I am the opposite. I shoot a shotgun better than a rifle but I have been shooting skeet on a pretty regular basis for years. The best advise I got about shooting came from my PaPa. He said you aim a rifle but you point a shotgun. When I shoot a shotgun I don't look at the bead or even the rib. My arms swing the barrel where my eyes go. Its all about hand/eye coordination like hitting a baseball or golfball.

I do better like this... your brain knows where to go like throwing a football...

IMHO, you are shooting behind. I was always a good shot on quail , not so good on dove.
One afternoon sitting on a tailwater pit , I shot at the lead dove of a pair. The trailing
dove ( trailing by a good bit ) folded. I started leading a good bit more , and my
success rate went up.
I also learned how to hit an incoming dove that day. If you can see it , you missed it.
Raise the muzzle and fire when the bird is blotted out by the end of the muzzle.

practice , practice , practice.

MO

Good stuff.

I need to get the skeet thrower in service.

I was shooting some birds this evening and had a shot almost identical to the 20 yd crossing shot you mentioned on pg 1 of the thread. He came across right to left, probably about 4 o'clock to 10 o'clock, scooting pretty decent but not too fast. I shot him then thought about it and I really think I led that sucker 2'-2.5'. Pretty good lead for being so close but that might give you an idea of how far you gotta get in front of em.

Doing a bit of math...

Using ~1300ft/sec load for a dove flying at 30mph on 30yd crossing shot, you will need to lead the bird by about 3ft.

There is no question...I've been shooting behind the birds.

Benn shooting sporting clays for 15 years or so. At one point was shooting over 1000 rounds a month. If you are intentionally leading the bird you are aiming (very typical and hard to break for a rifle shooter), and you can't aim if you want to be a really good shotgun shooter. It absolutely must be instinctive. Make sure your gun fits you. If you are not sure about the fit find someone who sells and fits shotguns and have them fit the gun to you. When you look down the barrel you should be looking down on and seeing the whole rib all the way down the barrel - not looking down the rib and barrel like you would when you are shooting a rifle. Being able to see the whole rib means that when you shoot - your point of impact will be a little higher so you will never have to take you eye off the bird or block the bird with the barrel. When you mount your gun you should be looking at the bird, you should be following the bird with your eye and turning your body as you follow the bird with your eye (eye remains fixed on the bird and is locked directly on the bird - eye does not move - body moves. You should NEVER see the barrel of your gun - if you see the barrel you will stop following the bird and the barrel will stop moving. If you see the barrel of your gun you will miss. With your eye on the bird, when the gun mounts, pull the trigger - don't hesitate - just do it. No thinking involved - all instinct. If you practice this method you will never have to worry about leading the bird.

See the bird, follow the bird as you mount the gun, never see the barrel or take your eye off the bird - pull the trigger when the gun mounts. With practice you shooting will improve into the 80% range or better.

For more information go to Gil and Vicki Ash's OSP shooting school. Watch the free videos, there are a lot of them and you will be amazed at how much you will learn. Order their book and follow it. You will be amazed at how much your shooting will improve.

http://www.ospschool.com/osp-shooting-school.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqklsrDvVCc

https://ospshootingschool.com/

No, I don't have any stake in their shooting school. I have taken lessons from them however and they know what they are talking about. If I had been able to continue my tournament shooting I would have gone into the masters class several years ago.

I never aim with dove. To me, it's just like shooting a re-curve bow. There are no pins, no sights, it's instinctive shooting. I keep my eyes locked on the head of the dove, snap the shotgun to my shoulder and shoot. I always seem to start off a little slow, then I fill bags once I'm warmed up. If I aim and focus with the gun up for several seconds I get a lot of misses. If I wait, lock my eyes on the target then snap and shoot the birds start falling. Next thing you know you are shooting doubles nearly half the time. Works for me anyway.

^^This is how I am programmed.^^

I can hit a 12" steel mover at 90 degrees to the shot at 500 yards with a rifle. That's a 3 Mil hold and my first attempt I was 8 for 10 and won that stage out of 30 guys. I can SWAG a 3' lead at 30 yards on dove with a shotgun. I just need some numbers in my head to work with.

Maybe I'll put a Mil scope on my 10/22 and start hunting dove with that.

If you don't get those numbers out of your head, clear your mind, keep your eye on the bird (and yes, after awhile you will actually be able to see and follow the head and beak), and pull the trigger when the gun mounts - your shotgun shooting is never going to improve. It's a totally different world than rifle shooting.

Yup. Why in my opening post I told of riflemen typically aren't so good with a shotgun and vice versa.

Paper and skeet is what I need to shoot next.

Watch the videos I indicated. They will help and you will learn a lot about shotgun shooting.