Trigger control under stress

[Mark Briggs]

I've found the key to working through chicken finger is a lot of very positive self talk, reinforced with a bit of dry-fire. It goes kinda like this...
(self talk is in quotes).

"oooh, that last shot should have broken easily - why did I have to abort?"
"Ok, time to get back to basics. Let's work through the shot plan."

Select dry-fire mode.
Walk through your shot plan, verbalizing each step to oneself. Once you get to the point in your shot plan where you're actually ready to fire, emphasize how easily the shot will break, how effortlessly, and how it will be almost a surprise when it breaks.

Raise the pistol, all the while talking yourself through the shot plan.
"Sights aligned while still above the target. Descending slowly, steadily, taking up first stage of trigger as I drop through the black. This is going to be SO easy!"
"Sights stable at sub-6. Lookin' good as trigger pressure increases."
BANG - the shot breaks (okay, not much bang in dry-fire mode).
"Yes, that was easy. This trigger is so light I can't believe it's legal."

That kind of positive self talk usually gets me past the ocassional chicken finger in pretty short order. Try it (just don't speak out loud or your fellow competitors will know your secret!).

[Bob Fleming]

Perhaps you are thinking about the results of the shot. Your score, how you are doing compared to the others and if that special competitor, a National Team member or just your friend is behind or ahead. It can be bad to place too much importance on the almighty TEN.
The process of taking the shot is more important. Sight alignment and trigger pull working as a team is infinitely more important than random holes in the paper that happen to be tens.
The tens will take care of themselves and so will the competition. Reward yourself with a pleasant thought every time you execute the perfect (perfect enough) shot, regardless of where it went, if it is on call and not just luck.

It is hard not to consider score, just make sure it is not more important than the shot process. As you learn to trust the process it will become easier to concentrate more completely on the shot process and not the implications of the scores.

[.donthc]

you can also try picturing the target as a blob of black. you focus your aim on moving the sights into the firing area, and just fire off. the shot should turn out ok.