Ask The Instructor: Sleep With Your Guns?

Question: What is the best way to learn to mount properly?

Answer: Gunmount is defined as the fluid and synchronized motion of the whole body, head, hands, and gun as a single unit culminating in the almost instantaneous discharging of the shotgun as sharp visual focus on the target is achieved and the gun mount to the cheek is completed. When working to improve your gunmount, seeking the help of a skilled instructor is always a good first step. There are also some very effective drills and practice routines you can use between lessons, both indoor (dryfire) and at the club. As a competitor, you need to handle your gun every day. I’m not suggesting that you sleep with your shotgun, but if your goal is to compete and win, you and your shotgun must operate as one. Keep your shotgun in an accessible, but safe, location in your home. In the largest room in your house, use the seam between the wall and ceiling as your imaginary target line. While standing close to the opposite wall, move and mount your shotgun to an imaginary left-to-right crossing target, then a right-to-left target. Repeat. Then, quartering targets. Repeat. The goal of this indoor drill is to firmly embed a proper gun mount into your subconscious through repetition. When at the club, spend some time on the skeet field, shooting singles from the high and low houses from stations 3, 4, and 5, then report pairs, then doubles. While skeet is normally shot from a pre-mounted ready position, shooting from a low-gun position at these stations is a great way to practice and perfect your gun mount. If you are more of a novice, start with a “half draw” ready position, with the comb of your shotgun a few inches below your cheek. Gradually increase the distance between the comb and your cheek in your ready position as you progress. I strongly encourage you to use video as a tool to evaluate and monitor your progress, identifying flaws in your mount as you advance.