Good points, but this is wrong:
“A photo taken at this stage of the firing process would also reveal the forces of recoil upon the shooter.”
There is clear motion blur at the muzzle, upward and to the rear at a ~45 degree angle. At the rear (see trigger guard) the blur is largely rearward.
The author may not realize that some bird guns and loads are quite lightly recoiling.
Yeah, it does show the recoil.
Which means he was shooting even lower than it appears in the photo.
Shooting rabbits or groundhog maybe. If it was skeet he must have been shooting them before they were launched... which does seem like something he’d do.
“The author may not realize that some bird guns and loads are quite lightly recoiling.”
Ah! Come on! There was probably nothing in that shell besides the primer and the wad. “ Pull!——ploot.” And mount the stock against your Clavicle,,, pain happens! Notice that they’ve changed their narrative. It’s no longer Skeet, it’s now clay targets.