Do You Evaluate Your Shots in a Match?

[Gwhite]

I have heard differing opinions on this from some high level coaches, and I wanted to toss this out there for discussion. I suspect it will be a bit heated...

The basic question is whether you attempt to learn anything (ideally, not your score) from every shot during a match, or do you not look through your scope, or put your monitor on the floor so you have no idea how the match is unfolding?

This post is a bit biased, and I will state from the outset that I examine the results of every shot. I don't do this to track my score, and I frequently don't have any idea what my score is at the end of a match. I check the shots to make sure my shot process is being executed properly, and if subtle errors have crept in, so I can correct them. Maybe if you shoot at a very high level, your shot process is so ingrained that this isn't necessary. I can't recall a match where I didn't detect minor issues at some point that I could then correct before it was too late. Occasionally, I will get a string of good shots. If so, I work on telling myself this is how I shoot, and I try to use this reinforce my shot process, so I can shoot more 10s. If I have a bad shot, I quickly evaluate what might be the cause, and I review the part of my shot process that will get me back on track. For example, if I had a bad shot I didn't call, that's usually a clue that my old eyes are no longer focusing on the front sight, and I may need to take a break or adjust my aperture. I also believe you should shoot matches & practice/training the same way. If you don't evaluate your shots when you are training, you are losing a LOT of valuable information.

I will be honest: On occasion, I do get a little excited or agitated if I have several good or bad shots in a row, but I've always felt that the value of making corrections during the match (or reinforcing my shot process when it is performing well) far outweighs the jitters that might result for seeing where my shots are going. As my mental game has improved, I pay less & less attention to my score and any shot but the next one.

Some people advocate not looking, on the theory that if you are aware of how well you are shooting, you will get flustered and screw up. Either because you are shooting very well and get excited, or you are shooting poorly, and get upset. My feeling about this approach is that it's tantamount to telling yourself "my mental game is so fragile that I can't handle knowing where my shots are going, and I am willing to forego the opportunity to correct any errors during the match to protect myself from that". This completely contrary to everything I have ever read about mental management.

My theory is that if you can't stand to know where your shots are going, you need to work on your mental toughness. When you get to a Final, you've got no option, so you'd better get used to it.

There, I've thrown the gauntlet down. Let the fur fly...

Thanks!

[ChipEck]

I am not the best air pistol shooter, but I do love to compete. I look at my shots before the match starts and when changing targets, but never while I am shooting an actual match. For me, that is the right answer.

Chip

[Mike M.]

Depends. Early, yes. In AP, where I'm not top-flight, yes. Muzzle-Loading? If I'm shooting well, it pays to just shoot.

[m1963]

Good evening-

When I am shooting well, there is no need. I already know where the shot ended up. When I am having a bad day I slow way down, work on fundamentals, and evaluate each shot for improvement.

Recovering from one or two poorly placed shots, and resuming normal shooting, is about mind control, and is a learned skill. Shot evaluation is part of this process, for me.

Kind regards,
m1963

[john bickar]

We've had this conversation several times both here and on the Bullseye Forum. There are some good threads in the archives.

Short answer: Unless you hate winning, scope every shot.

[Rover]

John said it perfectly.

I might add that if I get off a bad shot, I dry fire a few times to analyze/eliminate the cause. I've found that if I don't, I may repeat the mistake.

[Pheyden]

I think of a match as a "performance". If I am shootng well, I don't dwell on each shot. If I have a lapse, I will dry fire a few times to get back in the performance mode, then back to performing in the match.

[Dan Ide]

May as well chime in. Back in the old days, the targets ran on a carrier, one at a time, so you had no choice but to see where you hit. Now in the mid west, it is common to hang a 4 bull target and fire 5 shots per bull. When the back light is right, you can see a hit in the black, not in great detail but enough to get a fair idea where you hit. Some times at certain ranges, I have to set up my spotting scope and yes, I pretty much look at most of my shots. I have not shot on the new electronic targets, but if I did, I'd use the monitor. That's what it is for. All that said, when I tried out for the USAF team, the coach covered up all spotting scopes. I really cannot think of a shooting competition where I would not use some type of scope to check my shot.

[john bickar]

when I tried out for the USAF team, the coach covered up all spotting scopes.

Good point; there is a difference between a coach covering up a spotting scope for a shooter (because the shooter's in the scope before the round has even left the barrel), and an experienced shooter using the scoped shot as a means to evaluate what he saw in the sights the moment the shot broke.

This is by no means an easy skill to learn, but learning it is to your advantage. To learn how to shoot clean slow fires, you need to put yourself in the position of having 9 10s on the target, and one shot left, as often as possible.

[Gwhite]

There IS an issue with beginners diving for their scopes before the pellet gets out of the barrel....

We focus on teaching students follow-through to deal with that, and "follow-thought" to call and analyze each shot after the physical follow-through is done. We view being able to call shots not just as a valuable training exercise, but something they should do after EVERY shot. The can't learn to relate what their sights looked like to where the shot goes without the feedback of checking each shot in the scope.

[dschaller]

I am a firm believer in calling your shots. To do this, it takes practice. The most productive way to do this is verify your call on every shot immediately after completing your follow through and making the call in your mind. I agree that new shooters need to be coached to not "cheat" and look at the shot immediately after shooting. In many cases, I don't let them see the target, but have them call their shot out, and I scope the target instead and give them feedback.

Personally I check every shot (except during rapid fire, when I do the series after completion) and use it to verify that my call was correct. If it was not, it indicates to me that I made an error and was not focused on the front sight or had made some change to my grip,etc. that moved my point of impact.

[django]

How can you sure your doin right if you not see your shoot.

[Gwhite]

The final score will give you a bit of a clue, but by then it's a bit late to fix anything...