“There are 3 types of baseball players:Those who make it happen.Those who watch it happen.Those who wonder what happened.”Tommy Lasorda Same with shooting. If you’re wondering why that just happened, read on.From a few million first-hand experiences, behind the trigger in competition and behind my students, a wealth of information has been gained on what works dependably and what doesn’t—at least not consistently. By simplifying everything, including the Mental Game, my students and readers tell me this information is accelerating their progress in the shooting box; they now have a working plan on each target.For example…Any confusion about your ...

I wish you could see the moment a shooter realizes their swing finally makes sense. One clean move, the target breaks… then another… and right about then they stop, look at me, and say, “How have I been missing this long?” It’s a fair question. Most shooters have been trying to solve the wrong problem with the wrong information—sometimes for years. When they experience a clear, simple system built specifically around how they see, move, and think, something changes. They start breaking targets with purpose instead of hope, and that’s when the real fun begins.Here’s a common sense hit list of exactly what puts more O’s and more Xs on a ...

As the founder of the Paragon School of Sporting, I’ve spent more than three decades teaching clay target and wingshooting students from around the world—each lesson reaffirming that not all shooting methods are created equal.A very important topic: what methods work all the time, sometimes, and in some cases, not at all?If time in the box is primarily about having fun, methods that work sometimes will do just fine. Here, X’s come second to friendly competition, trash talk and spending time in good company.Methods that work sometimes can handle easy targets. Harder targets? Not so much.For example, using “measuring” leads as a method. Contrary to popular ...

Since everyone else is, let’s talk about ammunition.Manufacturer? Folks, the truth is, they all work. Favorites build confidence and that counts. Pick any popular brand and know for certain: what’s in the box will do its job if you do yours.Shot size? Please don’t share this, OK? 9’s are downright lethal inside 30 yards. 8’s—depending on how much target bottom is visible—are stone reliable out to 40+ yards, give or take a little. For consistency, 7½’s get the nod at 50 all the way out to 60 and 70 yards, again depending on what the target is showing us. Rabbits and battues? 8’s work all day.Payload? Despite some questioning their ...