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Shooting from the hip... Literally

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#23 ·
pyrdek said:
There was a gentleman, who died some years back, by the name of Robert "Bat" Thomas from Greenville, PA. He shot, literally, from the hip and was sitting in a wheelchair when he did so. He was a well known figure at Vandalia for the Grand. You could always tell when Bat was shooting without even looking. The sound of a squad with a Bang-Bang-Bang-pop'whosh-Bang sound would lead you to Bat's squad. His barrels were custom made and were in the 60" to 70" length. He also filled the butt with carbide to increase the weight. One of his guns weighed about 23 pounds. He had arthritis of the spine really bad and thus had to shoot from the hip with an absolute minimum of recoil. Even with those restrictions, Bat was one hell of a good shooter. He would do all three, singles, handicap and doubles, and held a very good average. Someone with an old T&F Annual could probably look up his record. I seem to recall that he got the 250,000 targets pin but it might have been even more.
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Not hardly "very good average" Pretty good for his conditions, and I applaud him, but I would dare say these are NOT good averages. My point is, I guess some people have a skewed idea of what good averages are.

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#24 ·
I watched Bat shoot many times. No he didn't have a good Handicap ave., but for his condition, to carry even a 93 in singles was pretty good. His motions, and ability to swing were severely limited even in a wheelchair. He definately had to shoot off the end of the barrel.
 
#25 ·
I have seen guys shooting from the hip and it seemed to me that as soon as they dropped that gun down from the shoulder to the hip they lost focus on the target and muzzle position. I am not saying you can't shoot from the hip (God knows there is a lot of that going on around here.), I am saying when I see it I don't trust you and will walk away to a safe place until your attempt at cuteness goes away.
 
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#26 ·
Jim Miller said:
I have seen guys shooting from the hip and it seemed to me that as soon as they dropped that gun down from the shoulder to the hip they lost focus on the target and muzzle position. I am not saying you can't shoot from the hip (God knows there is a lot of that going on around here.), I am saying when I see it I don't trust you and will walk away to a safe place until your attempt at cuteness goes away.
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Please tell me how a hip shooter can hit the target repeatedly if he (as you say) lost focus on the target and muzzle position? One cant break a target from the shoulder shooting like that.
 
#28 ·
trapshootin hippie said:
Please tell me how a hip shooter can hit the target repeatedly if he (as you say) lost focus on the target and muzzle position? One cant break a target from the shoulder shooting like that.
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It doesn't matter. People will still try to be cute/macho by shooting from the hip. Much the same as those that don't see a problem drinking a beer while shooting. Unless I witnessed that level of hip shooting I would be a bit skeptical about their successes. But, carry on. I just hope we never read on here about the maiming or killing of a fellow shooter but someone playing games hip shooting. You can stand around an pat him on the back, I will walk away to a safer spot.
 
#29 ·
I don't see anything unsafe about shooting from the hip as long as the shooter observes the customary rules of gun safety. In fact, some people might contend that a shooter has a more secure grip and better balance when the gun is held at waist level than when it's held at shoulder height. In addition, a hip shooter has a better field of view since the gun isn't up there blocking part of his vision.

I was shooting in a sporting clays tournament about 10 years ago and we had a really outstanding young Master Class shooter on our squad. At the station we were on, we had 2 rather challenging high crossers from right to left at about 40 yards. To make it even more challenging, the targets were hidden from view by tall trees until they got pretty much straight out from us, so it was hard to detect the exact flight path as the targets were approaching the break area.

Anyway, after everyone in our squad had shot the station, the young shooter said to the trapper "Throw me another pair for practice, please". The trapper threw another pair and he smoked both targets shooting from the hip. Sure, he was showing off, but there was nothing unsafe about it since he had just as good control of his gun as someone shooting from the shoulder. This young shooter is one of the top shooters in the country today.

Easystreet
 
Discussion starter · #31 ·
Anytime a gun is held, certain safety concerns cannot be circumvented. How it is held takes practice & when shooting from an unconventional position not accustom to the shooter, the threat level of an error does go up. This is as true for a new shooter mounting conventionally, as it is for a safe and seasoned shooter, shooting from the hip. That doesn't mean that it can't be done safely, it simply means that for the shooter attempting this, additional factors must be taken into account.

What does shooting from the hip do?

I believe it hones the proprioception skills of the shooter. Just like when you're looking away, & you raise your arm to point at someone's face. You know what direction you're pointing in & that in fact you can point to an object directly without looking at it. Basically, that's what we're attempting to do when we conventionally mount and shoot at a claybird - skeet, trap & SC's alike - all are the same. An adept shooter pays little to no attention to his rib, his barrel, his mount etc. He focus' on the bird and the subconscious framework that he's practiced on, does the rest.

Shooting from the hip is the same principle. It's using the end of the barrel as an extension of your body, pointing it toward the projected path of the bird & pulling the trigger.

Admittedly an arguable point, (which is why I started the topic to begin with) I personally think it is good eye hand coordination practice.

I was basically wanting someone else to have the same conception of the eye-hand coordination as myself and also to get feedback ABOVE the aspects of safety, which should never be compromised. Just because it's 'unconventional' doesn't mean it cannot be carried out safely. I see and shoot around many conventional shooters that I wouldn't want to shoot with to save my life because of too many compromises.
 
#32 ·
Flotest said:
Anytime a gun is held, certain safety concerns cannot be circumvented. How it is held takes practice & when shooting from an unconventional position not accustom to the shooter, the threat level of an error does go up. This is as true for a new shooter mounting conventionally, as it is for a safe and seasoned shooter, shooting from the hip. That doesn't mean that it can't be done safely, it simply means that for the shooter attempting this, additional factors must be taken into account.

What does shooting from the hip do?

I believe it hones the proprioception skills of the shooter. Just like when you're looking away, & you raise your arm to point at someone's face. You know what direction you're pointing in & that in fact you can point to an object directly without looking at it. Basically, that's what we're attempting to do when we conventionally mount and shoot at a claybird - skeet, trap & SC's alike - all are the same. An adept shooter pays little to no attention to his rib, his barrel, his mount etc. He focus' on the bird and the subconscious framework that he's practiced on, does the rest.

Shooting from the hip is the same principle. It's using the end of the barrel as an extension of your body, pointing it toward the projected path of the bird & pulling the trigger.

Admittedly an arguable point, (which is why I started the topic to begin with) I personally think it is good eye hand coordination practice.

I was basically wanting someone else to have the same conception of the eye-hand coordination as myself and also to get feedback ABOVE the aspects of safety, which should never be compromised. Just because it's 'unconventional' doesn't mean it cannot be carried out safely. I see and shoot around many conventional shooters that I wouldn't want to shoot with to save my life because of too many compromises.
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Well you milked 9 worthless posts from this thread.
 
Discussion starter · #33 ·
grntitan said:
Well you milked 9 worthless posts from this thread.
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I'm not quite understanding the issues with me posting. If I were offensive, I'd understand. If I didn't spend any time in conversation and contribution, I'd understand. I'm not doing any of these things.

I haven't griped nor complained about the 50 post issue - not one time. However, everyone else seems to be griping about it quite nicely. If you have a problem with it, then take it up with the Admin. If you don't like my posts, I'm sorry. This was posted in shooting related threads & is appropriate as any other question or comment.

There's a real negative undertone that's unbecoming from some & most others are here to just have fun & to possibly learn from each other.

Congratulations on your negativity & your welcoming attitude toward a new member. Geeeessshhh. SMH.
 
#34 ·
Used to shoot trap league at a nearby club and one guy usually shot with his back turned to the trap house. Gun held at the ready, called pull and then turned and mounted his gun and shot. He shot better than if he faced forward. Always had the gun pointed up or towards the trap house so was NOT a safety issue but sure was annoying for the next shooter on the squad. Never noticed this guy being guilty of the then loose alcohol policy at this club. However I quit shooting there and the next year when a squad was changing posts a different guy dropped his gun and it went off. Count the several safety infractions that shooter broke and luckily no one was injured. This guy owned a sporting goods store in town and had lots of "buddies" that were known to acquire pretty thick tongues during league night.
 
#35 ·
I don't see anything wrong with a discussion on shooting from the hip whether it's a poster's first post or his 1,000th post. Whether you think it's safe or not, it gives you a chance to express your opinion if you wish to do so. Pap Charlie used to post numerous posts here with videos of him shooting from the hip and I don't recall him catching any flak from anyone about the practice.

Easystreet
 
#38 ·
Flotest said:
I'm not quite understanding the issues with me posting. If I were offensive, I'd understand. If I didn't spend any time in conversation and contribution, I'd understand. I'm not doing any of these things.

I haven't griped nor complained about the 50 post issue - not one time. However, everyone else seems to be griping about it quite nicely. If you have a problem with it, then take it up with the Admin. If you don't like my posts, I'm sorry. This was posted in shooting related threads & is appropriate as any other question or comment.

There's a real negative undertone that's unbecoming from some & most others are here to just have fun & to possibly learn from each other.

Congratulations on your negativity & your welcoming attitude toward a new member. Geeeessshhh. SMH.
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I wouldn't pay much attention to the negative comments, seems like there's a few that complain about everything. Welcome aboard!
 
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