English shooting instructor and three time former World FITASC Champion, John Bidwell, has developed his own method of shooting which he calls Move, Mount, Shoot. It is a new form of maintained lead method (i.e., a technique where the shotgun's barrels stay ahead of the target throughout the shooting process). The appealing quality of Mr. Bidwell's method -- nicely explained and illustrated in his book -- is that it is very simple and straightforward. I will not try to explain all the facets of Move, Mount, Shoot in this review but I do like the technique and I think it deserves more attention -- especially in the United States.

In the U.S., Jon Kruger is probably the best known proponent of Move, Mount, Shoot. Currently, a sponsored target shooter by way of Krieghoff, Jon is in his early 40s I believe. However, when he was in his 30s, Jon Kruger was with little doubt one of the most successful sporting clays shooters in the U.S. -- he was unbeaten in over 40 consecutive tournaments in a 12 month period (an American record that should stand for some time). I cannot think of a better endorsement of the Move, Mount, Shoot technique than this.

Besides John Bidwell's excellent book here, that I feel should be read by all serious shotgun shooters, there is also a companion video which gives an excellent visual representation of Move, Mount, Shoot along with Mr. Bidwell's personal explanatory comments and a chance to see John actually demonstrating his technique on a variety of sporting clay targets. I think Bidwell's DVD of the same title as his book makes a great duo.
(Jon Kruger also turned out a video/DVD using Move, Mount, Shoot entitled, "Jon Kruger's Secrets to Success in Sporting Clays" by Sunrise Productions in Orlando, FL.)

Although I have not read it, John Bidwell has written another book on his shotgun shooting technique called "Shotgun Magic". Readers who enjoyed Move, Mount, Shoot would probably be well served by looking at Bidwell's second book also.

Perhaps not for the absolute beginner, but required reading for anyone who wants to excel at the various shotgun games that are available to us, especially that of English and International Sporting Clays. Though heavily focused on the "Maintained Lead" method, very good detail on shooting techniques for some specific "trouble" shots that I've been struggling with.

More importantly, this book does provide a very good and strong basic understanding of how to actually use your shotgun. Bidwell takes into account specific fundamentals like gun fit, sight picture, point of aim and impact, shot-stringing, and pattern placement. Also, a fair amount of space is dedicated to probably the most important aspect of successful shotgunning, a correct and consistent mount.