Dan Schindler's Blog

May

2025

Beyond The X

If you already know you can break that target, why practice that target?My Sporting Clays student Greg (not his real name) sat across from me after this morning’s lesson. Over lunch he said he went to the Practice segment in his Paragon ...

May

2025

Real Improvement Starts Here

And it’s not what you think.“Many stumble over a truth—then walk away, leaving the good lesson behind.”To keep a reader’s interest, a writer’s topics are endless. Truths, however, aren’t. And the value of ...

May

2025

Make the Seconds Work Overtime

“Don’t count the seconds.Make the seconds count!”Being occupied with our guns, chokes and loads, that‘s all good. Too often though, we overlook one of the, if not THE most important requirements of consistently good shooting. ...

Apr

2025

Good Lessons

Inconsistent scores, up one day, down the next on the same targets? Lesson paid for, shake hands with your instructor.Chambers loaded, gun up, targets are breaking station after station. You’re asked to hold the gun here, see this over the ...

Apr

2025

The Day She Broke More Than A Target

She came to River Bend with a large group of friends, maybe fifteen ladies, most of whom had never touched a firearm. Surrounded by their anxious looks, I expressed comfort in each handshake. The atmosphere softened as smiles began to replace looks ...

Mar

2025

Trust Me, That's a 3-Foot Lead!

“All the measuring in the world is uselessif it doesn’t match the target data.”In Sporting Clays, measuring leads causes missing. Period.This example illustrates why measuring works in Trap and Skeet but not Sporting. Lisa, a ...

Mar

2025

Speaking of Gun Control

Let’s talk about what it really takes to generate more broken birds: Gun Control. Every inch movement of our gun muzzle will decide what happens out at the target, making swing precision non-negotiable. This is not my ...

Feb

2025

Successfully Dealing with Pressure

“Our game has an uncanny way of endearing itself to uswhile at the same time revealing every weakness of mind, no matter how well hidden.”― Timothy Gallwey (Paraphrased)Think of the pressure we put on ourselves playing clay target ...

Feb

2025

Lost Target. What's Next?

While definitely not getting our vote for favorite pastime, I think it’s fair to say, missing will be with us for a while longer. The good news is, we all miss and no one likes it. One difference is how each of us reacts to the disappointment. ...

Jan

2025

Truths Part II

Here’s the long way around to improving. Load the cart with a flat of shells, some hope and a trial-and-error approach to each target. Unfortunately, all this will do is reinforce our old, inconsistent habits that we’ll later want to ...

Jan

2025

Truths

“You can practice shooting eight hours a day…but, if your technique is wrong,then all you become very good at is shooting the wrong way.” -Michael JordanBasketball, football, golf, shooting…look no further to ...

Dec

2024

Building Confidence Through Muzzle Awareness

Imagine knowing exactly why each shot connects—or misses. Muzzle Awareness (MA) unlocks this critical insight for shooters of all levels.Finding the Right BalanceIn the simplest of terms, muzzle awareness (MA) means keeping the gun muzzle in ...

Dec

2024

Mastering Consistency: Unlocking Your Shooting Potential

If you want to build more consistency into your shooting, please listen up. What follows will help.As a full-time instructor and coach, this comes directly from some of our students who inquire about Paragon instruction. They seek truly helpful ...

Nov

2024

Trust Your MA Part 11

Finding the Right Balance: Building Confidence with Muzzle Awareness (MA)In the simplest of terms, muzzle awareness (MA) means keeping the gun muzzle in our “peripheral” vision, before and during our swing. Seeing this target/barrel ...

Nov

2024

Trust Your MA Part 1

Originally published in Sporting Clays magazine in 2014, "Trust Your MA" by Daniel L. Schindler sparked significant controversy, ultimately leading to the widespread adoption of this groundbreaking approach by shooters and the industry.I am ...

Nov

2024

Unlocking the Secrets to Consistency

My previous article, The Path to Consistency, focused on mastering control in clay shooting to achieve reliable outcomes by intentionally building precision into each swing. The key takeaway was understanding every aspect of the swing ...

Oct

2024

The Path to Consistency in Sporting Clays

For those who aspire to higher sporting clays skills, the focus inevitably shifts from breaking the target to the final score. It is here we begin to look at the miss. Why did we miss that target? For that matter, how did we hit the previous one?In ...

Sep

2024

When Missing Works

We all remember when America’s astronaut Neil Armstrong stood on the moon and said, “One small step for man……..one giant step for shooters.” Or something like that.Understandably, we shooters want to learn that ONE ...

Sep

2024

A Parachute Swing

“Trust…but verify.”Ronald Reagan Yes…wise words from President Reagan. However, it’s all that “verifying” that gets us shooters in trouble.Helping my students develop consistently good shooting ...