By Richard Patty

Wouldn't it be great to shoot consistent scores at the local gun club? Maybe I can help. There are a few things you need to get right before your scores can go up.
Choose good ammo and check the speed. Whatever the speed you're comfortable with, stay with that speed. If you change from a shell that is 1200 FPS to a shell that is 1300 FPS or even 1100 FPS then your lead changes and then you will either miss the target or find yourself second guessing the lead.
Your mind starts to ask is this right or not? And then you talk yourself out of a target or two trying to figure it out. The result is scores go up and down. Try to stay with the same speed shells whether you are shooting a 1 oz. load or a 1-1/8 oz. load. Keep them the same and you will see a big difference in your consistency.
Shooting method has much to do with consistency. It doesn't matter how you get your gun in front of the target as long as you stay in front and don't stop. Learn to keep your gun going the same speed as the target, with the proper lead your mind will tell you when to make the shot without thinking about it at all.
Out of all the shooting methods to learn, the maintained lead it is by far the best. Recoil is part of breaking targets consistently. I hear a lot of shooters say that recoil doesn't bother them, but if you will look at their scores you will find that they shoot an 85 one day and a 70 the next.
The best way to take out the recoil is to get your gun back bored as much as possible and get the forcing cones lengthened and polished. You can also add a mercury recoil reducer to your gun if you can handle the extra weight.
This will remove lot of the felt recoil. Porting your gun will help take a lot of the jump out of your gun and this will help you go to the second target a lot smoother and be more consistent. If you get these things right before shooting, then all you will need to think about when you get to the course is where the target is coming from and where you need to set up.
If you need gun work contact Marks Outdoor (205) 822-2010 and they can get you breaking more targets. For comments or shooting lessons contact me at: rpatty4106@AOL. com or (256)-231-9333. Next months article will be about course and target breakdown.