He who hesitates is lost

Stopping the gun and thus missing the shot sounds an easy problem to fix, but it takes practice, trust and training to let instinct take over

- MIKE YARDLEY

To think too much at the wrong moment and stop mid-swing or as you pull the trigger, may be noted as amongst the cardinal sins in shooting (breaches of safety apart). The Marquess of Ripon, arguably the greatest game shot of all (and a man who had despatched half-amillion birds before he died in the heather shooting grouse in 1923), left this brief but sage shooting advice, quoted in King Edward VII, as a Sportsman, by Alfred Edward Thomas Watson: “aim high, keep the gun moving and never check...” The tendency to hesitate, stop mid-swing and then miss afflicts the most experienced Shots as well as novices (myself included). It may be a habitual or occasional error. (It is also notable that many Guns rush to a stop – rushing is another cardinal sin.)

Hesitation is hard to override, something I noted while watching an old friend shoot recently. He is a solid performer on game or pitch disks, but, like many intelligent men, he is in the habit of thinking too much when shooting. When he does, you can see the effect on his barrels: they begin to judder, slow, and his head rises. It almost always leads to a miss. Too much rational thought, especially as we are taking the gun to the bird – that is, mid-swing – leads to physical and mental hesitation. It’s a negative circle: focus comes back to the gun and the gun slows (often to a dead stop) and may come off line. A miss behind ensues.