Shooting Instinctively to Take More Doves with Barry Kelly of the Willows Sporting Clays in Tunica, Mississippi
Day 3: Barry Kelly of The Willows Explains How You Can Learn to Shoot Doves Better
Editor’s Note: Barry Kelly is a master class shooter and the manager of The Willows Sporting Clays and Hunting Center in Tunica, Mississippi, the site of the 2010 U.S. Open Sporting Clays Championship and the 2010 Mississippi State Sporting Clays Championship. Kelly can help you shoot better – especially with dove season starting.
 Question: Barry, how do you learn to shoot instinctively at doves?
Kelly: When you see the dove coming in, and you’ve made the decision to shoot that dove, start moving the gun in the direction the dove’s moving. If the dove’s coming straight at you, begin moving the gun straight-up. If the dove’s coming from left to right, start moving your gun from left to right. From whichever direction the dove’s coming, move your gun in the same direction. Most shooters will bring their shotguns to their faces and then shoot. Instead, keep the shotgun away from your face, until you’re ready to pull the trigger; keep both eyes focused on the dove, and then pull the trigger.  This system is the best one to take more doves, regardless of the dove’s flight pattern. Your body has the ability to make all the calculations and put that gun where it should be. Then when you pull the trigger, the bird will fall, if you use the proper form.
Question: How do you know if you have the proper form, and how can you make the proper calculations without thinking?
Kelly: You make correct calculations and have proper form the same way a baseball player can swing the bat and hit the ball, and a quarterback can throw a football into a spot no bigger than a pie plate 30-yards downfield and expect the receiver to catch it. You have to practice and get instruction, regardless of the sport. The more you practice, and the better instruction you get, the more proficient you become - whether you’re a baseball player, a football player or a dove shooter. Remember, if you practice wrong, you never can shoot right. But if you practice correctly, you’ll be able to shoot correctly more often and take more doves. The best way to shoot doves better than you’ve ever shot them before is to get some instruction in shooting. For instance, here at The Willows next year in 2011, we’ll be offering a program I’m really excited about: a father-and-son tune-up for dove season. The father will pay for 50-clay targets, and the son will get 50 targets for free. But they won’t just be shooting clay targets. Each father-and-son team will have an instructor who will coach them on how to shoot better.
 Question: How much can a hunter improve his ability to take doves by receiving instruction on how to shoot better and by practicing on clay targets before dove season?
 Kelly: We’ve seen dramatic results. Once the hunters see and understand how to shoot correctly and learn that they can break more targets by shooting correctly, they’re much-more confident when they go into a dove field and know they can make any shot the dove presents. Also, they know to look at the dove, not at the barrel of the gun.
To learn more about The Willows Sporting Clays and Hunting Center, click here, call Barry Kelly at (662) 357-3154, or email him at bkelly3@harrahs.com.
Tomorrow: Barry Kelly of The Willows Explains the Biggest Problem Dove Hunters Have
|
