Pathway to Wingshooting Success

The first time a ruffed grouse exploded from nearby cover and left me with my heart pounding hard enough to crack a rib, I knew I wanted to hit them out of the air with a shotgun.

- Alan Davy

Their title, King of Game Birds, is earned by their powerful flush in thick cover where they are most often found. I knew I had to learn to shoot quickly and accurately because once Old Ruff gets up, he goes fast into even thicker cover. The target would be little more than a brown blur flashing between tree trunks and foliage for an instant before disappearing.

My progress on the path to wing-shooting success was slow, and for first few seasons I saw very few flying grouse tumble at my shot. So, I joined a trap and skeet club hoping to improve my wing shooting. My scores were embarrassing when I started but I kept studying the good shooters, probing them for secrets of success. The best shooters had a smooth, efficient gun mount and swing, quick and deadly, like a rattler strike. Some of them were helpful and with their insights and my own research into good wing-shooting technique I began to correct my inefficient gun mount.

Ham-Fisted Gaffs

The gun mounting blunders I was committing while hunting included getting the gunstock hung up in my clothes when mounting it, aiming my gun like a rifle, failing to push off the safety, lowering my head to the stock, mounting to my shoulder first and then starting to swing on the bird rather than mounting and swinging at the same time. I was also looking back and forth between the bird and the bead, rather than focusing hard on the bird, while trusting my peripheral vision to keep track of the bead. But, developing a consistent, practiced gun mount set me on the path to overcoming these ham-fisted gaffs that let grouse escape.