John, This is excellent teaching in an actionable way due to the description of using a bow and arrow, then applying those opposing motions to the shotgun. As a person who has practiced archery, this is really helpful. Thank you, Sir.
Finished a class with Matt Haught in April. I am now a fan of push-pull. Matt advised that a shorter length of pull for my stock would make push pull easier. Mine was 14 inch lop and I was pretty far extended on the forend and didn't have much room to push. A shorter lop gives you a closer start and some space to push out. I got a 12 inch lop stock and will try again soon.
Never heard or tried this technique, but it makes absolute good sense. Haven’t shot my shotgun in a few years, but I know in past doing some skeet shooting- after 100+ rounds, I’d have super sore- bruised shoulder for a few days. I’d always pull the shotgun firmly into my shoulder & take 100% of the recoil. I’ll have to give it a try!
So glad to see you teaching this method Jonathan. I have a Winchester 1300 Defender with a pistol grip only and I can fire 3” shells all day with the grip just a couple inches from my face. No problem.
I remember taking a shotgun class with Rob Haught. Towards the beginning of class he dumped his fully loaded short barreled 870 standing on 1 foot as fast as a lot of people shoot a semi auto pistol. He got all of his hits and turned around and told us all by the end of class we’d all be doing that. Sure enough after a 2 day class we all were doing it on 1 foot. Rob is a great instructor and the push-pull technique is most definitely a game changer.
Push-Pull a real game changer for shotgun technique! Much thanks to Active Self Protection and the Haughts! Tip: Add grip exercises to your work-out routine.
Interesting that he was able to get that kind of accuracy from Hornady SST slugs, assuming a smoothbore shotgun. Those are sabot slugs designed and intended for use in rifled shotgun barrels.
@@Tuton25 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ He accurately described a SST slug, and the hull color matches. I dig some Hornady AW slugs. Those things shoot pretty well in my experience.
I agree 100%, John. I just shot my shotgun like that instinctively but didn't know that it had a name. The Rem. 887 Nitro-Mag Tactical has gotten a bad rap from some people but I absolutely love mine. It is the sweetest shooting shotgun that I have ever shot much with. Also, the design of the fore-end makes it easy to grip and apply a lot of push. And the push/pull technique is even more necessary when shooting 3.5" magnums. Those shells will beat you up if you're not careful.
FWIW, had a Wilderness Belt for years now. It is still my go to. Tried others but always seem to go back to my Wilderness Tactical. Cool vid, seen this recently and exploring the skill too.
Wow. Now I want to go take my Benelli out and try this. Thank you for the info Mr. Jack Black sir. This give me a whole new way of training with my shotty.
I recently had the same experience shooting my new Vangcomp “Standard” for the first time. I was attempting the “push pull” technique, but still got beat up pretty good. 🤷🏼♂️
That's the way I've been shooting those, and I've never understood the negative attitudes toward them. It never occurred to me this could be a viable technique for almost any long gun.
Holding the shotgun in the pocket is what I do though I don't necessarily push though I do brace with the forend. Outright pushing with the forend will sort of make your arms tired if you're shooting a lot. During the run on ammo, I ordered a couple cases of slugs as the indoor range I was a member of at the time only allowed slugs. I was plenty used to 1300 fps slugs but what I mistakenly ordered was 1600 fps slugs. TWO cases (250 each case). So here I am with 500 of these high velocity slugs and at first, I HATE them. But I learned. I figured out very quickly what I was doing wrong. Believe me, if you're holding a shotgun improperly, high V slugs WILL let you know you're doing it wrong! LOL! After a few adjustments to my grip and trying the push-pull method, I soon found out that bracing with my grip on the forend instead of outright pushing achieved essentially the same thing. No more bruised shoulders. I'm now to the point where I enjoy shooting the high V slugs. Not saying the push-pull method is wrong. I'm just saying if you're shooting a lot with that method, then I think it'll tire your arms out a bit which will impact your accuracy. Edit: I also recommend the Magpul furniture if your shotgun can fit it. The forends have great purchase and the stocks are a great hybrid of a pistol grip and traditional stock which makes for great ergonomics.
@Active Self Protection Extra I'm glad to hear it. I'm definitely not an expert as I've only had a shotgun for a couple of years in spite of shooting handguns and rifles for more than two decades. I'm not sure why I was so late to join the shotgun community but I'm glad to be a part of it now. I shoot my 18" Mossberg 590A1 more than I do my handguns now. Boomsticks are ridiculous fun to shoot, so I sort of feel like I'm playing catch-up. 😀
I've heard of this technique before, but this was an EXCELLENT explanation. QUESTION: I notice your setup is pretty conventional. Have you tried, or do you have an opinion on either, a forward hand stop, or reduced LOP stock? What about Shockwave type shotguns?
I shot my 1301 today and put 10 rounds of 00 buck through it using this technique. I was going to come back and call BS, but I couldn't, because it's not BS. I am amazed that more people are not teaching this. I put the first two rounds through and then I let the remaining 8 fly and I felt NOTHING on my shoulder, and more to the point, the targets ALL got hit with every shot.
@@ASPextra thanks for the reply. I had it set that way because it was what I was used to. In the army we only had them for breaching. That being said, I’m going to switch it up and put a stock on it. I hate shot guns but this video may have changed that, and I’m gonna switch the grip out and run this technique
@@ASPextra it took a few tries with the pistol grip, trying these fundamentals, but it was a game changer. You’re right though, pistol grip shotguns aren’t really practical outside of breaching so I can’t wait to try it with a stock.
Yes it does, when you forget to push pull. I took a class with Rob Haught about 12 years ago, and I definitely knew when I forgot to push pull, the gun would pop me in the face. :)
He’s wearing his ear plugs wrong. They’re just sitting there not doing anything. I see this all the time, some people give up shooting altogether because it’s “too loud”. They need to be rolled up and inserted deep into the canal while pulling the ear up, per instructions on the wrapper.
The only 12ga I've ever shot was my grandfather's old Mossberg 500 hunting gun with no recoil pad and a trigger that's probably a 15lb pull. That made me decide that when I get a 12ga it will be a semi-auto but now I'm curious how much it will help on that old 500. You've talked about push-pull before but it's been a while. By the way, and I apologize if you responded the last time I said this, I'm shadowbanned on the main channel. I can leave comments and replies but they don't appear to anyone. I try to leave constructive info but it feels like I'm shouting into the wind. I replied earlier to someone asking how many rounds you should put through an EDC before carrying it because I want to help people become responsible and comfortable carriers.
Very glad I caught this video... I took a ~3 hour one on one shotgun class, the advice I got was to basically pocket the bottom corner of the stock in to the pocket just above my collarbone. It worked, I was able to stand up straight, I was not getting beat up or pushed around by recoil, BUT, it's been extremely hard for me to repeat! I took my shotgun out about a month later, and I must have spent twenty minutes trying to find that sweet spot again. I look forward to trying this technique instead.
