Target Focus

Little background:  Never shot a shotgun till year and a half ago.  Went to shoot one round of sporting clays and I was hooked..

Been practicing a lot.  Entered a few registered birds shoots and realized I needed to really work on the long game.  The last few months I have shot 300 birds a week, focusing mostly on the long shots and my scores have gone up in the registered shoots.  Moved from E class to D and need one punch for C.  

Went to a big shoot this weekend, registered birds and did ok.  Missed winning by one bird.   My issue is, I am missing so many easy close birds now, I will bust 4 in a row then drop the last 2.  I think this to be focus, taking for granted that they are easy.  

Anyone have this issue?  Or could it be something else?  Any pointers would be great ...

Thanks

Which registered shoot? E Class???

I'm guessing laserman is based in the US?

Yes I am based in the US.  

We have registered soots with classes.  Master, AA, A, B, C, D and E.  

Laserman,

 I would think that your issue is lack of concentration and allowing your mind to wander . If you can hit three pairs , what is causing you to miss the fourth pair? forgetfullness?

You state that you practiced a lot , focusing mainly on the long shots. Which targets are yopu missing most of ?

Most courses consist of average targets with a couple of testing , technical stands to sort us out . Practice properly until you are confident of hitting all the easy ones and most of the difficult ones.

Not any specific targets are a struggle.  I believe it to be loss of focus.  I appreciate the advice and will put more time on the range .  Thanks

Proper Practice Prevents Poor Performance .

Emphasis these days is on process vs/ results.  You seem to be concerned with results.  Examining the total process from closing the gun to shooting, identifying the successful process and then doing that the same way every time will result in the goal.  And practice that w/out worrying about the kills.