Shotgun Drills

**carleng** · 21-04-2016, 10:42

Good morning all

I am handing in my shotgun license app tomorrow (hopefully), and this got me thinking about shotgun drills.

Since I'm a complete noob with shotguns, there might be some basic questions.

Can a shotgun be dry-fired at home? I'm guessing that like with any firearm you would like to get the hang of the trigger and sighting.

What live-fire drills are there? Do you set up target and engage from different distances/on the move?

What kind of equipment is necessary? You can only hit cardboard targets so many times before they disintegrate.

**LukeS** · 21-04-2016, 10:48

Im sure the trainers on here will chip in soon but get some snap capps so you can dry fire safely.

Then practice lots of reloading, shotguns need to continuously be fed!

Good luck with the application.

**Trundle** · 21-04-2016, 10:57

BigT does a great shotty course.

**pdh** · 21-04-2016, 11:02

Originally Posted by carleng

Good morning all

I am handing in my shotgun license app tomorrow (hopefully), and this got me thinking about shotgun drills.

Since I'm a complete noob with shotguns, there might be some basic questions.

Can a shotgun be dry-fired at home? I'm guessing that like with any firearm you would like to get the hang of the trigger and sighting.

What live-fire drills are there? Do you set up target and engage from different distances/on the move?

What kind of equipment is necessary? You can only hit cardboard targets so many times before they disintegrate.

Info needed:

Is it Semi or Pump?
What sport are you practicing for?

Plate racks are the best to practice on although not many ranges have them. Next is hanging plates. After that its steel plates that you have to pick up. Bottom line is steel targets of some variety.

Ill comment once you have answered the quesitons

**carleng** · 21-04-2016, 11:06

Originally Posted by LukeS

Im sure the trainers on here will chip in soon but get some snap capps so you can dry fire safely.

Then practice lots of reloading, shotguns need to continuously be fed!

Good luck with the application.

I have found an NRA newsletter with shotgun training tips. They also indicated that reloading is where you can win/lose the most time. The drill they had was as follows:
At position 1 with 2 in the tube, engage target. On the move towards position 2, reload with 4 shells. At position 2 engage target again.

Their reasoning was that you can learn to engage targets from multiple distances and learn/practice how to reload quickly while on the move.

Originally Posted by Trundle

BigT does a great shotty course.

I know about it, but will have to wait until my app has been successful, hopefully around July (holding thumbs!)

**carleng** · 21-04-2016, 11:56

Originally Posted by pdh

Info needed:

Is it Semi or Pump?
What sport are you practicing for?

Plate racks are the best to practice on although not many ranges have them. Next is hanging plates. After that its steel plates that you have to pick up. Bottom line is steel targets of some variety.

Ill comment once you have answered the quesitons

In my case it is a semi-auto shotgun (one of the SAR dashprod thingy's).

I currently take part in IDPA, but I do not want to limit myself too much and hopefully SAPSA/3GN is in my future. :-)

**pdh** · 21-04-2016, 12:02

Originally Posted by carleng

In my case it is a semi-auto shotgun (one of the SAR dashprod thingy's).

I currently take part in IDPA, but I do not want to limit myself too much and hopefully SAPSA/3GN is in my future. :-)

The top skill you can do at home is reload practice. If you can reload fast, it is a huge plus for a match, probably more important than shooting the shotgun. You need to decide if you are going to do a load 2 or 4 method. Anything else is just a waste of practice time. Set yourself up with a loading device that works (you dont need many to start) and go from there.

Another dry fire skill you can practice is getting the gun up to your cheek as if you were going to shoot it. This includes starting from different start positions and running and picking the gun up. Once you have muscle memory of where the shotgun should sit in your cheek and where your hands are positioned , you can get more proficient. Note here that it is important to see what happens on the range first and what works for you. You dont want to learn bad muscle memory.

Dry fire and transitions should be left to the live fire range in my opinion. You need to get in tune with how your gun recoils and and it transitions to the next target.