In explosions of sound and color, ring-necked pheasants burst into flight from the brush at a hunter's feet. Ruffed grouse often flush from the far side of grape thickets. Wood ducks and Canada geese can sail past at the edge of shotgun range, and mourning doves dart in and out from every direction at speeds up to 55 mph.
Bird hunting can be a blast, but filling a game bag is tough. Hunters who do little wing-shooting might need time on a range. Some experienced clay bird gunners are unprepared for field conditions, and even veteran shotgun hunters sometimes need an edge.
With most Pennsylvania bird seasons opening in just a few weeks, hunters still have time to sharpen skills, rethink tactics and improve their odds.
Nick Sisley, an outdoors writer and shotgunning coach said that for many hunters, time on a skeet range could change everything.
"It gets you more familiar with your gun," he said. "If you just pull out your shotgun to hunt four or five times a year, you're not as familiar with your gun as if you shoot at clay targets."
In his new book, "Gun Digest Shooter's Guide to Shotgun Games" (Gun Digest Books), Sisley offers tips on succeeding in the four main clay target sports: trap, skeet, five-stand and sporting clays. Each of those shooting disciplines requires specific skills that translate to real-world hunting situations _ the bird flushes straight out from underfoot, flies out low toward the right or left, comes in high at any angle or crosses from either direction.
"Some of the best practice for grouse, pheasant and quail is on a skeet field," Sisley said. "Stations 6 and 7 ... those conditions are similar to most any upland bird hunting. You get a lot of those kinds of shots."
Good wing shooting requires more than just knowing when to pull the trigger. Mounting the gun to the shoulder comprises about one-third of the motions necessary to make the shot, and should dove-tail with the swing. Get it right and it looks deceptively easy. Get it wrong and you've missed.
"It's important to get the idea of mounting the gun as part of shooting," Sisley said, "whereas it is not as good for hunting practice if you have the gun mounted before the bird comes out and you pull the trigger."
Nationwide, gun club membership is increasing, he said, and many facilities offer shooting games. If range fees and time are limited, consider getting a clay target thrower.
Sisley describes a shouldering tip that costs nothing but can make all the difference in wing shooting. It's done indoors with an unloaded 12 gauge shotgun and a penlight flashlight that's nearly the size of the muzzle. Slip it inside.
"With an open choke it usually takes a wrap or two of cellophane tape around the light to make a snug fit," he said.
Adjust the light to its most narrow beam. With the gun lowered, focus the beam at the juncture of the wall and ceiling.
"Work on your gun mount, keeping that narrow light beam right in that corner throughout the mount," he said. "This practice helps the shooter get both hands working in unison."
Step 2, practice the swing.
"Start the light moving along that juncture, then start the stock to the shoulder all the while keeping the light beam right at the wall-ceiling juncture. This practice helps develop a super-smooth swing."
Experienced shotgun gamers should remember that gun club ranges do not replicate real-world hunting conditions.
"It's the surprise of the flush," Sisley said. "When practicing with clay targets you know when the bird is coming, but in a hunting situation you have to be ready. On the skeet field you know nobody's out there and the shot is safe, but in hunting you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times."
Insecure footing can present complications during a hunt. So can inclement weather, instant range estimation and shots that just can't be rehearsed.
A case in point: While hunting in a line, a pheasant flushes unexpectedly from underfoot and flaps forward, then doubles back over the hunter's head. That shot starts with a forward mount, but the gun is then dropped from the shoulder and brought to port arms. Pivot to the rear without pointing the muzzle at another hunter, remount, lead bringing the bead down past the bird, fire and follow through. There's no clay game for that.
"And it's important to know when not to shoot," Sisley said. "Safety is paramount. If you're not sure _ if you think it's a borderline call _ don't shoot."
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