doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com An epiphany or tin foil hat?

Last year I bought a little moss berg 20GA pump for the grandkids to shoot. Ben, who was 9 took to it right away and while he started out of the gate shooting abut 40-50% on clays, quickly improved too 80-90% by summer end. A couple week ago the kids were here and it was a nice day so we decided to shoot some clays. Ben, who would usually shoot several boxes in a session shot about 12-15 rounds and missed every one then quit. I was shocked (and dismayed). Yesterday, we were at my sons place for thanksgiving and Ben was playing some shoot 'em up, military type video game and my wife said "Ben, you are missing everything" and it hit me. I wonder if playing that game screwed up his real world hand eye coordination and that is why all of a sudden he can't hit any clays. I said as much and within a minute or two, Ben put the controller down and stopped playing. Unfortunately, after about 1/2 an hour he started back top again. Not sure if I am on to something or just grasping at straws. Thoughts?

Video games can improve eye hand coordination and are used by the military, esp. in pilot training
https://www.vision-works.co.za/video-games-hand-eye-location/

Eye dominance can change...and some other bad stuff can happen.
Get Ben an eye exam ASAP.

I was thinking the same thing that Drew said. You might want to get an eye exam. You only said that you were shooting "clays"- were you shooting trap or skeet? Sometimes people have a tendency to start out with a 20 gauge, but sometimes they have a severe recoil also. He might be pulling his head off of the gun because it could be hurting him when he shoots. I always thought that 9 years old would be kind of small/young to be shooting trap and/or skeet. I know. I know. "My grandson, etc. etc. etc...!" But I would watch him closely the next time he shoots and see if you can figure out what is happening. And did you ever think, maybe his shooting clays might be messing up his shooting at video games. Just a thought. But, good luck.

Just imagine how good Herb Parsons would have been if he'd put down his guns and picked up a joystick.

Personally, I think the world would be a better place without video games. It's possible his coordination is off from the video games, I guess. I think it might be an interest problem. My son's interest in outdoor activities would go back and forth. The problem with the games is that they're like dope for some kids, right now, maybe he'd rather shoot Martians, and his concentration is suffering. I wish you luck getting it straightened out.

I hadn't considered a switch in eye dominance. Will have to get that checked out. Recoil is not the problem. The gun, as it came was too light and did kick too hard (and was WAY too muzzle heavy) so I filled the butt stock with BB's. That added 2 pounds and brought that balance point to about the middle of the loading gate (about 1" or so in front of the trigger guard). After that he could shoot all day with no issues, in fact, we went to a shoot at a friends place and in 2 days he shot a flat with no problem. When I said "clays" I meant recreational shooting in the back yard with a champion thrower on a wobble box. The "interest" thing may also be part of the problem as last year, he would shoot any chance he got and would pester me to take him out back and shoot every time they were here. This spring, twice his dad and younger brother and sister came out to shoot and he stayed home to play video games. THAT has me quite concerned but I am just "Papa" so I have no say.

Speaking from personal experience .As I was growing up I had several coordination problems , which all stemmed from my body growing at deferent rates , my arms suddenly longer than my brain recognised so I was forever knocking things over as I reached out .Falling down stairs as my legs grew .Reaction times being affected as a result . Not saying this is your grandsons problem but it could be a factor .
Could also be just one of those days when as an adult you know after the first couple of shots you know its just not going to be your day and all you do is get more frustrated as you keep missing .With my own kids I do know that if they felt they were failing or not doing well they would want to " chuck it in " .Give him time and hopefully he will come back to it .

I wouldn't discount an eye dominance issue but the other thing I have seen with young shooters is the first time they rely on instinct and do well then they start thinking which slows them down just enough to spoil their timing. The other thing my wife struggles with is trying to be perfect, or aiming. Again it messes with her timing so by the time she pulls the trigger the target is now dropping more.

Maybe, don't worry about the hit percentage, and see if you can appeal to him by telling him Papa misses his shooting buddy.

Years ago, when Juan Pablo Montoya came up in F1 (still a teenager, I believe) he claimed that he practiced driving his entire life by playing racing video games. Those guys have hand/eye coordination like no other sport.