USAMU Website

Vincent Hancock – The Teal Shot

Today, I will be showing you how to effectively break a teal target using three different types of leads. I’ll be showing you how to break it on its rise, at its peak, and as it is falling   The Pass Through The first lead we will be discussing today is a pass through or swing through method. The bird will be on its rise. As the bird’s rising, your barrel comes from beneath the target and passes through the target. As you get to your appropriate distance above, pull the trigger. This is the most consistent way to break a rising target. Now you see here that I continue to swing through the target even after the shot is already finished and the target is broken.      The Sustained Lead The second lead we will be using today is a sustained lead. As the target is rising, it will stop at its apex or the highest point. Your barrel will also be there. This is where you’ll break the target using a sustained lead, before it transitions into a falling target. With a sustained lead, you see my barrel stopped with the target as it reaches the apex and that’s where I break it.      The Pull Away Now the third type of lead is a pull away. After the target reaches its apex, it begins to fall. Your barrel will start just underneath the target and slowly accelerate away from the target at about 1 mph faster, because a falling target is always gaining speed. Again, as I shoot the target, I pull away from it one mph faster than the target is moving and I continue to pull away even after the shot.  Now that we have seen the three types of leads to break a teal target, I’ll show you the most challenging position to break this target in, which is just feet above the ground. This target is so challenging because you see the ground and you automatically want to stop. The key to breaking this target is keep your barrel moving. You see how I kept my barrel moving? That’s exactly what you’ll have to do to break these targets. A good shooter will perfect all three of the leads that we talked about today and get the breaks that I shot them at. This will put more X’s on your scorecard and more birds in your freezer. For now, Stay Army Strong.   CLICK HERE FOR PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION