Irwin Greenstein

Irwin Greenstein is publisher of the free online magazine Shotgun Life, the first online magazine devoted to the great people who participate in the shotgun sports.

Articles by Irwin Greenstein

• Tips for effectively shooting a side-by-side shotgun

  Wednesday, April 24, 2019

  Side-by-side shotguns can seem really weird. For one thing, both barrels are joined horizontally instead of stacked, as is the case on the more common over/under shotgun. Side-by-sides often come with two triggers, which in itself is enough of a freak-out. The stock doesn’t have a pistol grip as with most shotguns and handguns, and instead there’s a long, straight neck that twists your wrist downward at about a 20-degree angle. A side-by-side can sound pretty awful for some. But it doesn’t have to be if you follow some important tips.

• Find the cause and cure for your shotgun flinch

  Thursday, April 04, 2019

  Just about every clays shooter at one time or another will experience a flinch. If it's happened to you, that first momentarily paralysis of the trigger finger comes as a surprise. If left untreated, a flinch can become debilitating. A flinch can occur from three sources: momentary obfuscation of the target that interrupts the signal between your eyes, brain and trigger finger; repeated heavy recoil when your body anticipates another blow to the shoulder or face from your shotgun; and the noise of a shotgun firing.

• 7 tips to reducing recoil for the shotgun sports

  Thursday, March 28, 2019

  When it comes to wing and clays shooting, recoil gets a bad rap — especially when it comes to new shooters. The experience goes something like this: someone hands them a shotgun with little to no instructions, gets them ready to shoot a clay target, and when "pull" is called and the trigger is pulled, some poor soul gets smacked mightily in the jaw and shoulder. There’s no getting around the causes of recoil. It comes down to immutable physics. So while recoil can't be eliminated, it can certainly be managed for a much more enjoyable and comfortable shooting experience. Here are some tips that help ensure a low-recoil experience.

• 5 tips to improve your clays shooting

  Wednesday, March 20, 2019

  Sporting clays is often called golf with a shotgun. In sporting clays, you ride a golf cart from station to station along a course that, in one way or another, simulates upland game-bird hunting. And like golf, sporting clays (and other clays sports such as skeet, trap and 5-stand) demands the same mental rigor, practice and discipline to improve your performance. There’s certainly no shortage of opinions and theories on the best way to become a better shotgun shooter. Still, here are five basic tips that should help with your clays games.

• Paper shotgun shells can deliver nostalgia, performance and style

  Monday, January 07, 2019

  When it comes to upland wingshooting style, one of the most overlooked goodies is paper shotgun shells. There’s been a revival in paper shotgun shells of sorts to the extent that now several large manufacturers such as Federal, Rio and Fiocchi have started making them again after leaving the market to specialty brands such as RST and Sellier & Bellot for decades. Starting in about 1877, the cheaper and lighter paper shotgun shells began displacing shotgun shells made of brass — the material of choice for rifle and pistol shells of the time (and today).

• How a shotgun laser bore can improve your wing and clays shooting on the cheap

  Wednesday, September 19, 2018

  When it comes to shooting clays, muscle memory is one of those things that can be either a blessing or a curse. It’s a blessing when you imprint the proper way to mount and swing a shotgun into your motor skills so that they become "second nature." It’s a curse if you’ve developed an awful swing or mount that has already turned into a so-called "bad habit" that becomes difficult to break. Either way, you can see the subconscious power of muscle memory at work every time you step up to shoot a clay target.

• Nothing — repeat nothing — is more important than safety when handling your shotgun

  Wednesday, September 12, 2018

  Many shooters get so focused on making the shot that they lose track of what’s going on around them. Once that happens, it’s simply a matter of time until an accident happens with your shotgun. Ignoring or forgetting the safety basics are very easy to do. Shooters get complacent, overconfident or distracted. Eventually, every shooter at one time or another does something unsafe with a shotgun. The doctrine of shotgun safety prevents you from accidentally firing your gun — either through human or mechanical error. There are no shortcuts to safety, and the rules are never relaxed.

• Know your priorities when choosing a semi‑automatic shotgun

  Friday, April 20, 2018

  Buying a semi-automatic shotgun for your wing and clays shooting could be more complicated than you think. Beyond affordability, cosmetics and gauge, the biggest difference between them is the type of system used to cycle shells for your next shot — something that’s difficult to determine just by its appearance on the dealer's shelf.

• The Churchill Method can dramatically improve your shotgun results

  Wednesday, January 31, 2018

  When you're out shooting clays with your shotgun, you've probably learned by now there's no shortage of free advice from the local know-it-alls. Miss a target and suddenly you're subject to unsolicited opinions on what you should have done to hit it. You'll usually hear promptings like "You're behind the target, you're in front of it, you were under it ..." — you get the idea.

• The 4 basic methods for swinging your shotgun

  Thursday, September 21, 2017

  At first glance, most people would never realize there are several different methods for swinging a shotgun. Basically, they see a shotgun rise to the shoulder, swing punctuated by the triggered shot.

• Not all clay targets are created the same

  Wednesday, August 30, 2017

  If you shoot sporting clays, you know the mental aspects of your game — such as focus and concentration — are just as important to breaking targets as your ability to master the techniques of gun mount and swing. But there's another mental war being waged you may not be really pay attention to, and that's the battle of wits between you and the target setter.

• Why every owner of a break-open shotgun should know about snap caps

  Tuesday, August 15, 2017

  If you own a side-by-side or over-under shotgun, chances are you have all that great gear to go with it — the nice case, attractive apparel, cleaning stuff and maybe a really cool pair of shooting glasses. Now what about those snap caps?

• A quick test for visual cross dominance in the shotgun sports

  Friday, August 04, 2017

  If you grew up rifle hunting or shooting handguns, chances are you closed one eye to aim at the stationary target. Typically, a right-handed shooter would close his left eye for a visual alignment with the bead or sight of the firearm.

• The myth of fluorescent beads in the shotgun sports

  Thursday, August 18, 2016

  At first glance, fluorescent beads seem like a good idea for shotgun owners who like wing and clays targets. The beads are bright like gummy candies and in theory should improve your aim. And there's the rub, because you don't aim a shotgun, you point it.

• The affordable pump shotgun may be the ticket for new shooters

  Wednesday, June 08, 2016

  As a new clays shooter, you'll probably ask those with experience what's the best shotgun to get. If you're a woman, they'll likely advise you purchase a 20-gauge semiautomatic because of its low recoil. Guys get a different story: "Buy yourself a big, bad 12 gauge that's either an over/under or semiautomatic and have at those flying clay targets."

• How to pattern your shotgun for greater accuracy

  Tuesday, February 23, 2016

  So you purchased a shotgun for your favorite wing and clays sports, but now you can't hit anything with it. What's up with that? Of course, the problem could be you. Sloppy technique, lack of focus, eye issues, bad habits — the list can be pretty extensive. Or it could be your shotgun. Getting to the bottom of the problem involves a process of elimination, and the best place to start is with the shotgun.

• Understanding the leading edge of shooting clay targets

  Wednesday, October 28, 2015

  When it comes to shooting clay targets, the best piece of advice you can receive is to be "counterintuitive." Smashing clay targets with a shotgun requires an intense amount of visual and mental focus. As you watch the target sail away at some 45 miles per hour, your intuition screams at you that you should watch the whole target — giving you a larger picture of the small, fluorescent disk.

• How to buy a sporting shotgun

  Monday, August 31, 2015

  You can encapsulate the No. 1 rule in buying a shotgun with a single word: suitability. There are so many varieties of shotguns available for wing and clays shooting, it's easy to get overwhelmed, if not downright confused, by the choices. That's why you really need to assess your own expectations and intentions about your shotgun of choice.

• Why you need a pre-shot routine to break more clay targets

  Tuesday, July 07, 2015

  On the surface, shooting clay targets involves stepping into the station, loading your shotgun, calling for the target and pulling the trigger. However, the success behind crushing clays largely depends on the mental preparation just before calling for the shot. Experienced shotgunners call this preparation the "pre-shot routine."

• How to shoot trap with only 3 shots

  Wednesday, June 17, 2015

  If you're interested in shooting clays with a shotgun, the game of trap is a great introduction. The targets are somewhat predictable, the squading allows individual participants to focus on the target with little distraction, and trap guns can be less expensive than shotguns used for other clays sports.

• Some sage advice for women taking up shotgun sports

  Thursday, April 16, 2015

  ​In January, the president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation discussed the findings of a new report: "Women Gun Owners: Purchasing, Perceptions and Participation." More than half (55.6 percent) of the female participants in the survey said they intended to purchase at least one firearm during the next 12 months.

• How to clean your over-and-under shotgun

  Tuesday, April 07, 2015

  ​The best way to ensure the longevity and performance of your over-and-under shotgun is to keep it clean. That might sound like an onerous chore, but you can effectively clean an over-and-under in less than 20 minutes on your kitchen counter.

• The right way to swing a shotgun

  Tuesday, March 24, 2015

  ​Ask someone about the best way to swing a shotgun, and you'll probably hear about the three popular methods: swing through, maintained lead and pull away. You certainly need to know about them and the best way to utilize each one on different clays presentations or in the field on birds. We'll touch on them for a moment, but when it comes to actual shooting there are basics that need to be understood beforehand or you'll never master any of those methods.

• How to make clay target shooting as easy as telling time

  Tuesday, February 24, 2015

  There's an insider's trick to shooting clay targets that can make the sport easier than you think. It involves your ability to tell time on a clock face (not a digital clock). Any clays-shooting instructor will tell you that the most important aspect of the sport is focusing on the target. Without 100 percent target focus, your eyes will likely jump back to the barrel of the gun and during that momentary lapse the target is racing away and you're playing catch-up — increasing your chances of a miss.

• Shotgun fit: Why you’re missing and don’t realize it

  Tuesday, January 13, 2015

  America is a nation of rifle and pistol shooters. But when the conversation turns to a well-fitting shotgun, most people wonder what the heck we're talking about. The most obvious question is, "Why do I need a shotgun that fits me?"

• The correct shotgun choke can make all the difference

  Tuesday, December 02, 2014

  The wise use of shotgun chokes can make a significant difference in the results you'll see for wing and clays shooting. In the strictest interpretation, the choke section of the barrel determines the constriction of the muzzle in order to regulate distribution of the shot charge to your target.