How to Shoot a Crosser
A crosser flies across your front, left-to-right or right-to-left. It's the purest test of lead and swing, and the setup changes with your handedness and the direction the bird travels. The constants: keep the gun just below the flying path of the bird, hold a soft focus between the gun and the trap, and let the bird come to your gun rather than chasing it.
Low gun vs. premounted: with a low gun, start your mount the moment the bird leaves the trap. Premounted, leave the gun still and start moving it only as the bird gets close to your hold point.
Right-handed
Left → Right- Stance
- Pivoting leg oriented at the breaking spot.
- Gun position
- Just below the flying path of the bird.
- Waiting position
- ½ distance out, between the trap and the breaking spot (adjustable).
- Head
- Slightly turned left (adjustable), or parallel to the gun.
- Visual
- Between the gun and the trap (soft focus).
- Timing
- Low gun: start mounting once the bird leaves the trap. Premounted: start moving as the bird nears the gun.
Left-handed
Left → Right- Stance
- Belly button toward the trap, pivoting leg (right) oriented at the ½ distance between trap and breaking spot.
- Gun position
- Just below the flying path of the bird.
- Waiting position
- ⅓ to ½ out from the trap (adjustable).
- Head
- Natural.
- Visual
- Closer to the trap, or ⅓ out from it (soft focus).
- Timing
- Low gun: start mounting once the bird leaves the trap, meet it at ⅔ distance and accelerate into the lead. Premounted: start moving as the bird nears the gun.
Right-handed
Right → Left- Stance
- Belly button toward the trap, pivoting leg (right) oriented at the ½ distance between trap and breaking spot.
- Gun position
- Just below the flying path of the bird.
- Waiting position
- ⅓ to ½ out from the trap.
- Head
- Natural.
- Visual
- Closer to the trap, or ⅓ from it (adjustable, soft focus).
- Timing
- Low gun: start mounting once the bird leaves the trap, meet it at ⅔ distance and accelerate into the lead. Premounted: start moving as the bird nears the gun.
Left-handed
Right → Left- Stance
- Pivoting leg oriented at the breaking spot.
- Gun position
- Just below the flying path of the bird.
- Waiting position
- Half distance out, between the trap and the breaking spot (adjustable).
- Head
- Slightly turned right.
- Visual
- Between the gun and the trap (adjustable, soft focus).
- Timing
- Low gun: start mounting once the bird leaves the trap. Premounted: start moving as the bird nears the gun.
Every number here is a starting point — “adjustable” means dial it to the bird's speed, the distance, and your own reaction time.
Set up right and you'll break more of these. The library has the same breakdown for every other target — crossers, incomers, going-aways, teal, rabbit and more. See all guides →
About the method. These guides come from the coaching system of Bill Erdőss, an Olympic clay shooting coach — built on the fundamentals that decide every shot: gun fit, mount, stance, vision, and timing, with a precise, repeatable setup for each target.