In last month’s article, Flushing Birds 101, we briefly touched on how to avoid getting your feet tangled while on the hunt. There really is nothing worse than having the bird flush as you step down on the wrong foot, leaving you to awkwardly mount your gun and fight to get your head down on the stock. This month, we venture more in depth into proper foot placement and how to eliminate this agonizing variable during your hunt.
First, let’s continue with how to best walk along in the field over flushing game. You’re enjoying a lovely outing with friends or family over your favorite pointer, walking along, taking in the sights and smells of the day. As you walk along, regardless of whether you are carrying an autoloader or break action gun, you should have the gun stock pulled in close against your side and the muzzle up in your line of sight. Working a hunt field is methodical and performed at a leisurely pace, let the dog do all of the running around, that’s their job. Once the dog gets “birdie” and goes on point, you will want to change your pace to smaller steps, softly focusing just above where the dog is pointing. This will allow your eyes to more quickly acquire the bird as it flushes. If your focus is intently down on the ground, it is too difficult to pick out that well camouflaged bird in the thick broom sedge and briars and your gun management goes out the window.
If you’ve been edging your way up to the bird, gun stock in that same familiar spot on your side ,and muzzle in your line of sight, you will only need to smoothly push the gun out, into the bird’s flight path and allow your cheek to seal on the comb. By mounting to your cheek first, shoulder second, you are allowing your eye to quickly establish the sight picture required to successfully take down the bird. Utilizing smaller steps towards the quarry will allow you better control of your mount. Again, the ideal is to have your proper foot forward so that when the bird flushes, everything else will simply fall into place. This is a ballet, not a break dance. Your gun mount is something that requires time and practice. When training students for a hunt, I always encourage them to shoot the exact gun they will use and to wear the jacket or vest they will use on the hunt. There is nothing worse than being out in the field when you realize that an ill-fitting piece of clothing is going to be the downfall of your day’s success.
Now, let’s take a look at driven shoots and how to increase the odds of bringing down more birds. I have the distinct honor of assisting at a phenomenal, simulated English-style, driven pheasant shoot each month. The shooter’s ring traverses open fields, thick hardwoods and managed pines. The birds are typically high flying, with most shots between 35-80yds, the majority in the upper end of the category. When on stand, it is no secret that the birds will be coming from in front of you but, it is definitely not a “gimmie” hunt.
Again, you will want to have a point of contact along your side for your stock. This small, seemingly insignificant action greatly assists in gun management, a crucial part of wing-shooting and sporting clays. Next, and this was a HUGE point of contention with my beloved, a Richmond police officer on a tactical unit, because he kept insisting on having a wide, spread out stance and proclaiming that you must have a stable stance when shooting. Well, sweetheart, maybe when you are breaking down doors serving warrants on drug dealers but, not so much when plucking pheasants from the bucolic countryside. Shotgun shooting is all about MOBILITY not stability, that just naturally falls in place.
When you assume a low, wide stance, you severely shorten your abdominal muscles, causing hip lock. This greatly impedes your swing on the bird, especially on those fabulous high, overhead shots. Remember what your dear mother taught you, stand up straight. You should have a comfortable stance, feet just shoulder width apart and your body fluid and flexible, ready to move and go after the bird regardless of their chosen flight path. The higher and more directly overhead the bird, the more narrow your stance. I will typically put my feet almost completely together, slightly bend at the knees and allow myself to rock slightly backwards giving me the ability to shoot directly overhead, one of my favorite shots! The reason I love this stance so much, you can easily move one foot around slightly, pivot and follow a bird if another shot is needed or if the bird turns before you can pull the trigger.
Being able to move with the bird is what wing-shooting is all about. I also encourage students to practice in the clothes they will use on their hunt. Another favorite pre-hunt preparation, as I have mentioned several times before, is to pattern with the shot and choke you will use on the hunt. Now, you only need to practice your fancy new footwork, which isn’t really fancy, just functional. When heading out into the field this season, be sure to invite a friend, family member or guest to enjoy the full action and excitement of a bird hunt. This sport is a wonderful way to soak up the sights, sounds and smells of our gorgeous commonwealth. It is meant to be shared.