with their unpredictability, I am sure.

Now, Sporting Clays, is also a very challenging game. It is my favorite game. Once you get the basics of shooting your gun down, you will do well to occassionally got to a good sporting clays range for a challenge that readily simulates field shooting.

Sporting clays is a generally a game of 50 or 100 targets shot from 10 different stations. Each station is designed to represent a different scenario in wing shooting. Again, you can do very well with your hunting weapon bored Improved Cylinder and/or Modified.

The stations each are very different in target speed, direction and distance and again you call for each target. The targets come in singles, or "double on report", which means a second target is thrown at the sound of your shot or at times as "true doubles", meaning both clays are thrown into the air at the same time.

Some stations are designed to represent passing shots at waterfowl or doves. Others play as waterfowl coming in to decoys or springing from a pond. Still others are set up to look like flushing pheasants or quail on more "straight-away" type shots. Most ranges are set up in wooded areas to htat you do have to shoot around some trees at times. Courses will even have special targets that are thrown to roll on the ground to simulate a running rabitt. Some courses offer still more specialized targets of different sizes and design (some about as big as a silver dollar!!)

You can shoot your gun pre-mounted, just like one does at the skeet or trap range, at sporting clays, although I think that proper way is to call for your target from the "ready" position and mount your gun once the target is thrown to more accurately simulate shooting under field conditions. Again, this is practice. Do it like you want to.

Sporting clay ranges vary from site to site and most will be very challenging, but not impossible to do well on with practice.

All of these games make great activities for families and clubs and they will make you a much better shot if you get out regularly. Most of the very good shot I know make it a point to go out and play a game or two every month. There are other games out there, quail walks, NRA clays and they are all fun, but these three are the ones you see most of the time.

Trap and skeet are very cheap to shoot at about $5.00 per 25 targets, plus your shells. Sporting clays is a bit more expensive to shoot at around $15.00 dollars for 50 target course and $25.00 for 100. Prices will vary of course. Reloading will drop your cost for shells quite a bit, but, I personaly don't need yet another hobby.

Of course, alot of folks with access to open land or publice ranges at times set up and hold practice sessions on their own. This is helpful too and makes the practice even cheaper as a whole box of clays is less than $5.00. Portable launchers come in all shapes and sizes and you can even make up your own games.

One of my buddies taught me a great practice game to play with a group of folks and he was kind enough to write it up to share with The Checkcord readers. I call the game "Neil's Quarters" and it is a lot of fun and it simulates hunting in a larger group setting, as many of us do.

So, I hope that helps some of you who may not regularly get your gun out. I know, all that dog training and what not. Remember though, it no good unless you can put a few of those birds on the ground for that hard working dog of yours!