Instinctive Shooting 101! - Sporting clays advice with Ed Solomons 

Ed has a way of explaining the technique of properly shooting a clay- like no other I've ever seen. His way of connecting to a shooter- and working out the small details to help that shooter develop proper mount/eye work combined with consistency shot after shot is key. What a great video gentlemen. Minor adjustments in learning to read the target line/speed is so much better than walking up, loading your gun, and hoping (praying) you spray enough shot out there to hit something. Thats why Ed is a seasoned professional shooter/coach. Wished I could spend a day with you chaps. Thanks from Missouri, USA.

stopped shooting, haven't missed a clay since, thanks cartridge prices!

Nice to see Mr Solomons back on the channel, cracking bloke! Bring back the Solomon’s and Carter vids please 🙏 😉 great filming sash

Excellent video. Ed is brilliant shooter/instructor and a great communicator. Wish I had the time and money to workout with him.

As always, an excellent video. Always enjoy when either Ed is on the channel. Knowledgable and seem like great blokes. Also glad Ed said the old chestnut of “I don’t even see a barrel” is a load of bollocks too, always suspected it was

Great explanation by Ed.

The athleticism and hard focus upon the clay of "instinctive" versus the analysis and barrel awareness employed by "method" - it's good to see the challenge of shooting for score made plain (and to see a lot of taboos and habitual assumptions shattered). This vid gives me confidence that it's learnable, at least to some extent.

I've watched a few of these great videos now. All sound theories, having a plan and using the right tools for the job, I'll be doing my best to put it into practise. Lucky for you aswell having these guys to yourself for your own improvements. Because as you know, two Eds are better than one!

Aye up mate another great video! mr Solomons talks so much sense i remember being told you shouldnt see the barrel its never made much sense to me ! Quality yet again

watching & listening to professionals is a bless ... good job guys.

Fascinating subject. I`m a hopeless clay shot because I commit the cardinal sin of shooting the first pair instinctively, and then trying to repeat what I just did. It doesn`t work! However, as a woodpigeon over decoys shot I manage to hit about 75% of the birds I engage. These are shots at all ranges and angles with no two birds ever truly being the same. I shoot them all "instinctively" with a fast handling side by side. I`d be curious to see how clay shooters, using techniques evolved from that sport would fare under similar circumstances.

Love the analysis. These three have covered all the bases.

Eddie with a 12 bore on the shoulder and a 4 bore on each arm 💪💪

The value of knowledge offered here in this video is immense. Will have to watch this again after my next shoot.

This channel with these gentlemen never, ever disappoint! I would love to take a series of lessons from Solomons. Years ago I had some great lessons from Dan Carlisle but I think I could connect better with Ed’ approach at this stage of my life

Ed is an excellent instructor, explains things carefully and clearly... great channel.....ive enjoyed the shotgun talk

Fantastic video and free too! This is what's it's all about.........technical aspects of shooting! 👍👍👍👍

Finesse vs Power. Room for both depending on the shot. I am only 7 months into these games and this video taught me more than I have learned altogether. Amazing! EXCELLENT video.

One of the best clay shooting videos I’ve ever seen but most novice or intermediate shooters, will not understand the details. ❤

IMO, Instinctive shooting is shooting unconsciously. Just as Ed said someone could walk up and shoot a pair they haven’t seen and break them. Then on the second pair they are still trying figure out how the first pair was executed. Now they are shooting consciously and trying to correct the shot while the targets in the air. Result in a poor shoot and lost targets. The conscious part of sporting clays is seeing the pair to be shot, make a plan to break the pair, commit to plan and close the gun. Then the subconscious takes over to execute the plan with hard focus on the target and barrel awareness. By having the target focus and barrel awareness, and the target does not break, you should now be able to replay the shot and make a new plan to correct the shot. The difficulty lies in repeating the process two,three, or four more times when then first pair breaks. Mental focus….

Another top drawer video. I find that I must be doing things too instinctively. The fast quartering birds are easier than crossers for sure

Great information! Age does play a part in things

The idea that you look at the target and not the barrel works great for going away or incoming shots. BUT, if you need to have lead on a crosser etc, then you must know where your barrel is in relation to the target in order to know when to shoot. On a crosser, especially a long one, if your guns shoots where you look then you will miss that target every time since you won't have any lead.

Instinctive shooting or snap shooting seeing the target with limited time ,as gun hits shoulder pretty much pull trigger ,with a lot of time you would probably instinctively use a method you think would work 🤔

Thoroughly enjoy your channel and have learned many nuances, thank you. I do not shoot any competitions, just clay practice and game (upland, pheasant, ducks). I shoot older Beretta SxS’s in 12, 20, and 410. I am curious why the whole world is over under, and SxS are not used. I love the SxS sight picture. But there must be some science or engineering that led to the over under dominance. Any thoughts or comments?

Brilliant video. Explains a lot

I think the 2 Ed's need to try rally clays and compare that to instinctive shooting

Clay shooting is like playing snooker ,Game shooting is like playing pool. Personally i have a great snooker cue "gun"use it well and i enjoy using it with mates on a snooker day and win nothing. But i use my pool cue"gun" a lot more often down the pub and shoot game or get pints bought for me regularly. A perfect analogy for me with shooting clays and game. The good thing is that shooting has something for everybody,It is a great sport for self discipline and focus. And anybody can enjoy all disciplines.

Is it me or is Johnny’s gun looking more and more like the A10 AMERICAN he reviewed in the states both lovely guns

Beginners/ moderate level shooters are all instinctive as they learn the reading of targets, mount and swing etc, to some degree you carry that on as some targets just require you to find a line, swing and squeeze, some low crossers you have so little time you really are relying on correct line and hoping you have a lead on the target as sight picture just isn't there to be had, which is probably another discussion on gun speed vs actual visual lead

As a new shooter very interesting, explains a lot

I’d love to have a session with these 3

Excellent video. The correct approach in shooting clays. Ed just explains it so well, can Ed explain the barrel sit picture in more detail. when i try and do this my focus goes more to the barrel, i stop the gun and miss. I would call myself an instinctive shooter, when i shoot well i see no barrels or lead. I shoot mostly at game and it works very well for me. Can you please do the same video on a game shoot so we can see first hand this approach work? Ed talked about shooting high incoming pheasants using his method of shooting. Should a good game shot be on a 3.1 ratio! in clay terms C or B Class !

What gun are you shooting here tried to find a video on it, it’s absolutely beautiful shotgun

My understanding of instincive is obviously different to everyone else. But someone who shoots instincively may already have learnt these skills instincively. I have met a few old gamekeepers that never had any tuition but instinctively could shoot things most people couldnt, surely if the method gets repeatable results who is complaining?

😂 omg I thought that I was watching Gandalf talk to Sam and Frodo in the Lord of The Rings for the first 17 seconds. Something about the way you set up the shot. Love your content. Keep making great vids!

great vid great analogies' game/ clays are ed and ed auditioning for a future bond movie ? johnny could play the villain 🤣 great video enjoyed it !!

A true challenge would have been to give all 3 an off the shelf ata or yildiz and a slab of cheap club cartridges and see how they get on 👍🏻👍🏻

Are Jonny's and Ed's pants the same size? :D

This is the third time I've watched this now, as I am slipping into "instinctive" too much and it's starting to cause me issues. I also feel I need a heavier gun, to slow me down....Mmmm Browning Pro Sport maybe? Oh and as an aside.... bumped into Ed at Churchill's this week...... he's taller than I expected! 🤣🤣

I was a really terrible shot, until a friend gave me a 28g sXs, and suddenly I started hitting everything. I’ve always thought it was because I was shooting instinctively

Would dtl class as pure instictive shooting or would there be some sort of method involved?

Team Ed💪

60% of the time it works every time 😁

Johnny will you be making the trip to nationals this year?

X 2 of the snappiest dressers in shooting . Sartorial perfection..............

If i am right handed and left eye dominant what kind of shotgun should i use? Thanks for any tips.

👍 👍 💯

Hmm... On the one hand, I think you've made a bit a bit of a straw man argument. The "instinctive" proponents assume mastery will require quite a bit of training. Hardly a case of sending one's mum out to have a crack at it. On the other hand, they go on so about the virtue of being oblivious to one's barrel that I'm surprised they don't put an occlusion dot on BOTH their lenses.

Please please please buy lot 1603 inthe next holts auction that would be a definite for your collection and would make for a very watched video i guarantee

A very interesting video. This explains why I fall apart on the difficult clays and high Pheasants. I struggle to judge lead and work out where the gun should be when the trigger is pulled. Perhaps a lesson with Mr Solomon’s and Mr Lyon’s is required?

Very good video

Anyone have any idea what sunglasses those orange ones are?

Catching a ball analogy is completely wrong. A better analogy is passing a ball to a teammate who is running full sprint up the wing.

I have a hard time focusing on what they are saying because their muzzle discipline is horrible while they are standing around talking about how good they are.

Who makes the tweed waiscoat?

Johnny were you standing on a box . Feel sorry for the camera man trying to get everyone in shot

I hope a Cyril Brewster is watching this!

Slightly off topic here but given who is presenting, you have some serious skills here so I thought I’d ask. I have been shooting sporting for just over half a year. I thought I had issues with my eyes but now I think it’s cartridge choice. I say this as I keep switching to try find something I love. So… the question. If I use a cartridge that fires at 1300 fps and learn to hit a few particular targets, then switch to a cartridge that fires at 1500 fps, does it make a massive difference?

That Teal ate Ed's lunch

If you can throw a ball or point a finger at something, that's instinctive. 99% of those who remove a sight bead will shoot better once they learn that a sight bead is nearly useless and mostly a handicap.look where you shoot not at a bead.

I’m of the belief that these guys don’t shoot instinctively or haven’t so don’t understand it. It’s not flinging your gun around. It’s automation. I know that sounds pompous and I have no idea of their background, but many top athletes state their optimum performance is a state of “flow”. Things just happen and work. Almost an out of body experience. I’ve always heard when learning to shoot from very skilled shooters is that the brain knows what to do, but your mind will stop it from happening. Credit to these people, but when I started competing, I was never beat by any of them for the years I competed in western Canada. It’s not to say what they said was wrong, it’s that in my prime everything worked and I felt I wasn’t thinking about it. This is where gun fit, stance, and swing is 100% important. And I have a diff stance than many (more squared off vs rifle shooting) I always refrained from listening people talk about shots. I turned off electronic muffs or doubled ear protection because the less I thought about the target, the better. If I started aiming and making mental measurements, or hear other people do it, I knew it wasn’t working. People ask when I clean stands where I was aiming and often couldn’t answer the question. I’d honestly would have liked to shoot with these guys when I was shooting often to compare thoughts. Sadly these days I haven’t been shooting at all.

As an instructor myself, most of what they tell you is rubbish. Then again so is instinctive shooting. Anyone can learn to shoot well with nothing but practice. You can learn faster by having good fundamentals either from a coach or watching others and creating your personal style, but if you want to be a winner, I’ll take a fit athletic person that practices over a coached clumsy fellow that also practices every time.

Accuracy through volume 😆

What gauge is ES shooting?

Well this has blown my mind........ AGAIN ;) Great content gents, absolutely love it.

Interesting, I learned instinctive shooting from the field while looking for pheasants and a few ducks. I hardly ever shoot trap or skeet (pattern shooting), being able to blend techniques and having a capable instructor would give you the best of both worlds.

need to listen to David Radulovich "the journey" podcast --- feels the americans have a better maturity of the science around the sport which is surprising. Mental management, Proprioceptive awareness, etc ... a lot of opinions and vudo here as opposed to any type of science.