Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 27, 1994 TAG: 9407230005
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
So Phillips was ready when B.P. Wood walked from the Buffalo Creek clubhouse to shoot station No. 1.
``Do you mind if we watch?'' said Phillips.
Wood, from Piney River, said he didn't.
No. 1 on the Bedford County course duplicates a following pair of chukars, with one target, then another, flying uphill right to left.
Wood got them both.
Phillips congratulated him, but had a suggestion.
``Decide where you are going to break the target, then take your gun back approximately 10 to 15 yards.''
As Wood prepared to do that, Phillips quietly said, ``Ninety percent of the time they turn the gun back too far toward the trap and the target flies past the gun. They are chasing all of the time. I try to set them up to where when you mount the gun you are on the target at the same time.''
``Pull,'' Wood called.
He missed both targets.
``Try it again,'' Phillips said.
Wood missed again.
On the next try he broke them.
``When you mount your gun the target should be right about at the end of your barrel,'' said Phillips. ``Then, if you want, you can follow it for a second and gently move into the front and open up a lead. Or, if it feels right, you can shoot as soon as the gun touches your shoulder.''
Wood appeared happy with the tip as he moved to station No. 2.
Phillips, a world-class shooter who conducts clinics across the country, believes the biggest mistake American shooters make is to hold their guns too far back toward the trap. First decide where you plan to break the target, is his recommendation. After that, position your feet and eyes as if there were a squirrel at that spot and you are aiming a rifle at it.
``Then from there move your gun back 10 or 15 yards. You don't chase a target. You have so much more time you are a lot smoother."
The chasing comes from the fact that most American shooters grew up on skeet or hunting, Phillips said.
``I get people to say, `We have been taught to swing the gun, swing the gun.'''
Shooters need to concentrate on learning how the targets fly, instead of spending time chasing them, he said. Let your eyes do most of the work, not your gun.
``Take your time. Take your time,'' are instructions you'll often hear from Phillips.
``For the person coming into the sport, they should go to as many grounds [ranges] as possible and shoot as many varied targets. Try and practice on harder targets. Don't practice on the ones you can hit. Take a box of shells and practice on the one you have problems with.''
Getting help from a qualified instructor not only pays off in better scores, but it can save you money in wasted shells, said Phillips. Shooters often will pay $1,000 for a gun, buy clothing and spend cash on range fees, yet skimp on instruction.
``They will keep missing the same targets. Maybe an ego or something will stop them from spending another hundred-odd dollars for good instruction.''
Phillips shoots an $18,000 Krieghoff shotgun, but his advice to beginners is not to be in a rush to buy a custom-fitted gun.
``What people should do is learn how to shoot; learn how to mount the gun properly every time. Why have the gun fitted if you can't mount it properly every time? Maybe after a year or two, when you are mounting the gun properly all the time, then you can go and get your gun fitted.''
Good shooting takes dedication, Phillips said.
``It doesn't come overnight. My first major win took me 14 years.''
by CNB