Shot gun followed by rifle shooting

[Montey]

I hear time and time again shooters saying my clay shooting/game shooting is off because I've been rifle shooting a lot.Persanaly I don't find a problem to me it's like saying I can't ride my track bike because I've been driving my track car! The way you use either is so difrent for me but I wonder how others feel?

[jcampbellsmith]

I struggle nowadays to shoot with a shotgun, despite having shot with some success as a teenager. I don't practice enough with either shotgun or a rifle. To be good at both, you need to practice at both.

Regards

JCS

[Montey]

My apologies for the back to front heading 

[chaz]

10 minutes ago, jcampbellsmith said:

I struggle nowadays to shoot with a shotgun, despite having shot with some success as a teenager. I don't practice enough with either shotgun or a rifle. To be good at both, you need to practice at both.

Regards

JCS

As above really. I'm not too bad, but it's definitely gone down since i use the rifle more....

Chaz

[geek]

I would agree,  I was an OK clay shooter, however, since I now shoot rifles more often, I would say my clay shooting isn't as good (and it was only average) as it once was; I probably need a few clay lessons to 'get back up to speed'.

[Big Al]

Its not the fact of using a rifle that destroys most peoples swing, its the fact they are not swinging enough as they are replacing swinging a shotgun with more static rifles. Personally I find my shotgun shooting remains at a 70/100 level for quite a while without practice but if I start shooting clays or game/pigeons a lot then my average certainly gets better with more trigger time. 

I think its like riding a bike, once learned you dont forget but it takes a lot of saddle time to be a Bradley Wiggins.

[gbal]

Regular good practice (and that begs questons!) is likely to maintain shooting performance. Shooting less is likely not to,but drop off might well vary,and/or be slight. It's about positive transfer (skills are very similar) versus negative transfer(the skill are more in opposition)- applied psychology has long investigated,and the new sports psychologists are hot on this.

  And there are more complx issues.For example,interference between differnt shooting disciplines (even within say 'McQeens/Bench Rest'-or 'skeet/olympic trap"-some of the skills demands differ) -More simply,less practice within the same disciplne might  be confounding things-doing something else isn't interfering directly,it's reducing practice time.Don't overlook age changes ,too,over the years...' Body 'rust' happens!

   What would be. Informative,is how shooters performance changes when they just shoot less often at the same shooting discipline,but don't do anything else instead...(getting 'rusty' isn't quite right,but will do). This is fairly typical-used to shoot (clays) once a week,but now shoot rifle also,and shoot alternate weeks (clay and rifle)...both factors are confounded...there is less clay practice but also possible new interference (negative transfer) from  the rifle shooting. 

    As Monty surmises, there are likely to be individual differences to 'susceptibility' to either rust or interference. There may be some positive aspects of skills transfer,but unlikley to be as good as focussed practice in one disipline.

Big Al puts the general position well....basics come fairly easy, without much maintenance, high performance levels need  very much more quality input both to develop,and maintain.

But what,you ask,about luck,etc.....well,here's what Gary Player said when he was asked about the role of luck in his golf career :   "Yes,I have definitely noticed that the more I practice,the luckier I get."

Enjoy.

gbal

     

[VarmLR]

My rifle shooting almost always spoils my first few outings with the shotgun.  Completely different disciplines needing completely different technique and muscle memory!  It's taken me several outings recently to be able to hit a barn door with my shotguns after spending the summer with the rifle.