I embarrassed myself the first few times I tried late season dove hunting. I thought I’d grown into a decent wing shot until I tried hunting doves in early October.

            I learned to hit those slow and close early season doves with some consistency, and this buoyed false confidence. When I tried hunting those high-flying, twisting, curling, wind-riding missiles that are October doves, I failed miserably. It took me several trips before I downed a single bird.

            I thought I knew something about hunting birds with a shotgun, but actually, I knew nothing at all. The doves I folded at that time came completely from instinct. I had no idea about proper shotgun form or technique.

            If you would’ve asked me then if I preferred the swing-through method or the sustained lead, I would’ve nodded in agreement with a confused smile on my face in a vain attempt to not look foolish.

            Hunters use the swing-through and sustained lead techniques for correctly swinging the shotgun to place the proper lead on a moving target. Proficiency in one or both of these methods grows in importance as dove season wears on into October with waterfowl season looming on the horizon. Late season doves and waterfowl both require long pass shots, quartering shots and overhead shots along with climbing and diving shots.

            “I use the swing-through method where you start behind the bird and swing through it,” said Rocky Pritchert, migratory bird coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “You swing through the bird, block it out with the barrel and pull the trigger. Shooting instructors showed us this method works for whatever direction, speed and distance you face. It is self-compensating.”

            I tried the swing-through method and hit some birds, but fell victim to a common problem. I would swing through, fire and stop, leading to a puff of tail feathers while the dove kept flying. I hit behind the bird.

            My frustration with stopping my swing pushed me to try the sustained lead method. In the sustained lead, you put the shotgun barrel out in front of the duck or dove to determine the lead. A little more difficult to learn than the swing-through, the sustained lead method makes you decide on the fly how far in front of the target you must place the barrel. The birds start dropping with some practice.

            I am nowhere near the wing shot of some of my expert co-workers and friends who rarely miss, but I’ve improved rapidly since I adopted the sustained lead method. I now occasionally hear the words “great shot” or “nice shot” in the field instead of uneasy silence after a bird flew in range and I missed with all three shots from my 20-gauge Remington Model 870 Wingmaster.

            “Both applications are necessary in my opinion,” said John Akers, maintenance section supervisor for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife and expert wing shot. “If you can do both, you are better off. You will be handicapped in some situations if you only know one method.”

            Akers explained with closer, faster moving shots like you find in early season dove hunting or close-in ducks, the swing-through method is best.

            “You don’t have time for a sustained lead with those types of shots,” Akers said. “Cover them up with your barrel and fire. With doves across the field from you or waterfowl well up in the air cruising and looking, the sustained lead is best. You calculate the lead and think about speed and distance with those longer shots.”

            With both methods, you cannot stop swinging the shotgun when you hear the shell explode. If you took out a driver, teed up a golf ball, and took a mighty swing, you wouldn’t stop when you heard the crack of clubhead meeting ball. You would follow through, just like you should with your shotgun.

            “My Dad used to say, ‘move your gun out of the way to see if you hit the bird,’” Akers explained. “He meant for me to keep swinging my shotgun.”

            You want to paint your target with your shotgun swing. Shot doesn’t fly out of the barrel like a pie pan through the sky when you follow a moving target with your shotgun barrel. It comes out as a cigar-shaped string with much of the shot toward the leading edge. This shot string is why you must not stop the swing of your gun or you will shoot behind the bird.

            “The two biggest mistakes I see wing shooters make are stopping their swing and lifting their head,” said Mark Marraccini, executive staff adviser for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife who is a competitive trap shooter. “You must keep your cheek against the stock and your eyes on the target. You don’t have a back sight on a shotgun. Your eyes are the back sight. You must get your cheek against the stock and look down the sight plane or you will shoot high.”

            Practice with a trap thrower, a box of clay pigeons and a friend before you hunt October doves or waterfowl this fall. Have the friend throw clay pigeons sideways so they simulate pass shooting. Also, throw some clays at a 45-degree angle from you to simulate quartering shots. Try the swing-through method or the sustained lead and see which works best.

            “Whichever method gets the bird on the ground is the one I would go with,” Pritchert said. “Find which is the most effective for you.”

Author Lee McClellan is an award-winning associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources manages, regulates, enforces and promotes responsible use of all fish and wildlife species, their habitats, public wildlife areas and waterways for the benefit of those resources and for public enjoyment. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife is an agency of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet. For more information on the department, visit our web site at fw.ky.gov.