There is a lot you can do in the lockdown from the comfort of your own home to keep your eye in for your return to pulling the trigger. Areas we can work on without even firing a shot include gun mount, footwork, vision and technique.

GOOD GUN MOUNT

Gun mount is one of the most effective and one where you can see real benefits quickly. First, establish the gun is unloaded and then set yourself up 2 meters away from a mirror. Start by placing the gun in your shoulder and your head on the stock and pointing the bead at your eyeball in the reflection. For most game shooters you want to see the eyeball resting on the rib. If it doesn’t in this most comfortable of circumstances, then your gun fit should be checked by a competent coach when lockdown ends. Assuming it does fit, then bring your gun down from your shoulder pocket and mount the gun 10 times in a row trying to get your eyeball to sit perfectly on the rib each time. A small adjustment is not unusual in the first few sessions. What we are looking for is for both hands to be working working in unison - the muzzle and stock of the gun should rise together as you mount it. Your shoulder should move forward a little, but your head should remain still and they should all lock firmly but smoothly together at the same time. If you find your stock hand is doing more work your muzzles will dip below the horizontal. You can rectify this by controlling the stock under your armpit. This forces your barrel hand to push forward rather than up.

ENOUGH FOCUS

Away from the mirror, with your newly refreshed gun mount, point to the corner of the wall and ceiling - just before the gun locks with your shoulder and cheek, close your eyes. Open again when it is in your shoulder and you should be pointing at the corner. Once you have practiced this enough, you can move on to following the lines of the ceiling. These natural flow lines can help you visualise that fluidity inherent in good shooting. You can tape a small torch to the side/bottom rib and close the curtains to focus on the ‘bird’ but retain barrel awareness if that helps. We are looking to ride two horses with our focus – the right level of attention but in a relaxed manner. Focus too hard and we tighten up; too soft, and careless mistakes come into our gun mount. It can be done in a secluded garden (don’t upset the neighbours though) following the pigeons and other birds using snap caps. I spent hours doing this as a youth when shooting opportunities were limited, carving out synaptic pathways in the brain like water running over rock. Contrary to popular belief, muscles don’t have memory. Specific parts of your brain control which signals your muscles act upon and this is where these movements become second nature, your muscle's strength and fitness to carry them out is also improved. But to do all of this well your footwork needs to be sound.

FOOTWORK

The old adage of pointing your lead foot to where you want to kill the bird is fine for quick reaction shooting but when shooting higher birds to left and right we can take advantage of the more time available.

Pick a point in the middle of the ceiling line where you want to kill the bird. Instead of just pointing you lead foot at that point and pivoting the ball of the other foot, bring you back foot round to point in a similar direction. Start on the corner and come through the kill point. You will find you feel restricted in the movement at the start of the swing and your knees may twist a little, but the essential follow-through will feel much freer. If that is unfamiliar stick with what you know. 10 repetitions a day to start and then increase the number until you start to feel it in the muscles of the arms. Once you’ve practiced a few days change it up to swing one side of the room and turn 180 degrees and immediately swing on the other ceiling line. If you get it wrong you won't be able to hold the line.

FROM THE GROUND UP

A good gun swing comes from the ground up. Your footwork and balance are crucial elements, but the motion itself should not come from the arms. Your arms are there to mount the gun consistently and keep it online – the swing itself should come from your core – the spot in the middle of your body, just below the naval is its centre. It's known in martial arts as the ‘tanden’ or ‘hara’ and it is where your physical power comes from. Try swinging a gun with just your arms and then include hip rotation (your hips and pelvis surround your 'hara') to see the difference in power and effort. Almost all of your body is used in the perfect gun swing.

Eyesight is key for shooting and staring at your phone during lockdown hasn’t helped you. There are exercises available online, but with such a sensitive and important body part for shooting, I prefer to consult a specialist. Ed Lyons Sports Vision, the ‘go-to’ specialist for many top shooters, has developed some eye training kits with several options available for home use. With any muscle, it is important to warm it up before training. Ed suggests the following: sit or stand in a relaxed position. Hold a pen about 6 inches from your face. Keeping your head still move the pen slowly to the right a follow it with your eyes until you can go no further. Come back to the centre. Then repeat smoothly to the left, and back to centre. Then up and down always coming smoothly back to centre. Then move onto the diagonals coming back to centre again. Once you have completed all directions, repeat, but this time hold the stretch for a count of four.

“The muscles in your eyes are the most active in your body,” says Ed. “The accuracy with which you see the target dictates how you move to shoot it.” This warm-up is useful in itself but is designed to be used with the kits that can help with eye dominance issues, improve eye coordination and increase our ability to focus on near and far objects on demand.

FREE INFORMATION

Finally, there is a lot of good information coming out from elite-level coaches and specialists in the field sports world during these lockdowns. They have been very generous with their time and expertise. Some of it is in the form of Instagram live broadcasts, but if you don’t have an account a few can be found on YouTube free to air.

In the face of this hideous virus and restrictive lockdown, we have two choices: we can take positive steps to akeep ourselves fit and come back shooting stronger than ever, or we can focus on the negatives. I know which I prefer.

First published in the Shooting Times, May 2020