"It's just another gimmick marketed to people looking for a magic cure to targets missed due to a lack of adequate practice."
I really don't know why this topic seems to have generated so much heat. The Shotkam is simply a tool that can be used to help answer the question" why did I miss that target". In many cases, the answer is known without the use of a tool like Shotkam. I can often tell why I missed right after the shot. However, in some cases eg. a systemic error, it helps to know an answer to the following question "Where was the gun pointing when the shot was fired". This is a question that a properly regulated Shotkam can answer. What you do with that is up to you. If you are missing the target, then you should know the answer to "where should the gun be pointing when the shot is fired". I have recently started shooting Trap again after a 30 year layoff. One of the ways I relearned the leads is to look at videos on Youtube. Many of these are Shotkam videos!
However, a Shotkam can provide additional information. For example, on doubles, it shows the location and trajectory of the second bird whether you hit or missed the first one. I personally found this helpful in situations where for one reason or another, I shot the first bird late.
As to 'adequate practice"...I have long heard the phrase "Practice does NOT make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect!" ie. practicing the wrong thing does not help. Practicing the right thing does.
So I don't know why we need blanket statements like the above. I am prepared to use whatever tools are available to improve my shooting. I have just started using a borrowed Shotkam. So far I have some information that will help improve my shooting. Whether I can actually use that information to make the improvements is now up to me. For me, that involves being "in the moment" and not just walking up, loading and calling for the bird. I have to "go through the steps". Steps that I know about based on the information I have available, some of which comes from my use of a Shotkam to diagnose my misses, as well as my hits!
Peter.