Written by Tom Sykes, Content Creator and Social Media Manager for ShotKam

Having shot for most of my life and reached a respectable standard, I’m often asked by other shooters, “How do you benefit from using a ShotKam?” It’s an interesting question and one I thought would be worth exploring in this blog. 

Even after more than 30 years of shooting, reviewing ShotKam footage continues to teach me things that experience alone hasn’t. 

Introduction

If you follow ShotKam on social media, chances are you’ve seen some of my shooting footage. I’ve been using a ShotKam for over ten years, starting with an older model that I field-tested for a magazine I used to write for. In 2020, my media business became more involved with ShotKam when we began officially creating content and helping to manage its social media platforms.

To explain how ShotKam has helped me, we need to go all the way back to when I first picked up a gun and began to explore the sport of shooting.

Where It All Began

Growing up in the UK, I would accompany my dad and older brother on shooting adventures long before I ever fired a shot myself. Some of my earliest memories involve our family gundogs and sitting on the sidelines while my dad and brother enjoyed everything from summer days at the clay ground and pigeon hide to frosty days out shooting driven game and wildfowl. I started by plinking at paper targets with an airgun before progressing to shooting easy clays with a shotgun, with the help of my dad and other mentors.

Being under the age of 10, I struggled to grasp the basic concepts of lead and shooting technique. Through trial and error, I gradually built up a mental library of sight pictures that served me well into adulthood. I could hit difficult targets, sometimes even extreme ones, but I couldn’t always repeat those performances. I was relying heavily on instinct without fully understanding what made a shot successful. 

My First Experience with ShotKam 

Fast-forward to my mid-20s, when I finally got my hands on a revolutionary piece of technology called ShotKam. I believe I was one of the first people in the UK to get hold of a ShotKam, which had only just become available for wider release.

For the first time, I could see exactly what was happening downrange, with the footage providing clear evidence of what I was doing. There was very little ShotKam content online back then, a stark contrast to the worldwide brand and huge volume of social media videos we see today. When I first started using one, it genuinely felt like looking at the world from a different perspective.

I remember testing it for the first time on clays at my local shoot. Reviewing the footage in the field and again at home immediately taught me more about my shooting technique than I had ever expected. It even confirmed that my assumption about using maintained lead was correct.

Learning from My Footage

During those first few years, ShotKam helped me expand my library of sight pictures and become more consistent. It also gave me a better understanding of quarry behaviour. 

Being able to watch 120fps footage of a supersonic teal frame by frame, as it performed evasive aerial manoeuvres, provided some incredibly useful insights. This was even more apparent when reviewing footage of jackdaws, a small corvid commonly found in the UK. These birds can be particularly difficult to shoot consistently because they often change direction erratically to avoid subsequent shots.

Reviewing missed shots in the hide would often reveal whether I was rushing the shot or choosing the wrong line to the bird, allowing me to make adjustments in real time.

Over the years, the information gathered from thousands of videos has helped me become a better shot.

Trying Something New

Another major learning moment came when I let other people use my ShotKam. While filming a day with pigeon-shooting expert Antoine, I let him use my camera to capture additional angles for a YouTube video. He demonstrated his prowess in the pigeon hide, proving to be a far more consistent shot than me. I spent many hours dissecting and studying his footage, looking closely at his technique and shooting style to see what I could adapt to improve my own performance.

Another way I’ve developed my shooting knowledge is by watching ShotKam’s own training videos. I was fortunate enough to photograph Jonny Carter and Josh Brown during the filming of the Master Sporting Clays series. This gave me a fantastic opportunity to listen to a professional coach explain the finer details of hold points and different shooting styles. Those insights have subsequently helped me improve my own shooting.

When I arrive at a clay station now, I take the time to assess the details I might previously have overlooked. I try not to switch my brain off and simply shout “Pull!” without having a clear plan. Despite my best intentions, though, this habit still creeps in when I’m shooting live quarry. Old habits die hard, and I still find myself taking the occasional instinctive snap shot, probably more often than I’d like to admit.

Day-to-Day Shooting

Outside of capturing footage for social media, one of the biggest benefits of using ShotKam is the ability to make adjustments and improve my shooting on the fly. These days, I use the ShotKam Gen 4, which offers sharper video quality and longer battery life than earlier models. The clearer footage helps me analyse the finer details of my technique, while the extended battery life keeps me recording throughout the day.

There are plenty of occasions at the clay ground when I struggle with a particular target. Often, the solution is as simple as reviewing the footage through the ShotKam mobile app to establish whether I’m shooting over the top, using too much lead or falling behind the target. Being able to identify the problem quickly makes it much easier to correct my technique and get back on track.

I find this particularly valuable when shooting live birds. The ability to see what’s going wrong and make adjustments almost in real time has certainly helped me bring more birds home for the table. I’ve even used the footage to help locate shot birds that have fallen into cover!

Learning from the ShotKam Community 

My role at ShotKam also allows me to watch footage shared by other users, whether they’ve tagged us on social media or posted in the ShotKam Community Facebook group. In doing so, you’re all helping me broaden my knowledge of shooting and quarry behaviour.

I’ve never shot driven boar in Europe, for example, but after watching so many videos on the subject, I feel I’d have a much better idea of what to expect and where to start.

Looking back, I wish I’d had a ShotKam when I first started shooting. Being able to see exactly what the muzzle is doing in relation to the target is a huge advantage, particularly for someone learning the sport. It would undoubtedly have helped me develop my technique and progress much faster.

Final Thoughts

Like most shooters, I’m under no illusions that I’ve mastered the sport. I’m certainly no George Digweed, and I know there’s always room for improvement. I’ll continue to test new techniques, learn from others and use every opportunity to become the best shot I can be.

That’s one of the biggest lessons ShotKam has taught me: no matter how long you’ve been shooting, there’s always something new to learn.

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What ShotKam Taught Me About Shooting