Leads

 By: Paul Giambrone, III

So there I was by the pool celebrating Father’s Day with some family after playing golf earlier that morning with my Uncle Chris and cousin Little Chris.  It was June, in Texas, so you know it was pretty warm, but the atmosphere was perfect.  I do not get the opportunity to visit with family and take a day off because of my busy travel schedule, but nonetheless, I was enjoying myself with some family and it was a great afternoon.  We were discussing everything and amongst one of the topics was skeet shooting.  My Uncle Chris, Aunt Sherry, and cousins Kirsten (my fav) and little Chris are on my wife’s side of the family, so they were unfamiliar with the game.  I was explaining a few different things to them and the topic of lead came up.  Kirsten looked at me and said, “How do you know how much to ‘lead the skeet’ from the different stations?”  Great question, Kirsten!  Reaching for some kind of sports metaphor (because our family loves sports), it dawned on me to use football as an example.  I asked Kirsten, “If you were to throw a pass to a receiver, how would you calculate that distance?  Would it be based on a mathematical equation in your head, or would you look at your receiver and throw the ball?”  She responded, “I would just look and throw…” with a slightly puzzled look on her face because she didn’t see where I was going with this just yet.  I then said, “So you are saying the throw would be more of a ‘feel’ rather than a calculated distance?”  She said, “Yeah I guess.  If the throw was a little short, I would just throw it a little further the next time.”  “Exactly!”  I exclaimed!  You see, just like leading a receiver in football, leading a target is more of a “feel” to the person rather than a calculated distance.

I know, my engineers out there want to calculate that precise distance, and rightfully so, that is how my engineers are wired.  Now before anyone thinks I am trying to stereotype the engineers, please note that is not the case.  I have plenty of engineers that I work with and help their shooting by talking about this exact concept.  The biggest issue that we tend to forget is we are shooting a shotgun that has a “spread” of BB’s going out there, not a single bullet like in rifle and pistol shooting.  That is where you have to “aim” and “calculate” but not with a shotgun.  In shotgun shooting, we have to get it close, pretty close actually, but it doesn’t have to be to the preciseness that a lot of shooters think it does.  “Close counts in horseshoes and hand grenades” and I would like to add shotgun shooting to that mix.  When you try to make the shot too perfect, you are encouraging your brain to measure out and “calculate” the lead which takes our main focus off of the target and more on the barrel.  Tell me, if I tried to use my tennis racquet (by looking at it) to calculate when I start my swing to hit the tennis ball, how effective would I be?  How effective would I be if I looked at the “lead” between the tennis ball and my racquet?  Not effective at all.  However, if I look at the tennis ball and try to see the seams on the tennis ball, now I have a good read on what the ball is doing and can make an effective swing.  This is called hand to eye coordination.  Your eyes look at the object you are trying to hit rather than your hands!  Same in football and baseball…  We look at the object we are trying to catch, not our hands (and we have to lead that object).  Meaning we have to bring our hands to an area where the ball is going.  In every other sport where there is hand to eye coordination, we learn to trust our eyes and learn to “feel” the lead rather than calculating the lead.  Clay target shooting should be done the same exact way.

When we first learn to shoot, there is a learning curve on how to lead a target and what that lead looks like to the shooter.  Wait…what the lead looks like to the shooter?  That doesn’t matter, what matters is a 1 foot lead, 2 foot lead, etc.  WRONG!!!!!  While there is a “calculated” distance or mathematical lead for each target on the field (this is called the forward allowance), the important concept is the “apparent lead” or what the lead looks like to the shooter.  For example, men and women generally see leads differently.  Imagine that, men and women think differently…  Sorry, couldn’t help myself there!  Anyway, a woman will generally see her lead in inches, not feet, while a man will see it in feet.  This isn’t always the case, but more times than not it is.  Usually one inch to a woman is about a foot to a man (in terms of lead on a skeet field, thanks Michelle).  This doesn’t mean what either gender sees is incorrect, it is just how their brains interpret shooting in front of a moving object at 20 yards.  Which brings me to another point, some shooters see their leads in finger tip widths, some see barrel widths, some can’t even interpret the lead, they just know what it looks like in their head.   All of the above are acceptable.  Generally, what I do as a coach with a newer shooter is have them shoot a High 7 or Low 1 and instruct them to “point” the gun slightly in front of the target while looking hard at the front edge of the bird.  Once they hit a few, then I will ask, “how far in front do you think you were on that target?”  That way they give me the feedback in THEIR terms and we can proceed from there.  If I were to stand there and shout at them that they need to be exactly 1 foot in front of the target, I would be at fault as a coach.  This would encourage them to look at the barrel or front sight to get that exact picture (forcing them to measure instead of feel).  And what if they don’t see leads the way I see them?  Then I am just forcing them to do something that probably will not work for them.  That is why I let them give me their feedback and what they see, because that is what is most important!  Once they get a feel for how to lead those targets without looking back towards the barrel, then I can inch them out towards the middle as they become more familiar with the concept of lead and “feeling” the lead rather than calculating the lead.  Once sight pictures are learned and your brain knows that sight picture, you no longer need to put as much focus on that sight picture.  Your main focus should be in your setup at the start and acquiring a good, sharp focus on the target as you are pulling the trigger.

If you have any questions or comments, please email me directly at info@gsclinics.com and visit breakmoretargets.com for more information.  Please check the website for upcoming tournaments and clinics in your area and keep in mind that GSC is now in the DFW area.  GSC will be available to teach in the Dallas/Fort Worth area all year-round and is now offering ALL INCLUSIVE lesson packages in the DFW area.  Please call or email today for lesson availability.

Tip of the month:  Next time you are at your home club and want to test this theory, visualize your sight pictures before stepping on the station that way your brain knows what it wants to see subconsciously.  When you step on the station, go to your hold point, shift your eyes to your look point, and be ready when you call.  Once you see the flash, move on the flash at the speed of the target (to help build in your lead), stare at the front edge of the target really hard as you go to pull the trigger (instead of looking at the lead) and see how it goes.  You’ll be very happy with the results.