Reddit reviews Shotgunning: The Art and the Science

Get this book on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Shotgunning-Science-Second-Bob-Brister/dp/1602393273 However if you don't decide to read it I'll lay out some stuff for you.

First things first: make sure your gun fits you. The gun should shoot where you look when you mount it*. Shotgun fit is a very nuanced concept so you might look into having a shooting instructor help you out getting your gun to fit. If your gun doesn't fit there's no point in going any further.

Shoot with both eyes open. Depth perception is important, and losing half of your FOV when you close your eyes is suboptimal. If you're cross-dominant Google ways to fix it.

Make sure your stance is good. Some people stand more erect, some hunch over more. Experiment. The goal is to lean into the gun enough that you can control the recoil effectively but maintain enough upper-body mobility to swing the gun. I stand like I'm shooting a 4-bore elephant gun because I started shooting skeet when I was 8 or so and I had to lean into the gun to keep my tiny self from getting knocked over. It's suboptimal but I shoot OK.

Make sure the butt of the gun is in your shoulder's "pocket." Chicken-wing your arm and hold it out at 90 degrees. You should feel a pocket open up in the general vicinity of your shoulder joint. You'll know it when you feel it. Put the gun there; having it on your pectoral or deltoid muscles will give you a horrible bruise. YES you will be chicken-winging your arm. This is how you shoot a shotgun.

Next, leading the target is important. There are 4 main methods for determining lead:

1. Instinctive. Do what you feel. I kinda shoot this way but I wouldn't rely on it; you need a lot of shells down range before your instincts work.
   
2. Spot shooting. Holding the gun in one place and shooting when the bird reaches the right spot. I know a very good (won the Grand from 27 yards) trapshooter who shoots this way but it doesn't work well outside of trap or skeet where you know more or less exactly what the target will do.
   
3. Sustained lead. Hold the gun in front of the bird the designated amount and stay in front of it, pulling the trigger when the time is right.
   
4. Swing-through. Swing through the bird along its trajectory then slap the trigger. This one is my favorite.
   
   Common mistakes include:
   
   
5. Lifting your head.
   
6. Stopping your swing. I like to put my weak hand farther forward on the forearm to smooth my swing out a little.
   
7. Flinching.
   
   Don't do those things.
   
   That should get you started.
   
   *Note that this isn't the case with dedicated skeet or trap guns, but for general-purpose guns it's best if it shoots flat.

This book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1602393273/

Has the answers to all your questions and is the gold standard reference for that kind of information in shotgunning. Buy it, read it, and don't believe what anyone else tells you that might be contradictory.

I know you're more inclined toward handguns and rifles, but give this book on shotguns a try. Chuck Hawks, the reputable writer of all things guns, highly recommends Shotgunning: The Art and the Science for being one of the first books to approach shotguns in a fascinating and scientific manner.

The go to is Shotgunning: The art and Science. If he has been shooting for a while he probably has read it, but if he doesn't have a copy it is always fun to go back to.

http://www.amazon.com/Shotgunning-The-Science-Bob-Brister/dp/1602393273