Richard Faulks joins renowned shot and coach John Lee at the Worlaby Shoot to discover how his calm guidance, sharp eye and practical fieldcraft help experienced Guns get the very best from their shooting
Have you ever had one of those days when you’re out on a peg and the wheels fall off? I think we all have – and it can be incredibly frustrating and embarrassing. You’ve looked forward to your day, often spent a great deal of money and things just don’t go the way you’ve been hoping for. The big question then is – what am I doing wrong? Is it the line or the lead, bad footwork or are you just rolling off the shot? There are a multitude of possible problems to try to correct. This is where good and knowledgeable advice will make all the difference to your day and get you back on track and shooting to the best of your ability.
Renowned shot John Lee often spends a day in the field with guns that appreciate a little guidance and coaching. Having John on your shoulder whispering a few sage words when needed on each drive could make all the difference to your day and hopefully put a smile on your face at the end of it. I joined him John and his client Steve for the day at Worlaby Shoot in the Lincolnshire Wolds to see just how he goes about coaching an already experienced shot.
Steve had lessons with John over the close season at the clay ground, so John has a good idea of Steve’s strengths and weaknesses. John told me that he now never takes on a client if he hasn’t had time to give them some tuition at the clay ground first, because he just doesn’t think it’s fair on his client for the day. He’ll have no idea of their standard of shooting, what they should be working on or whether he can make the changes needed out in the field. They may have eye dominance problems or a badly fitting gun, so it could be a waste of time and money for the client to pay for John to join them. Meeting them at least a couple of times in the more relaxed and controllable environment of a clay ground, allows John to get a real measure of who they are as a shot and what they want to achieve.
He says: “I won’t go with people I don’t know because I just feel that it’s not good for them. Neither is it good for me. So how I work is, if somebody wants me to accompany them on a day, then we will have a couple of sessions, on the clays beforehand. So they know me and I know them. We’ve built up a bit of a relationship, so I can tweak them. You say things they can then relate to and quickly adjust to on the peg. If you don’t know somebody it’s very, very difficult to do any good on four drives.”
The knowledge gained can then be taken out into the field and John can deliver targeted and effective coaching on the day that will be far more constructive for the Gun and more advantageous to John as well.
Worlaby is a shoot that certainly doesn’t struggle to find a few birds, so it was the perfect sort of day for Steve to have John on-peg with him. Also this was Steve’s day and he was hosting it for friends that he regularly shoots with. Over the close season John and Steve had worked together on perfecting a swing-through style of shooting, which John feels is the best method to achieve consistent performance for the majority of Guns.
“In the past, Steve had a tendency to mount the gun on the bird or in front of the bird before pulling away to take the shot. This tended to force him to pull away and often off-line from the bird, with a bigger push then being needed to gain the required lead,” explains John. “The swing-through method slows the shooter down and smooths out any erratic gun movement if executed correctly. It also helps the muzzle stay on the line of the bird. So now Steve mounts his gun behind the bird, swings at a more consistent speed up to the bird, past the bird, and takes the shot while keeping the gun smooth and steady after the shot is taken.
“A lot of game shooters, just hoick the gun from a low hold and then just waft through. Keeping it slow is key. What we’re trying to do here is gain a little bit of a connection to the bird before we start moving the barrels. This lets our eyes settle so that we can lead into a hard focus on the bird before introducing any lead. This technique stops us watching the space too much or even watching where the gun is.” A laser-like fix on the target – be it clay or game – is a crucial detail that cannot be stressed too much, according to John.
John explains that he can’t tell the gun when to pull the trigger, that just comes from experience, but if somebody is consistently giving birds too much or too little lead, mounting too early or too late, John will advise accordingly and get them back on track.
“My job is to make sure that a Gun is doing what he should be doing. If someone is consistently giving the birds too much or too little, then I might intervene and say, ‘Look, mate, you’re just overdoing these a little bit. They’re not as quick as you think.’ Or conversely, ‘They’re going a bit quicker than you think’. But as we all know, every bird is different.”
John’s tuition begins as soon as he and his client arrive on the peg. There are many things to look for that will give you good clues to what the game birds will do before the drive even starts. Wind direction is one crucial thing that every Gun should take note of. A cross wind will make birds slide in one direction or the other. If you miss a bird, that information might well be one piece of the puzzle that will get you back on target again.
Also check behind you. Does the land fall away or is there a bank or trees? These may also give clues as to what the flight of the birds will be. When they start coming, watch what the birds are doing. Are their wings still flapping or are they gliding with set wings when going over the line, and where and how far away from you did they get airborne? If their wings are still flapping and they took off near you, they will still be accelerating and gaining height. If they appear over trees with wings flapping they probably will be getting up to speed and flying fairly level. If they appeared from the top of a hill and the wings are set, they are likely up to their maximum speed and could be dropping in height.
Much of this sounds a bit obvious, but when the adrenaline is flowing and there are birds in the air, these things are often forgotten. So being gently reminded by someone like John to slow yourself down, pick a bird, stay with that bird and remember technique can be useful.
John prefers to nurture the client into shooting well and staying calm. Giving them too much information in one go can be counterproductive and confusing. Just telling somebody that they are shooting low and behind is of little use to them. They need to be helped to read the line of the bird and reminded where their technique went wrong on that shot.
“It is about easing them into good habits, and above all, keeping their confidence up and making it fun for them,” John says. “Sometimes people need reminding that they’re actually shooting well and to forget the birds they miss. Dwelling on misses does nothing for our performance. Everybody misses a percentage of birds and perhaps it’s because they’re pushing their limits, which is how we grow.
“I’m certainly there to keep clients in a good place mentally, and have a laugh in the process. When a person’s head drops, that is when all sorts of unforced errors happen, such as throwing the barrels up in a desperation to kill the bird, rather than actually going back to the foundations they have worked on.”
John’s enthusiasm for coaching is obvious and he happily admits: “Its the best job in the world.” He’s a very likeable chap, easy to get along with and hugely knowledgeable about all kinds of shotgun shooting. He has a way of breaking down the elements and delivers them in a way that any shooter can understand to allow them to shoot to the best of their ability. The information he offers feels more like advice from a friend than a coach and, above all, having John on the peg with you makes a day in the field even more fun.
When I ask Steve if he would recommend others to have John on the peg with him, he replies: “He really knows his stuff. He’s always giving me insightful tips, and I get the reassurance of knowing that what I’m reading is what John’s reading. People often ask me: ‘Why do you keep having him standing with you, because you’re a good shot?’ My answer is that I still want to improve. Plus, I really enjoy having John’s company.”
From what I saw, John certainly added value to Steve’s day and they both seemed to have great fun along the way!
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