TargetTalk

Hi Everyone
A quick thankyou to all the contributors, as a new shooter I'm finding lots of ideas and tips. I've been shooting for 8 months ( prone )

Had a comp on the weekend, scoring was good for me for the first 40 .
95,93,96,94 then 83 and 88. I still had 20 mins left after finishing.

My question- in the 83 I shot a 7 then a 6. I know why I shot the seven but the 6 I'm sure was because i was annoyed I took the shot and got a 7 .

I know I should concentrate on this shot only not the last or the next .
But does anyone have some tips on how to achieve this

Secondly should I have taken a break after the seven and not "pushed on"

Thanks
David

Some thoughts; Practice, concentration, train your mental focussing skills and only think of the shot in the gun. If you get distracted by a previous shot then it shows a gap in your training. You need to clear your mind and refocus and if you need to take a break to do that then do so. Some people prefer to refocus and stay on the line - but it's really just what works for you.

Out of interest how much mental training do you do ? Do you practice refocussing and distraction control ?

It's the same old maxim as any other time in a match; keep positive, concentrate on the process that you train day in day out and just do what you know works.

Rob.

I learned this from a great shooter. After a "not-so-great" shot, step back, relax and take some deep breaths. Then dry-fire until you have a couple of perfectly executed dry-fire shots in a row. At this point, your head is back in the game and you're looking forward to executing your next 10, not thinking about anything in the past. And it works!

More times than not, I shoot a 10 right after something less than desirable --if I go through this routine.

My biggest problem now and one that you'll probably experience (if you haven't already) is after 3-4 10s in a row, I start wondering how many more I might be able to shoot in a row. BAM! Not a 10 ;-)

The mental part of this game is TOUGH!

Oz

My biggest problem is that 6 sitting out there is spotlighted in my eye and brain, for me to see. The second problem is I almost always seem to send another out there to keep the first one "company." A-a-a-a-r-r-r-g-g-h!! "Doc"

It can be very difficult to forget about a bad shot. I'm not sure how you can just stop doing it other than practicing a lot. Maybe after you shoot a bad shot, just take a few minute break and continue.

For myself I don't have that problem anymore, and I have no clue how I overcame it. I guess just overtime you get better and better at it.

Keeping your mind clear of all thoughts except the shot you are dong is very important but very difficult. I find myself often not concentrating at all. Thinking about other stuff and just shooting whatever.

One thing you can do for training away from the range is make up 15 cards with ten of them numbered "10", three numbered "9", one "8" and one "7".

Now close your eyes and go through the shot process as realisticaly as possible. "Feel" the stock in your shoulder and your cheek on the stock, "see" the perfect sight picture, "feel" the shot go off, call the shot and "see" the result. Then draw a card from the hat and get your score. When you get a good score praise yourself, but when you get less than a ten do a mental shoulder shrug, assign that shot to"someone else" and move on.

After practicing this at home, take the same technique to the range and use it there. The more often you do this, the easier it becomes. This is to overcome the problem of focusing on the bad shot, not to identify and fix the cause of the bad shot. That's a completely different technique.

"Don't keep beating yourself up. Just beat yourself up once and move on." Homer Simpson

talladega wrote:It can be very difficult to forget about a bad shot. I'm not sure how you can just stop doing it other than practicing a lot. Maybe after you shoot a bad shot, just take a few minute break and continue
<snip>.

That in a nutshell is it, practice. Practice just focusing on the good shots and ignoring the less good shots. They've been shot, nothing you can do about it, so focus on what is within your control, i.e. only the next shot. Just concentrate on that one shot every time and make that one the best it can be, and repeat that process. If you keep your mind full of the good shots and during the shot, the shot process (i.e. getting the sight alignment right) then you should have no space in your head for bad thoughts.

I should add that I like the sound of Pat's training method for learning to ignore the poor shots. Just make sure that's exactly what your learning to do from it.

Rob.

RobStubbs wrote:Practice just focusing on the good shots and ignoring the less good shots.

I'm not so sure about that Rob. Focussing on the good shots, just as focussing on the less good ones, distracts you from what you should be foussing on; the shot you are about to fire.

As you said, "They've been shot, nothing you can do about it, so focus on what is within your control, i.e. only the next shot".

Thanks for everyones suggestions -

Sounds liike - more practice& more practice ;)


Thanks
David

Also, you don't need to scope every shot.

David Levene wrote:

RobStubbs wrote:Practice just focusing on the good shots and ignoring the less good shots.

I'm not so sure about that Rob. Focussing on the good shots, just as focussing on the less good ones, distracts you from what you should be foussing on; the shot you are about to fire.

As you said, "They've been shot, nothing you can do about it, so focus on what is within your control, i.e. only the next shot".

David,
To perhaps more fully quote what I said, I also stated

If you keep your mind full of the good shots and during the shot, the shot process (i.e. getting the sight alignment right) then you should have no space in your head for bad thoughts

I meant focus on the positive feelings of a good shot and the desire to repeat that. I'm not suggesting you detract from the shot process of the next shot as of course that's the most important. What you can do though is feel good and positive because of the previous (or even past) good shot, prior to initiating the shot process for the subsequent shot.

Rob

I always scope every shot (makes scoping a part of my everyday routine; no sweat).

There's an accepted process that prevents us from "breaking barriers".
Typically people "compensate" if they start off with a score that's "higher than normal", so they get back into their "comfort zone".

I believe this works for me the other way too: if I start a 5 shot target with a seven, tens for the rest of the target will make it a "normal" 47. And that's a short term goal that tends to relieve stress. I tend to "compensate" for those bad shots by "taking revenge" and making the target "average" so I can go on shooting and forget about it. Don't know why, but it tends to work for me.

Finishing a target with a seven is worse: the other funny thing is the first and last shot in a match. They are often either 10s or catastrophical!
Starting a match with a really bad shot is not a confidence booster!


BTW I shoot AP most of the time.

My first suggestion is to realize that unless you are a 590+ shooter, a seven isn't what brings your score down so far. It takes a lot of other shots as well.

Second, is yes, you should take a break to regain your composure if it is broken. From your series list, it seems you have a good match start. Take a break and then menatally start the match over from the next shot. Remember that each shot is a match of its own. Move from the last match to a new beginning and leave what is unwanted behind.

Yes, you should focus on and highlight the positive. Let your subconscious know that tens are what you want. Don't confuse your subconscious by being excited about things you don't want to repeat.

Take Care,
Ed Hall
Air Force Shooting Homepage
Bullseye (and International) Competition Things

In a match situation, the only reason I can think of to not scope shots is if you are running out of time. Outdoors, the wind could change just so such that you are out of the 10 ring, and you need to catch that. On top of that, you need to catch something going wrong as quickly as possible. That could be your head, your routine, the sites, or your gun. It's extremely risky to not see where your shots are going.

It's also true that the 6 and 7 hurt, but that's only 7 of the 17 points dropped on that string. You dropped 10 points on the other 8 shots (<9 average). Realize that you averaged a 9.5 the previous 5 strings. Shooting 10s is your nature.

As for taking a break, that's a personal thing. In indoor shooting, I tend to push on after a not so desirable shot with great success. I find I can really focus on that next shot. This is not for everyone, but is an idea to try. As a beginner, you should start with taking a break.

Ed and Soupy

Thanks for putting it into perpective for me, your right if I get a 7 there's still another 593 points I can score !

Anyway time to put all this good advice into practice - my own rifle has arrived now (using a club rifle previously) and it's time to start some dry firing.

PRACTICE PRACTICE ......

Atleast if I dry fire at home my wife can't complain I'm at the range all the time ;)

David

DJP wrote:Ed and Soupy

Thanks for putting it into perpective for me, your right if I get a 7 there's still another 593 points I can score !

...

David

Actually, there are only 590 left, but added to that 7, you can still reach 597. Even better!(smile)

Take Care,
Ed Hall
Air Force Shooting Homepage
Bullseye (and International) Competition Things

alots been covered for you already.a trick i always use is to check my position before each shot,when your in position close your eyes and take a couple of breaths a you would normally before you release a shot then open them just to check your position is right on the target.

you always need to keep your mind blank and concentrate only on the shot in hand,this is hard if your having a bad day of it but it comes with practice and the more shooting you do you will eventually get into your own rhythm and be able to feel before you pull the trigger whether the shots going to be good or not,a thing i did when i first started shooting was while aiming if something felt wrong ie your mind starts to wander id take my eyes off the sights and relax for a couple of seconds.i still do this but not as often.

A tip i got from a club member a couple of nights ago that also might help is if your hitting 10s which you seem to be doing fairly regularly with a couple of exceptions,give the scope a miss on some of them.i was scoping every shot and hitting 10s then getting to the last target or two and tensing my shoulder and throwing my shots all in anticipation of a perfect score,basically my mind was getting the better of me..so with taking the scope out the equation on last 4-5 targets i could concentrate better.


"Find your bubble and stop you heart"

Perhaps a basic change in what a score or particular shot means. Lets be honest. the purpose, our ultimate goal, the objective of shooting is score. But being focused on score will mean you never achieve your score.

If checking your result on every shot is to check your score, a 7 is exactly that, a 7 and a problem.

What if on the other hand the check of the result is to verify your technique, and is your technique still correct and proper; does the 7 mean you simply have to examine your technique? Perhaps before you check the result, you review in your mind whether you were on technique, and then verify your result versus what you thought it should be...

The focus of your effort is technique and not score. Hence, a 10 more probably means your technique was good (though it could have been luck if you felt like you screwed up). A seven means you need to work on some technique...

I find myself in full agrement with Rob Studds.And I am in complete dissagrement with the "No Stinking Thinking " concept of controling shooting performance. Trying to keep the mind blank is for me an impossible task. A random thought will inevetably occur at the most inoppertune moment in the shot sequence almost always resulting in unnessary points being lost. I think my way through the shot sequence, visulizing each step in a totally positive manner and in the exact rythem Im in while firing my best, most controled shots. Then I address the target and go through the shot sequence, delivering the shot on the target My mind works the same way om each shot . I am able to recognize when the thought process goes haywire or if the rythem is wrong and abort the shot. This saves me many points in a long match. This is how I do our thing. Others may havea very different approach. Pick what works for you and Good Shooting Bill Horton

DJP wrote:Hi Everyone
A quick thankyou to all the contributors, as a new shooter I'm finding lots of ideas and tips. I've been shooting for 8 months ( prone )

Had a comp on the weekend, scoring was good for me for the first 40 .
95,93,96,94 then 83 and 88. I still had 20 mins left after finishing.

My question- in the 83 I shot a 7 then a 6. I know why I shot the seven but the 6 I'm sure was because i was annoyed I took the shot and got a 7 .

I know I should concentrate on this shot only not the last or the next .
But does anyone have some tips on how to achieve this

Secondly should I have taken a break after the seven and not "pushed on"

Thanks
David

First, have yourself a good cry. Then take a break and go to the smoking section of the venue so you can burn trinkets in effigy of the mean old bad shot. Then go to the bathroom, look at yourself in the mirror, and say, "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me!" Only then will you be ready to go back to the firing line and finish your string!




Seriously, you can't change the past, so don't dwell on it; just focus on future and fire your next thought. It shouldn't be a matter of a lack of confidence. Everyone here can and has intentionally fired a 10...all you have to do is fire that same shot 60 times. Don't over-think it.