How to Shoot a Going-Away
A going-away bird flies away from you, often low and flat. Hold the gun just under the line, wait above the trap, and start the gun the instant you see the bird clear the barrel.
Right-handed
Straight away- Stance
- Pivoting leg oriented at the trap.
- Gun position
- Just below the flying path of the bird.
- Waiting position
- Above the trap (adjustable to reaction time and speed).
- Head
- Parallel with the gun, natural.
- Visual
- Above the gun (soft focus).
- Timing
- Start moving the gun once you see the bird above the barrel.
Right-handed
Angled (>30°)- Stance
- Pivoting leg oriented to the breaking spot.
- Gun position
- Just below the flying path of the bird.
- Waiting position
- Above the trap, or to the side of the trap for angles over 30°.
- Head
- Parallel above the gun, slightly toward the bird.
- Visual
- Above, slightly toward the bird's side (soft focus).
- Timing
- Start moving the gun once you see the bird above the barrel.
Left-handed
Angled- Stance
- Pivoting leg (right) oriented to the trap or the breaking spot.
- Gun position
- Just below the flying path of the bird.
- Waiting position
- Above the trap, or to the side for wider angles.
- Head
- Parallel above the gun.
- Visual
- Above the gun (soft focus).
- Timing
- Start moving the gun once you see the bird above the barrel.
Set up right and you'll break more of these. But when you do miss one — why? The Gold guides break down every miss and the exact fix from Bill Erdőss's system. See the Gold guides →
About the method. These guides come from the coaching system of Bill Erdőss, an Olympic clay shooting coach, built around one idea: diagnose the cause of a miss, not the symptom. The same logic powers ClaysBuddy's shot heatmap, which finds that cause in your own rounds and tracks whether your fix is working.