Quick on the Trigger

I consider myself a pretty fast shot. Many times I get the single that comes by. Partly because I hunt harder than anyone else, and partly because I can shoot pretty quick. Competing with other good shots will help make you fast. For a period in my life I probably tried to shoot too fast, trying to beat the competition. But I got over it. I began to sacrifice accuracy for speed, so I forced myself to slow down a little and make the shots count.

When I started my sons hunting they both struggled with shouldering their long 870's. Just like all young hunters, it took a while before they grew into their guns. Then their speed started to pick up. By 15 years old they were both blistering fast shots. I recall a single Ringneck that made a thousand mile an hour pass over our decoys up on Catfish Lake Impoundment. I saw the bird and never even attempted to shoulder my gun. Mike tumbled it out of the air. It was one of the most impressive shots I've seen, much less by a youngster.

Might have bragged him up a little too much over the years about his speed, because he developed a tendency to short-shuck his 870, trying for more speed.

Whatever. The shot he made on that Ringneck really showed me that he had arrived.

A year or so later we were hunting at the Spring Creek Impoundment when Kevin showed some speed. It was mid-morning and I thought the shooting was about over. Coming from the wrong direction I saw a small flock of Teal (I thought) coming across the marsh, real low and coming really fast. I hollered out to the boys to try them on and before I could get a shot off, Mike had one and Kevin had a pair down. All three birds fell within 10 feet of us due to their momentum. I was impressed. Even though I had mis-identified them and they were actually Ruddy Ducks, it was some fast shooting.

If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.