TargetTalk

Hi all,

Living down in the tropics one issue that most shooters have to contend with is the heat...especially air rifle shooters. And most of the ranges don't have air-con, or worse, are poorly ventilated. I'm blessed with the fact that my blood pressure is normal tending to low, however in a couple of recent matches (one last year and the last one this year) this has become a curse. As I get into stride on a match I start to sweat (copiously!), my heartbeat climbs (ok, there is a bit of the anxiety\nervousness factor in it too) and I start feeling kind of "woozy" as if I was in the beginning of a faint process. What this does to one's ability to score I leave to you guys to figure it out...it ain´t pretty... so I would like to hear from you guys what you do (or would suggest doing) in a situation like this?

Using the opportunity, I want to inquire something... hands up, please, those shooters whose AR ranges\clubs have air-con installed or if not have some kind of forced ventilation system. Shooters here fantasise that most ranges in the US and Europe have some form of ventilating\conditioning system, however I´m led to think otherwise - recently during an exchange of emails with a forum member I sent him pics of the range built for the Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janeiro (which will also host the shooting events in the 2020 Olympics), for which I was greeted with a long sigh and "I wish there were more like these over here" reply. This left left me kind of intrigued, so I would like to hear about how your club\range feels and looks like...especially in summer...

Cheers NB

Nick I think you mean the 2016 Olympics in Rio. As to air con I wish, we dont have it at my club and in summer on the indoor range it's not much fun. no other form of ventilation either.

I am thinking 10 what are you thinking?
Glen Turner.

It gets so damn hot here in the desert that we usually shut down for the summer.

In the Spring and Fall the crappy air conditioner we have can barely keep the range bearable. When it went down one weekend I shot a match at 104F and my CO2 gun had to be bled several times to keep it cool enough to work.

I think a little beer hall like many of the German shooting clubs is an elegant and civilized solution to the problem.

Prosit!

Nick,

You need to stay hydrated, the older you get the more important this becomes, and keep your blood sugar levels somewhat even. water for the hydration, and fruit or glucose tablets for the sugar.

Lots of time in an air rifle match, so you can stop when you feel the "woozys" and address the situation. Don't forget to practice this by taking a break and restarting during regular training.

If the situation continues you might want to visit with your physician to be sure nothing else is going on.

Hi NB - sorry to hear about this condition spoiling your shooting - seems good advice here from Pat McCoy. I shoot at a local range which fires cartridge, black powder and AP AR. Because of the fumes, there is an extract system to clear the air but cold is more significant than heat so there is only a heating boiler and no aircon.

Lots of water .... in both summer & winter.

We shoot in a metal building with no heat & one small swamp cooler.
In the summer the kids are shooting in 98-102 degree (F) heat and in the winter we have some of the 85,000 BTU propane heaters we blow thru to keep the temp near 29-30 degrees.

Good thing is when they show up to a range where everyone else is complaining of maybe 89-90 degree temps, they are thinking they are in heaven

Today (in central New Mexico ... March 20) we have 2" of snow on the ground, and temp inside the range will be about 33 degrees (builds character???)

But they always have a bottle or two of water with them

Pat's advice is good, keep hydrated and you sugar levels steady.

Here in the UK, our summers are getting hotter and winters, well that's still variable, but our recent winter was pretty bad. Over all though we still have a fairly temperate climate. Our 10-M range has 2 big multi speed fans built into the wall sucking air from out side the range behind the firing points and these can be switched input or output. You can feel the cool draught on your back when shooting and it does help.
So, get some real big cooling fans set up behind the shooters, this way it will keep the air moving around the firing points.

JSB

GTFS wrote:Nick I think you mean the 2016 Olympics in Rio. As to air con I wish, we dont have it at my club and in summer on the indoor range it's not much fun. no other form of ventilation either.

I am thinking 10 what are you thinking?
Glen Turner.

Sorry, meant 2016, this is what happens when you post too late at night...

What do you mean by "thinking 10"?

Cheers NB

Hi Nick
What it means is I try only to think about the process required to shoot 10's and I call it thinking 10.

What do you think about when you shoot?

Glen Turner

Oh, now I see what you mean. I try not to think about anything. If I have a thought (especially a distracting one) I apply a trick learnt in this forum, of letting the thought process flow until a point when I can quietly terminate it, rather than battling to suppress it outright. At best I hum (mentally) a tune, preferably a good, uplifting one (Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" March is a favorite) - but only ONE tune. And I make a point of breaking it off when I go into the shot. This when things are OK. When temperature goes up, then mental hell breaks loose...I have all sorts of c##p thoughts, with dire consequences. What I need is a method of keep my head (and my shooting) up and running when steam starts oozing out of my ears...


Cheers NB

Just a 50m shooter but the hottest day would have being 42c (107f) in the shade.
The coldest, it was about -3c (27f) when we started in the morning, bugger of a day, about half of the bullets required a second go to fire.
(old rifle)

by not "proactively"putting a shooting key thought in your mind as part of your pre-shot routine, you allow the brain to go where it will and get the extraneous non-shooting thoughts.

One thing we have our juniors do is make a conscious change to a shooting key thought as the final part of the pre-shot routine. For rifle it is a picture of the perfect sight picture. Let the sub(un)conscious take care of the trigger. When that thought is gone the shot is over and needs to be rejected and restarted.

For pistol we've had better luck focusing on the beginning of the trigger movement, and let the sub(un)conscious take care of sight alignment.

You can only have one thought in your mind at one time, so it's best you control what that thought will be.

Pat McCoy wrote:Nick,

You need to stay hydrated, the older you get the more important this becomes, and keep your blood sugar levels somewhat even. water for the hydration, and fruit or glucose tablets for the sugar.

Lots of time in an air rifle match, so you can stop when you feel the "woozys" and address the situation. Don't forget to practice this by taking a break and restarting during regular training.

If the situation continues you might want to visit with your physician to be sure nothing else is going on.

You really want to get properly hydrated before the match and stay there. It's no good feeling woozy and expecting some water / sugar based food or drink to make you feel ok again, it's too late then. You really want to be drinking water throughout the match - easier for me with pistol, when I then need to walk off for a pee ;)

Take care of your eating and drinking regime and treat as an integral part of the match. I try and make sure I've eaten 2-3 hours before a match where possible, but however you do it, you need to avoid a drop in blood sugar or hydration during the match.

Rob.

To the first part of your question, most ranges in the US are NOT air conditioned. The two good indoor ranges are (Colorado Springs and Ft. Benning), althought the range in Colorado is only moderatly air conditioned to conserve. The one outdoor range that was air conditioned in the US is shut down (Atlanta Olympic range).

All advice so far is good. Hydration, mental prep, etc.

If you're open to it, though, a switch to pistol will take care a lot of the discomfort you experience all dressed up in your layers of rifle garb when it's hot out.

Good luck,
Retired

Both Pat and Retired make good points. Reference Pat ,I am in total agrement that you must train your mind to think about what you are trying to do. If you just stick the pistol out without a firm mental process you may be letting your mind think about the nice looking girl shooting next to you and hang a seven out in no mans land. The mind thinking only positive thoughts dealing with the shot you are firing is a marvelous tool for increasing the level of your shooting performance. And for our rifle shooting friends, if the rifle range is too hot for you with shooting jacket and sweats, Go ahead and try the pistol. One of our three gun national champions switched from rifle to pistol and did well. Good Shooting Bill Horton

Hi, Nick,

I sympathise with your problem, as I prefer cooler temperatures to the summer heat we have here in Melbourne, Oz.
I have found that a cold pack around the neck helps to keep the temp. down.

We do not have air con in our Air Pistol Range, either. It gets Very stuffy on hot days.

I suggest you have a small cooler box with you, with some Ice blocks , so you can dip a cloth into it, and then lay the cloth around your neck. change it every 10 shots.

Also the motor bike riders have a similar problem to you,so check with the bike stores, and see if they have the jackerts that are designed with a ventilation spot in the back. I don't know how that will go with your uniform, though.

The Australian Hockey team and soccer teams have a cooling vest, which keeps the athlete's temperature down to a reasonaly level.

I personally feel that International Shooting rule makers don't realize how much temp. changes affect shooters. Your assn,. should have some Local Rules to cover this when the temp rises so high.
Fans are no good as they disturb the air too much.

Full air con. is too expensive for small clubs, and may not help when you are wearing the full leathers, anyway.
Hope this helps.
Regards, Alex L.