The quiet art of the low-gun start

There is an old habit, on the line at most clays courses, of mounting the gun before the call. The shooter settles in, swings the stock to the cheek, finds the bead, and only then says pull. It is comfortable. It is also wrong.

The low-gun start — stock at the hip, eyes hunting the target — is how birds actually appear. A pheasant does not wait for you to be ready. The discipline of the low gun is the discipline of the field.

The mount itself

A good mount is two motions, not one. The hands push the muzzles to the line of the bird; the stock follows to the cheek. If the stock arrives first, you will check your swing. If the muzzles arrive first, the stock will come home.

What to practice

Five minutes a night, in front of the mirror. No shells. No clays. Just the mount, slow, until the cheek finds the comb every time.