how far should I lead??

[josh]

I am generally new at waterfowling and I keep missing ducks and geese when I shoot at them...generally I lead them about a body length of the duck infront of them ......is this to far??????? or not far enough?

any information or advice would be very helpful
thank you for your time

[Chris Stotts]

It depends on a few things such as how fast the bird is traveling, how far away it is, what style choke you are using and even the strength of shells you are using (how quickly the shot travels). I would suggest practicing with sporting clays. It's a lot of fun and you will get the practice needed to understand how much to lead a bird in different situations.

[josh]

tommorow me and my dad are going to set up ower skeet thrower so that it throws the pigeons sideways infront of you instead of away.(without putting the person throwning the pigeons in any danger ofcoarse) So maybe that will help. I love shooting skeet. I could do it 24/7.hahah:)

[s morton]

1 body length ahead is way to much. aim for there bill (it will then smackum in the stomachs) then there grave yard dead. :D

[birddog]

S Morton- That's probably the WORST wing shooting advice i've ever heard in MY LIFE!.... re-read Chris Stotts advice then think about what you just posted .... cryin' out loud ... where did that come from... do you work for a shotshell manufacturer or somethin' ....??

Pardon the sarcasm but, that's rediculous!! .... maybe if they're floatin' locked-up and deekin' at 15-20yds.... sounds like you were watchin' Phil Robertson's 'Commander' videos before you posted ... good luck gettin' a pass shot to work at 20-30yrds + at teal or woodies!! Then add weather to the shot..

[bluedavis]

aiming for the bill works for me, except that I don't hold on it. I usually start from behind and try to swing through where the bird is going, and then touch off the shot as I go past the bill. If I start thinking about the lead then I'll miss every time. The hard part is guessing which way the bird is going to go - they seem to have a mind of their own.

[GreenHeadHunter]

Well man there are many things that come it to play when leading a duck. Wind, Speed of bird, and other things. But what works best for me is to lead them in a swing and pop the shot off as you pass its head.

[birddog]

Pardon my 'soap box' post... i was a bit on the suprised side of things. A handful of my waterfowling this season has been done on marshy creek channels surrounded by woods and I have had to clear cut in front of a bunch of birds coming through like stealth fighters. Again pardon the sarcasm.

[ 12-14-2003, 09:44 AM: Message edited by: birddog ]

[birddog]

oops

[ 12-14-2003, 09:42 AM: Message edited by: birddog ]