“You can practice shooting eight hours a day…
but, if your technique is wrong,
then all you become very good at is shooting the wrong way.”
-Michael Jordan
Basketball, football, golf, shooting…look no further to understand where inconsistency comes from. To end the mystery, confusion and inconsistency in the shooting box, my three books, shipped around the world…nearly 200 published magazine articles…and these newsletters…all were written to share a bit of knowledge on what truly does work out here. On time. Consistently. Specifically, what can be trusted. Not sometimes. All the time.
What I offer you comes from decades of difficult, often painful trial-and-error learning, the result of thousands of hours and a half million shells in practice and intense competition, testing and confirming what works, and, just as importantly, what does not.
Over time, more certainties surfaced. Today…again and again over these many years…my students confirm why Paragon methods can be trusted. Right on schedule, their shooting skills advance. Applying truths to one’s shooting does precisely that.
A few of those truths…
As you read the next paragraph, kindly hold onto this tightly. I do not…never have…never will teach “measuring leads” for Sporting Clays. The list is long of reasons why that betrays so many. I do, however, teach how to control our gun movements. Here’s why.
Just like precision matters greatly in the handgun and rifle world, precision matters in the shotgun world. The math behind our movements is ruthless. Movement of any gun muzzle arithmetically affects “point of impact” downrange. Mistakes at the muzzle are costly downrange and not because I say so. The math says so. This is why gun control is King.
“But Dan…I have a shotgun pattern out there THIS BIG.”
You’re right; you do. So why are you missing?
The “cause” of missing takes place behind the gun muzzle…loss of precision from RGM (random gun movement), the term I use in my books and referred to in my last article. Regardless of firearm, RGM creates problems down range. Count on it. This is why the methods we use to control RGM are so important.
Setting up on each and every target correctly minimizes RGM and adds precision to our shooting. Necessary? No. Unless you are seeking XXXXXX in your shooting. Then it matters.
The 4 set-up steps outlined in Take Your Best Shot, Book 1, Third Edition, effectively reduce RGM from the target launch to the trigger pull. When we set up correctly, they do. X counts go up…O’s down.
Next hard truth, previously pointed out in our Newsletter articles…
When I went to my first instructor certification class, (and our targets were a lot closer and more friendly) I was taught the Total Focus method. When the trap machine fired, look as hard as you could at the target and see ONLY the target rings…dome…shoulder…edges and nothing more. Achieving certification, myself and other instructors taught this method around the US.
As Sporting Clays targets very quickly became longer, faster, and more challenging, this method consistently failed us and our students. Why?
Please see the reasons why the clay target sports require Muzzle Awareness (MA) in Building Confidence Through Muzzle Awareness. Without MA, one won’t see the RGM…why the target was missed or hit.
OOXOXOO. Understandably, the student is not happy. The instructor suggests the shooter is not trusting him/herself enough. Instructor suggests, “Have more faith in yourself. Trust yourself: the target will break.”
PULL! Hallelujah! X!
“See? Good shot. Here’s a shell.” OXOO.
All the faith in the world can’t replace a) having a trustworthy shooting “method”…what, where and how…and, b) knowing how to correctly execute the method. For X’s without fail, on purpose, one must first have the method. From your instructor, you have every right to expect to learn that step-by-step shooting method. One that works “on time, all the time” on the target presentation in front of you. That’s with you behind the trigger, not your instructor. Once learned, make sure it can be taken home and practiced, until you have faith in the method and yourself. XXXXXX, 24/7/365.
That’s a Truth you can count on.
Thanks for spending time with us. I’ve already begun writing Part II to simplify and uncomplicate a few other matters on what we can trust in the shooting box. Hope you’ll join me.
Happy New Year everyone. We’re off to a good start. Cheryl and I wish you all the best and we’re looking forward to your next visit.
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XXXX
Dan Schindler is one of only 60 worldwide members of the Guild of Shooting Instructors (UK) and is one of the most highly respected Sporting Clays and Wingshooting Instructors in the US. Dan is an NSCA Level III Instructor (since 1995) and founded the Paragon School of Sporting with one goal in mind. Whether it be for the advanced competitor or providing the basics to the entry-level shooter, Paragon provides the simplest, most practical and most effective Instruction, Coaching and Mental Training for the Sporting Clays & Wingshooting enthusiast. Dan Schindler helps shooters alleviate a lot of their frustration by taking the mystery out of breaking targets, calling their own misses, and make their own corrections. Lessons are fun, enlightening and our clients learn to shoot better in minutes!
"Recommended for shooters of all skill levels, Coaches, Instructors
and parents of youth shooters."
Schindler's books are written for shooters like you!
Take the mystery out of missing targets and feathers with Dan Schindler's simple, easy-to-understand books. They're your road map for consistently and dependably shooting higher scores.
Warning: Shooters from around the world tell us ...if you lend these 3 excellent books to your shooting buddies, you may never see the books again! Some say they'd give up their spouse before they give up these books.
Take Your Best Shot (Book I), 3rd Edition is THE Gold Standard Primer It's all about the fundamentals, a requirement for good shooting. This book is used by high school and college shooting teams, recreational and competitive shooters from around the world. Solid, valuable, concise information that has helped thousands of shooters shoot more consistently with higher scores.
To The Target (Book II) Builds on the steps outlined in Book I. Emphasises Gun Management skills when the trap fires, creating a consistent, reliable, trustworthy swing.
Beyond the Target (Book III) is for shooters of all levels. It is filled with valuable information and clay target truths. It is entertaining and a culmination of three decades of Dan's life's work as a teacher, competitor, published writer, and much more.
Here's what Shooters, Coaches and Clay Shooting USA saying...
THE TRUSTED PRIMER
A Quarter of a Century and Counting
"Take Your Best Shot is the best clay and wingshooting shooting primer on the market that I have ever seen. The brilliance of its simplicity aids in getting across the correct messages for successful shooting for ANY clay/wingshooting shooter, let alone a new shooter."
Jacksonville University Sporting, Skeet & Trap Team
(Founding & Head Coach)
SCTP & ACUI Event and Divisional National Champions
"Take Your Best Shot is the greatest publication ever written on how to increase X’s on a scorecard and put more game birds in a hunting vest. In plain language, Take Your Best Shot teaches the essential, non-negotiable basics for building shooting excellence. It should be a required text for every clay target shooter, Wingshooter, Coach, Instructor and parent of a youth shooter who is looking for a step-by-step shooting “system” that is easy to understand, repeatable and utterly dependable. Take Your Best Shot is not only the best but the only book that provides this knowledge. Seriously – Take Your Best Shot is a must-have for every shotgunner."
Jeff Allen, Head Coach Carolina Clays
Paragon School of Sporting Professional Instructor
NSCA Level II Instructor
NSSA Skeet Instructor
NC State Scholastic Clay Target Program Advisor & Coach
NC Scholastic Clay Target Program Trap Director
“Few authors have tried to take the shooter on from the novice stage to serious competitor. “To The Target” does just that and it is one of the most innovative and important books yet published on the art of shooting clay targets.”
Clay Shooting USA
"This third volume in the Paragon school trilogy is the second best thing to booking a lesson with Schindler himself. Dan writes the way he coaches in person: respectfully, provocatively, humorously, and, most of all, effectively. His new book informs the Sporting Clays arts not only with a clear and proven blueprint for breaking (many) more targets, but with great heart as well."
Contrib