A BB gun without sights is what you need

[Abert Rim]

I was very surprised by the technique described in this vintage article.

https://vault.si.com/vault/1958/10/2...ng-by-instinct

[RickinTN]

I didn't read it all but that is wonderful advice for successful shotgunning. So many folks try to aim a shotgun like you would a rifle. Not very successful that way.
Take care,
Rick

[scattershot]

When I was in the Army, back in the dark ages, we had marksmanship training like this. We used sightless BB guns, and could learn to hit a quarter sized washer in the air. It was called “quick kill”, and was quite effective.

[Bill M]

Way back in those "Dark Ages" while aboard ship, I remember a Stars and Stripes article on training soldiers to point shoot using BB guns shooting dimes. It described one of the graduates as being point and shooting at a light he saw on night patrol. A firefight broke out, and after all was over a NV officer was found shot in his luminous wrist watch!

[G W Wade]

I remember reading articles about "Instictive Shooting" but no memory of when............other than long time ago! GW

[CastingFool]

I remember going through that instinctive shooting while in basic training. After a while, I tried shooting at a quarter being thrown up in the air. Actually hit it a few times, which surprised me because I'm cross dominant. I kept the quarter, which I still have somewhere in my stash

[TNsailorman]

After the vietnam frackess was over and my brother returned from vietnam and the Marines and I was out of the Navy. We set up a firearms safety course for young kids. That was after a local neighborhood child was shot and killed by his next door playmate. They found a loaded revolver in a nightstand and proceeded to play cowboy with drastic results. We contacted Daisey and through our local Ruritan Club we purchased BB guns and set up classes on Saturday morning. Daisey provided a ton of targets, classroom materials and even gave us a huge discount of their best air rifles. It was amazing how fast those young kids picked up on safe gun handling and especially marksmanship. We had a couple of young girls that were shooting sugar wafers at 30 feet on a regular basis. We finally took them outside and started them shoot the "instinctive" method. We would toss jawbreakers into the air for them to shoot. They picked that up real quick also. Give me a kid 5 or 6 years old and I can have him/her shooting very good scores in a short period of time. Young kids seem to have brains that soak up instruction like a sponge soaks up water. Amazing. WE even had some of the mothers of kids asking us to set up classes of firearms safety for them. They did not like the idea of their husbands having loaded firearms laying around where the kids could access them. They wanted to learn to safely load and unload different firearms. james

[Thom_44]

Man when i was a kid, someone took the rear sight off of my pellet gun. And to think i thought i was the cool kid because i made a decent rear sight from a bent paper clip and masking tape and a nail

[frkelly74]

I thought I was something when I could hit a pie plate my dad threw up in the air when I was 8. I still have the bb gun and it still works, but it does not fit me like when I was 8.

[dverna]

I didn't read it all but that is wonderful advice for successful shotgunning. So many folks try to aim a shotgun like you would a rifle. Not very successful that way.
Take care,
Rick

You are incorrect. The shotgun is still “aimed”. That is why trap single barrels are 36” long and every competition trap gun has a mid bead.

I once mounted an EoTech sight on a K-80 and it was surprisingly effective.

I was a decent Trap shooter and shot AAA singles for a short time.

IMO most people who think they point a shotgun are actually aiming it. A very good trap shooter I know has his shooting glasses made to get a sharp focus on the front bead.

As in most shooting, it is best to ignore the ramblings of “club shooters” and associate with the guys winning competitions.

[schutzen-jager]

from vintage guns magazine -

[GhostHawk]

With some practice it is possible in an hour to hit the bottom of an empty pop can thrown into the air.
It does take 2 people, one throws, other shoots. After X # of shots swap places.

Learn to watch for the pause at the top of the arc. Won't take long to predict about where it will happen and have the gun ready and aligned. Then it is just a matter of timing. Once you are getting consistent hits on the can try to make your shot hit the bottom center.

An hour or 2 on a nice summer evening can provide some entertainment and build skill.

Once you have the can down pat switch to large flat washers with a piece of duct tape over the hole.
Idea is to hit the center. As you improve size the washers smaller and smaller.
A really good consistent thrower is a blessing indeed.

[TNsailorman]

I had a buddy back in the 60's that could hit empty .22lr cases thrown into the air. He also like to shoot a 12 gauge pump shotgun and shoot the empties he ejected after firing them and before they hit the ground. Did I mention he liked to show off. james

[lightload]

You are incorrect. The shotgun is still “aimed”. That is why trap single barrels are 36” long and every competition trap gun has a mid bead.

I once mounted an EoTech sight on a K-80 and it was surprisingly effective.

I was a decent Trap shooter and shot AAA singles for a short time.

IMO most people who think they point a shotgun are actually aiming it. A very good trap shooter I know has his shooting glasses made to get a sharp focus on the front bead.

As in most shooting, it is best to ignore the ramblings of “club shooters” and associate with the guys winning competitions.

Don, this post is the only one out of your 8914 that I disagree with.

[dverna]

Don, this post is the only one out of your 8914 that I disagree with.

No problem. We can disagree.

My opinion is based on observation, training with world class shotgunners and personal experience. I believe I point my shotgun by aiming it. I may not be correct. Maybe I am aiming it by pointing it? But I know with 100% certainty that the color and size of the front bead affects my scores. It may not make a significant difference to the shooter hitting 22/25 at the local club. It makes a difference to someone who must shoot 200x200 to win at a state/regional/national shoot.

What is important is what works for each individual...or what they think works?

I started as a horrible shotgunner and had to work hard at it. Along the way, I experienced a lot of "club talk" that turned out to be incorrect. Guys who believe they can "read the breaks", Green Dot loads kick less than Red Dot because it is a slower powder etc etc. For someone who wants to learn, I recommend going to Trapshooters.com and reading the work done by Neil Winston. Neil passed in 2019, but was a "myth buster" and successfully challenged the dogmas of shotgunning. Neil was inducted into the Trap Shooting Hall of Fame in 2023.

Another useful work is the book By Dr. AC Jones,

https://www.amazon.com/Sporting-Shot.../dp/0956662706

We are here to learn. so different points of view are instructive.

BTW, I disagree with a lot of my posts in retrospect...LOL