On many waterfowl shots, touching your cheek softly to the gunstock can be beneficial to your shooting.

"You take him," I suggested in a soft whisper to Bill, my goose blind partner. He is a gifted shot, is a natural when shotgunning. Evidently, some one had told him to bury his head hard into the stock, probably at every shooting opportunity. Interestingly, this was a high overhead goose, maybe 35 yards, and the honker flew dead center over the blind. I was perfectly positioned to watch my partner shoot behind--on both shots--with his cheek deep into his gun's buttstock. What probably happened here?

By burying one's head hard into the stock it's much easier to shoot behind this bird--because you have no built-in lead. But you can build in some natural lead on such a high straight overhead bird if you hold your head in a more erect position. The higher the head is, the more "rib" you are seeing over the gun, and the more "in front" you'll place the shot pattern. This premise does not hold true on every shot, but it certainly does come into play on a high overhead incomer. So here's one example of when burying your head hard into the stock might make this particular shot more difficult. I'm not suggesting you hold your cheek off the stock here, but I'd like you to try shooting this bird with a so-called erect head with cheek still touching the wood.

In a waterfowl blind you often have to jump up to shoot at the last second, although I definitely suggest you do not hurry this procedure, or any other part of taking the shot. So in a duck or goose blind it might pay to think about having an erect head once you do start your gun mount. This will give you a bit of built-in lead for the "rising" duck or goose that's trying to escape.

Of course, some of you like to have your duck and goose guns stocked so they center the pattern one, two or three inches high. Doing that will help put some built-in lead on the shots we've talked about so far, too. But an erect head, seeing plenty of rib, will put the most lead into this shot, compared to a gun that shoots a bit high naturally.

Let's talk a little more about how to make this shot successfully, because it takes more than an erect head and a built-in lead. It's impossible to "measure" any lead or forward allowance on the incoming, high overhead bird. Why? Because you can't really see it once the upward moving barrels blot the bird out. Consequently, the best way to take this shot is to start the gun moving first, blend in the gun mount, with hard focus on one part of the bird (I suggest either the head or neck) and getting the gun's muzzle(s) either to that spot on the bird where you are focusing or inserting the muzzle just behind the bird.

In the first instance (starting the muzzle on the bird's head or neck) simply pull ahead. Actually, there's no difference with situation number two, where the initial gun insert is just behind the bird, just increase the speed of the swing until the bird is "blotted out," and then pull the trigger. Don't hurry. Have confidence. Stay in the gun through the shot.