Don't Look Down the Barrel | Shotgun Tips with Gil Ash

Gil Ash of OSP Shooting Schools demonstrates why shotgun shooters shouldn't look down the barrel, nor at the bead. By focusing on the target you might see fewer targets but you'll surely break more. (NSSF Video)

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[jeffjones]

I’m a cancer survivor that was unable to shoot shotguns for two due to where they implanted my port-a-cath. I got back into duck hunting this season and my shooting was horrendous. Compared to how I shot pre cancer it killed my confidence. After watching this video I realize I was doing what you say not to do. Thank you for making this video and I will try to watch everyone I can find on YouTube.

[djarnoldo]

"Keep your eye on the target, mount the gun where the target is going, and never look down the gun." -- Great advice from the pro.

[packattackallday]

I agree with this. This summer was my first year ever doing trap and joined a league right away. I struggled at first trying to find a comfortable position and refining my technique. This shooter's tip on not looking down the barrel is 100% correct...especially when you're shooting from stations 1 and 5. Still something I'm working through myself...

[cgreeneblue]

Hitting targets moving toward or away from you creates more reliance on convergence and divergence of both eyes. It's a scenario like hitting a baseball coming toward you. That requires strong binocular coordination.  'Crossers' from left to right and vise versa on the other hand are more dependent on the 'smooth pursuit' function of the eyes; this can be done with just one eye, which is why a lot of people do just fine shotgunning with closing an eye and actually using the bead as a reference point. I think the issue of closing an eye, dimming an eye, tape on the glasses etc is very interesting as many people have different levels of success. I would really like an  optometry professional to weigh in on this as I strongly think that the differences are caused by more factors than eye dominance. I concede that if you have the hours in (10, 000 + I'm sure) that Gil Ash does and your mounts are consistent and nearly perfect you can remove the bead from the shotgun. You have to put in the hours to be able to shoot essentially by the "feel" of your mounting position like he's describing.  I'll contend that I think he is still aiming the gun. He is aiming by the 'Feel' of the mount. He is still referencing something on his body from his intended target except it is not the bead or even the barrel. He doesn't need to. I find it extremely impressive but unlikely to work for a lot of beginners. If you're a crossed eye / hand dominance beginner I think you'll have a rough time with these techniques. If you're a fairly -experienced right eyed, right handed shooter I suspect it is likely going to advance your shooting and feel like a more natural progression.

[paddyfoosenschaften]

Thank you so much for this video. I watched it just before going shooting this afternoon and I nailed 32 of 33 clays...I've never, EVER shot that well. Thanks!

[EricFullwood]

This is pure gold. I learned more in 2 minutes here than weeks at a range.

[jeffreybutler]

If one is fortunate in life, one might chance upon the opportunity to learn from a true master who has the ability to explain things and teach such that one can't help but learn and improve. Teachers like that are few and far between. Gil Ash is one of those. I had the privilege of working with him yesterday. It was incredibly helpful. I can't wait to get out and work on what I learned.

[frankmc]

I took OSP shooting class a number of years ago and my shooting improved dramatically. Both Gil and Ms. Vicki are excellent coaches. Their focus on the basics--consistently mounting the shotgun 100's of times over the course of two days--will ensure shooting consistency over the long term. Likely will take their same class again just to brush up on the basics.

[jojo]

I practiced over and over on this mans tips and guess what it works . I have been hitting clays way more often.  Thanks for the tip.  Great video.

[nialljamesbuckley]

Wait, when I go clay shooting i'm pretty sure i have both my eyes closed when I shoot. at least based on my score anyway

[lorrygeewhizzbang]

I half expected him to throw a "you dumb ass!" into the end of one of those sentences 😅

[jamescross]

Good advice. I've always gone with "You don't aim a shotgun, you point a shotgun". For me it's been especially tough as I'm right handed but left eye dominant. Rifles, no problem. Taught myself before i even knew what eye dominance is. Pistols, I use my left eye. Shotguns have been the hardest. But I always do pretty well.

[lisajohnson]

Well Gil, I have to say your system works. I'm a brand new shooter and I put 1000 rounds through my shotgun at the trap range aiming it like a rifle, one eye and looking down the barrel. Well I got to a point where my scores were static. I was frustrated and I watched this video for maybe the 4th time and next time I went out to the trap range and it took concentration I now keep both eyes open and as you said your gun will follow your eyes. When I do exactly what you tell me to do I not only hit the clay but I powder it. But when I fall back to over thinking the shot I'll miss every time. If I just trust my eye hand work your method works every time. Now I have to say it's not easy but a few thousand clays and this should be second nature. Thank you for all your great video's. I so would like to be able to break 20 out of 25 kind of consistently. So I'm practicing and having a good time doing it. Thank you!

[BlondeWick]

Well, this hardly applies to anyone these days but, it's helpful to understand where your "overlap zone" is when you shoot a Side-by-side, still a bad idea to overconcentrate on the bead though. My 486 has an English straight stock, which for me has improved the fundamentals of my shooting incredibly. Without the ergonomics and "laziness" you can treat pistol-grips with; you will either develop your form and shoot better, or miss a lot and blame the gun for your deficiencies. Only been shooting for a year now, and started out on sporting clays in a "trial by fire" approach to the hobby; which only sunk in when shooting fixed launcher trap halfway through summer. I'm blessed for the things that Beretta has taught me, and glad I followed my heart getting it, because it certainly wasn't cheap, and it's fun to go from total rookie to only man shooting doubles on the local course(amongst my friends who got me into clays) in one year without shooting every weekend/week.

[goonerdotcom]

I like your style of teaching sir. To the point but light. Thanks a million.

[JB-tcel]

Just so many amazing tips and shared experience. All of these videos are succinct, to the point and incredibly well explained or contextualised. Like the shoulder mount, flashlight video, Awesome!! Thanks.

[crabtrap]

I looked down the barrel of a shotgun i ran my ass off!

[SkinGripz]

I like this guy. Something about how he talks would be comforting if taking lessons from him. All the theory and knowledge in the world is lost if you dont understand or like an instructor.

[jdelao]

I'm new to bird and clay hunting, I've been shooting with one eye closed because of the double barrel or double target issue. Thank you for giving me something new to try.

[swampwizardmf]

This tip is amazing! Took my shotgun out for the first time the other day was getting 1 out of 6 clays then I remembered the tip and watched the clay instead of the gun and got consistent 5 out of 6 clays hit