Shooting score has plateaued – Help!

[dronning]

As you have probably gathered from the last few responses your shot process will be unique to you AND you will refine it as you go. I think it is important to start with a long process in the beginning from how you set up your bench, build your stance, grip your gun..... all the way through shot recovery. As you progress it will get refined and it will shorten and probably start with the load or ready command, this is the point where you need to get your conscious thought focused and out of the way so your subconscious can take over and shoot a 10.

I really like the analogy of when you learned to tie your shoe. Your process was all conscious thought - grab the laces, pull tight ....etc..you made mistakes and started over but once you got it down and repeated it enough it became a subconscious process. Now when you tie your shoe - do you even think about it? Thing is if you begin to tie your shoe and and indicator like a broken lace, or if something doesn't FEEL right, you abort the process, fix the issue and re-start. This is exactly where you want to get to in your shot process, if an indicator is wrong or if something doesn't feel right, you abort and start over.

You will determine your own indicators, from the way you place the gun in your shooting hand, through shot recovery.

- Dave

[dulcmr-man]

Thanks to both "kle" and "Gwhite" for a lucid explanation of shot process. The shot process article is really good as is kle's explanation. I had started down that path, but my process is not yet detailed enough, so I'll be examining my technique and documenting what I do for future refinement. Again, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

[Ed Hall]

The shot process is unique to everyone, it is dynamic and its advantages are to give a consistent base of action so you can expect a consistent result, and it gives you a consistent focus point to keep you on track.

A new shooter might have twenty steps initially and then combine portions down to a simple few as they progress and learn to let their subconscious take over more of the process.

I promote a written process, within easy view. This helps to keep you consistent.

[David M]

Shot process article quote Brian Zins...
"In the beginning my Shot Process was long. I was told to write down everything I did in order to shoot one ten. Everything from the time I put the gun on the bench until the gun went into recoil. Just the part from loading the gun till the gun went bang filled one side of a piece of paper."

At a coaching camp we asked the shooters to write down "how to shoot a perfect shot".
One shooter wrote three pages, way too complicated, too much thinking, no wonder he over held and pulled shots.
Yes, you need a shot process but you need to keep it simple.
I have it down to one sentence,
"Squeeze the foresight back through the rear sight, until the shot goes BANG."

[Gwhite]

Shot process article quote Brian Zins...
"In the beginning my Shot Process was long. I was told to write down everything I did in order to shoot one ten. Everything from the time I put the gun on the bench until the gun went into recoil. Just the part from loading the gun till the gun went bang filled one side of a piece of paper."

At a coaching camp we asked the shooters to write down "how to shoot a perfect shot".
One shooter wrote three pages, way too complicated, too much thinking, no wonder he over held and pulled shots.
Yes, you need a shot process but you need to keep it simple.
I have it down to one sentence,
"Squeeze the foresight back through the rear sight, until the shot goes BANG."

That's fine for an advanced shooter, but I'm willing to bet that somewhere before this, you gripped the pistol, lifted it, acquired your sights & breathed. How did you do that consistently? A beginner needs to be consciously aware of ALL the steps. Once they have refined & practiced a bit, the stuff that has been found to work well and is firmly committed to muscle memory can be removed from the written list.

[Ed Hall]

...
I have it down to one sentence,
"Squeeze the foresight back through the rear sight, until the shot goes BANG."

This is almost the exact quote I'd heard from Darius Young many years ago...