Inconsistency

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mark II
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Inconsistency

Post by mark II » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:03 pm

Throwing this out to some of you bullseye shooters. I seem to be very inconsistent with my scores. Let me give you some numbers...two weeks ago shot 277 and 280. The next day, different league, a 259. Then Monday night 269 and 270. Seems like my scores bounce around a lot, like my red dot :-). I make sure everything is the same, grip, stance and etc.... Coming up throught the ranks did you find your scores pretty level or bouncing around like mine?
By the way, the timed fire of my 280 was an 99, missed the ten ring by just an hair, that was exciting.
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Post by Bullseye » Fri Feb 04, 2011 6:43 pm

They tend to bounce around until you start feeling the shots. Up to that point you believe you're doing the same things technique-wise but the subtleties are going right by. Concerning oneself with anything other than the shot in the chamber is another way that scores tend to bounce - what is in the paper is history!

Have you shot your first clean target in a match yet? Until you do it seems like an unreachable goal. Once you achieve it a few times it gets easier and easier because you believe in yourself more and gain confidence in your techniques.

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mark II
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Post by mark II » Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:19 pm

Feeling the shots, what do you mean by that? Same as you know when you shoot a ten, I can call my shots in pratice but I don't do it during a match. I use my scope throughout a match and I have adjusted my red dot during a match to bring my group of the day closer to center. After typing that last sentence makes me think that either my grip or my stance changes slightly and thats why I have to adjust my red dot. I guess trigger control still has a lot to do with my scores too. I believe you have to be in this sport for two or three years to understand everything.
So I haven't cleaned a target yet but have been close a couple of times.
Don't know if I mentioned it before but a friend shot a 292 about a month ago, that was nice to see.
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Post by Bullseye » Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:49 am

That is precisely what I mean, you know when a shot it good. Consequently the opposite is true and you also know when one is bad too. This is feeling the shot.

It sounds as if you're experiencing something we call "match pressure". When practicing you are fully concentrating on fundamentals but in a match your thoughts are partially focused on performance. This is sapping some of your mental abilities on technique and factors like adrenaline are causing your performance swings. This can happen as things go very well or even if they are not so great.

Shooting is very easy but it takes 100% of your concentration on applying the fundamentals, there's no room for anything else. If your actively thinking, hearing your voice in your head, while shooting in a match then you cannot concentrate fully on applying fundamentals. This is were experience takes over, it is the routine of the shot that creates solid performance. It is not thinking but doing out of habit or routine. An example would be things like your red dot just won't settle down in a match. It seems particularly sensitive to every correction and tends to sway radically - this is adrenaline affecting your physiology. If you just relax and try to not control the ball it just sits as if frozen on one place in the target, no movement at all for several moments. But during practice sessions the red dot tends to behave as it should and doesn't appear so sensitive to corrections. What is the difference between these two situations? The gun, sight, and shooter are all the same but during a match they all seem possessed - internal pressure.

As successes happen, your mind believes that it can duplicate them. High scores are no longer out of reach but within your grasp. Once you believe you can achieve the pressure is greatly lessened. An example would be how when you started out, just shooting a 250 was a goal you hoped to achieve consistently. Once you did it a few times then your goals raised to another elevated number and 250's were the norm for the game. As higher score plateaus were reached the same was true, higher averages and even greater new goals. This is the game of bullseye.

Develop a routine and stick with it. Make it second nature to break the shot. Everything has to be routine, down to how and when you load your magazines. Nothing takes active thinking, especially while holding the pistol. It all must be impulse driven according to the routine. When that is achieved, then your fully concentrating on performance and not the score. Of course this is easier to say than to do but it is where you must head if you want to achieve consistently high performance.

Keep on shooting and don't sweat the small stuff.

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Post by piasashooter » Tue Feb 08, 2011 1:14 am

I think it is very normal for scores to bounce around for the majority of shooters. With the exception of a couple shooters, most everyone in the league I shoot in has the same problem, me included. I like to watch all the shooters scores, it's fun for me to track other shooters progress as well as mine. In my league we shoot a 600 point match, and most shooters scores vary by about 20 points from week to week, with much higher or lower score from time to time. Only the master shooters seem to shoot about the same score each week, the only high master is consistently around 585 every week. A while back I shot my highest score of 577-19x, the next week I shot a 541-8x, so for most of us it happens. Overcoming match pressure for me is huge, I have been shooting Bullseye for a little over three years and I am just know starting to get over it, once you can really feel comfortable out there it is a lot easier. It still effects me but I am starting to close the gap between my practice scores and match scores. What has helped me a lot is shooting with the other teams in my league if there is room on the nights my team doesn't shoot.

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Post by mark II » Tue Feb 08, 2011 2:40 pm

I was thinking about my routine and I do change things .........so I guess I don't have a solid routine. Last week I was moving my back foot around for a change and I remember on a timed string I shot it faster than any rapid srings I shoot. I was thinking where did that come from.
It could be match pressure, I don't feel nervous on the line but then again maybe I am alittle.
I was thinking of Fung or Rink grips and maybe going back to iron sights and sub 6 hold, but here I go with the change again. I do these things and changes because I want to improve. Any thoughts?
Mark II
Ps Last night I put my trigger finger in deeper on the trigger, when I pull the trigger sometimes I can see my dot moving like a laying down J and I think I'm torquing the gun when pulling on the trigger. Shoot a 265 and a 273

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Routine

Post by stork » Tue Feb 08, 2011 3:24 pm

Mark II,
since I still can't shoot, I can type.

Just commenting on trigger finger placement. A high Master turned me onto this one. Before you begin your string, with the slide back, watch your dot when pressing the trigger to the rear. Is it dropping, sliding left or right. If it's moving-adjust your finger placement until the dot is motionless when the trigger is moved. You can do this while the pistol is down. It will help you position your finger so you're not inducing movement to the shot process.

This position WILL CHANGE during an 1800 or 2700, as you tire.

FWIW
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” – George Washington

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