Tips for Teal?

Help Support :

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ExSCA

ShootClay Admin
Joined
Jan 27, 2011
Messages
8,183
Whilst my last two sporting rounds have been my best ever - I've been REALLY disappointed with my performance on Teals.At Weston Wood - I took a 1 or 2 on a stand consisting of a sim pair of teals (not long range)  and then I also struggled on a flat teal there taking 1/4 of them.Again - at BCA on Saturday I struggled on a stand with a flat teal followed by a dropping overhead shot.  I think I missed ALL of the teals, and that affected my performance on the dropping shot as well.I'd love to hear some experienced shooters explain how they tackle the teal - and whether there are are some tips that I can employ to get rid of this bogey bird.  I realise that I can't hit every target, but it's frustrating to know that if I'm hitting 70ish - then 75/78 cannot be far out of my reach if I tackle this problem.I know that you haven't seen me shoot - but I'd appreciate some advice on good technique for the teal.  

 
I'll write something this eve after work unless someone gets there before me!!

 
I like to imagine they have little legs hanging down. Then shoot em off at the knees. Works most of the time for me :)

 
I call with both eyes open, and then close my left as my gun mounts.

 
The reason for asking is that it's tricky to shoot rising targets if the off eye is closed because the gun obstructs the view and you lose sight of the clay. Steep climbing away teals (and driven birds too) being the most affected. The classic vertical teal or incoming teal at least gives you the chance to shoot after it's crested.  I'm happy to defer to Ed's views but my suggestion to a one eyed shooter would be to try shooting with the gun out of the shoulder rather than mounted to give maximum viewing time before the shot.

 
If it is a steep rising teal, hold the gun about two thirds up the flight line then look back either 'through' the gun or to one side so that you can see the clay approaching your muzzle. Just as the clay passes the muzzle bring the gun up to the clay and shoot at it.If the clay is veering left then think left edge or to the right think right edge.If the clay is flattening out think bottom edge so that you don't shoot over the top.If the teal is more of a flat DTL type, just hold the gun more or less where you are going to shoot it, when the clay is sitting on top of your barrels pull the trigger.This approach mostly works OK for me.

 
I think what chesterse says sums it up perfectly,i shoot 2 eyes open and look through the gun,i used to struggle with teal, i find it quite critical where i start the gun, on a high teal i went through a stage where i couldn't hit them and it was because i was gradually raising the gun higher and higher,then if it wasn't going perfectly straight,the gun was in the way and i couldn't get the right line on it,as said above about two thirds.

 
The birds that you struggled with Matt were more trappy kind of teal.The reason you struggled on them so much was you approached them as if they were vertical and your hold points were far too low which lead to miles too much gun movement.Each bird is different but a rough guide is the flatter the bird, the closer the gap between your hold point and your kill point. I don't like to see a great deal of gun speed on even vertical teal but on the flatter ones (even if they appear very fast) it's a stand wrecker- you race through and go over the top, even if you try and shoot "at" the bird. Is all about control on these birds and that only comes from making a proper plan before you get in the cage, and having worked through your technique previously. Also knowing which bird to take first is a big help, which all comes with experience but again, once you work through and buil a technique it will be very apparent which one to take first, and why.

 
I absolutely agree with Ed here. Worryingly, I missed three of those flatish teals and I KNOW I was going over the top.They were hard for me, as they were the report bird, making a careful hold point and a careful gun movement harder than when you have time to keep calm.. They kept me out of the money at Weston. Grrr..CSC3

 
Nicely put Ed.As Ed says though you should study these targets from behind the shooters in front of you.  Movement should be kept to a smoooth /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-cool.gif minimum at all times. No shot should ever be rushed but smooothed out instead. /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-wink.gif

 

Latest posts

Back
Top