I give longish left-to-right crossers less forward allowance!

CLAY PIGEON SHOOTING
John Bidwell
It stands to reason that identical birds going in different directions will need the same amount of lead to be hit.

However… The sight picture can appear slightly different because of the way the stock comes into the face on one, and away from it on the other.

For instance, when clay shooting a right-handed shooter swinging on a right-to-left crosser will have no problem keeping his cheek on the woodwork and he will be better able to judge speed of swing and the amount of forward allowance needed.

The opposite is true of a left-hander.

However, when a right-hander tackles a left-to-right crosser the stock will naturally come ‘away’ from the cheek so there’s a tendency to speed up the swing as a consequence.

Some people – and this reader is one – are more aware of lead differences than others and much of it is down to shooting technique.

Folk who rely on differing speed of swing to break targets – as with pull-away or follow through – are more likely to notice it on longer range clays where they have more time to assess lead requirements.