zimmerstutzen
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Would you suggest, a cute little Blond named "Delores-with-perky-mammaries"
Hokus Pokus
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:bull: See ya.
zimmerstutzen
70 Cal.
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trash talk the day before a rifle match, Almost like boxers
paulvallandigham
Passed On
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20 years ago, now, my best friend was one of the finest Competitive Trap Shooters in the area. He had a "running " Bet with another Trap shooter, both 27 yd. Handicap ATA members, involving who could best whom at a practice shoot of 25 targets. My friend won virtually every time. I think I saw him lose to Tom only once in 2 years. Tom almost always lost the bet shooting the last station. He beat himself, even if he was even, or ahead of Bruce going to the last station and those 5 targets.
Instead of concentrating on breaking the next target, and nothing else, Tom was watching what Bruce did. If Bruce broke those first 4 targets off that last station, Tom would drop one.
Bruce "Trained me" to shoot trap competitively by taking me to the Doubles field, where two clays are thrown for each shooter on each call, so you shoot 10 targets at each of the 5 stations, instead of 5. This forces the shooter to get rid of one of the worst BAD habits- lifting your head off the stock after that first shot, or dropping the stock off your shoulder after that first shot- or both! :shocked2: ----- so that you really learn to "follow through" after the shot when shooting " Singles" in normal Trap shooting. It also requires a greater degree of FOCUS on the sight and moving targets to hit both targets. Your rhythm also has to be even and smooth.
To achieve those things, CONCENTRATION requires you to be thinking about enough things, that you can exclude BOTH VISUAL and AUDITORY distractions from you mind, during that critical moment when your fire your shot. IF you don't do this level of Focusing, then you have your work cut out for you.
I call it STAGE LEGS, as I was raised in a musical family and was forced to perform when I was very young, in front of audiences. It was a lot more scary then, than now, and STAGE FRIGHT is as much a problem 50+ years later as it was back when I first stood on shaky legs before an audience.
As has been noted by your posts, and others, people use different ways to focus well enough to not be bothered by other shooters, or other distractions at ranges- be they crowds, audiences, trucks, great looking babes, etc. Because of my music background, I have always mentally "Hummed" the melody of a particularly difficult symphony, to force my brain to focus on that SHOT, and nothing else. I chose a piece from Gustav Holtz's Suite, " The planets". The particular piece is " Mars", a raucous piece that alternated bars in 3/4 and 5/4 time. Since so much of shooting- be it shotguns at moving targets, or rifles and handguns at stationary targets where you have to time your shot to shoot between heartbeats, and when your front sight appears to drift back onto the target again--- Finding something that allows you to incorporate Rhythm to assist your timing( Most misses come from hurrying a shot, or holding your breath too long)of your shot, music works for me. I don't purposely try to distract other shooters.
But, I do shoot left handed, and that seems to bother some Right Hand competitors. And, I shoot a standard field grade Rem. 870, rather than a Trap Gun, and that also seems to bother some competitors. I also leave a sling stud in the butt stock, and more than once I have noticed top shooters "Sniff" at seeing that sling stud on my gun in the gun rack between matches. :grin: For black Powder, I shoot a rough CVA 12 ga. percussion side by side shotgun, and That seems to bother the competitors who shoot much more expensive shotguns. :grin:
That's their problem. As I have noted, people seem to find Distractions, as alibis for why they don't perform well. But, basically, they beat themselves. You really don't have to do anything to aid them.
Bruce thought Tom's problem was just the idea of putting a dollar bill on the outcome of a shooting match score. Tom could do fine in practice, but if you put any Pressure on him, he could not take it. On many occasions, I saw Tom outscore Bruce in practice matches, only to lose to him when they bet on the next match.
Most new shooters think that shooting well is 99% physical and 1% mental. Older, more experienced shooters will tell you that the physical aspect of shooting is only about 5%, and the rest, 95%, is mental.
Bruce convinced me of that truth after watching me shoot Trap with for a year. He told me that I had seen and shot about every angle of bird thrown from every station on the field, and had broken the clays. So, I could physically hit anything thrown up for me. The only reason I missed was due to mental errors. He told me "forget" about the last target, and all the targets left in the round. Focus solely on breaking the next target, doing everything you know you have to do to accomplish that.
Shooting Doubles Trap taught me that focus and rhythm. Most good trap shooters will miss a first target( short range, on a predictable path) by moving the gun before the shot is fired, worried more about getting to the second target quickly, instead of taking their time and breaking the first target, FIRST, and the second target SECOND. Bruce had been trained by a man who had won the All-American Trap shoot 5 times, who told him, " First you shoot the first target, and THEN you shoot the second target!"
Its not much of a " switch" to use the same kind of mental discipline when shooting rifles and handguns.
The focus before, during your shot, and follow thru should only last as long as needed to fire a good shot- no longer. You can wear yourself out both mentally and physically by trying to focus intently- both tunnel vision and auditory exclusion--- for too long a time. This aspect of mental training is only accomplished, and MASTERED, over time, and a lot of correct practice.
My second wife noticed how Smooth Bruce and I moved when loading and catching our empty shells on the trap line, compared to the fumbling she did when she was first joining us to learn to shoot. She asked me how long it would take for her to become smooth, like us. I told her it would take at least a year of practice to begin to move smoothly, and it would take a few more years after that to be as smooth as we were- simply because we had been shooting so much longer than she had. I told her it was more important that she think of each step she needed to do when loading, mounting the gun to her shoulder, pointing the gun at that trap house, her foot placement at each station, calling the target, following the target, leading the target, slapping the trigger, and holding her face to the stock through the shot and recoil until the muzzle came back down to where she was still in line with the moving target, if she missed her shot. The "Smooth" part would come along in time on its own.
It did. :grin: She was very proud of her progress when she noticed. :thumbsup:
Instead of concentrating on breaking the next target, and nothing else, Tom was watching what Bruce did. If Bruce broke those first 4 targets off that last station, Tom would drop one.
Bruce "Trained me" to shoot trap competitively by taking me to the Doubles field, where two clays are thrown for each shooter on each call, so you shoot 10 targets at each of the 5 stations, instead of 5. This forces the shooter to get rid of one of the worst BAD habits- lifting your head off the stock after that first shot, or dropping the stock off your shoulder after that first shot- or both! :shocked2: ----- so that you really learn to "follow through" after the shot when shooting " Singles" in normal Trap shooting. It also requires a greater degree of FOCUS on the sight and moving targets to hit both targets. Your rhythm also has to be even and smooth.
To achieve those things, CONCENTRATION requires you to be thinking about enough things, that you can exclude BOTH VISUAL and AUDITORY distractions from you mind, during that critical moment when your fire your shot. IF you don't do this level of Focusing, then you have your work cut out for you.
I call it STAGE LEGS, as I was raised in a musical family and was forced to perform when I was very young, in front of audiences. It was a lot more scary then, than now, and STAGE FRIGHT is as much a problem 50+ years later as it was back when I first stood on shaky legs before an audience.
As has been noted by your posts, and others, people use different ways to focus well enough to not be bothered by other shooters, or other distractions at ranges- be they crowds, audiences, trucks, great looking babes, etc. Because of my music background, I have always mentally "Hummed" the melody of a particularly difficult symphony, to force my brain to focus on that SHOT, and nothing else. I chose a piece from Gustav Holtz's Suite, " The planets". The particular piece is " Mars", a raucous piece that alternated bars in 3/4 and 5/4 time. Since so much of shooting- be it shotguns at moving targets, or rifles and handguns at stationary targets where you have to time your shot to shoot between heartbeats, and when your front sight appears to drift back onto the target again--- Finding something that allows you to incorporate Rhythm to assist your timing( Most misses come from hurrying a shot, or holding your breath too long)of your shot, music works for me. I don't purposely try to distract other shooters.
But, I do shoot left handed, and that seems to bother some Right Hand competitors. And, I shoot a standard field grade Rem. 870, rather than a Trap Gun, and that also seems to bother some competitors. I also leave a sling stud in the butt stock, and more than once I have noticed top shooters "Sniff" at seeing that sling stud on my gun in the gun rack between matches. :grin: For black Powder, I shoot a rough CVA 12 ga. percussion side by side shotgun, and That seems to bother the competitors who shoot much more expensive shotguns. :grin:
That's their problem. As I have noted, people seem to find Distractions, as alibis for why they don't perform well. But, basically, they beat themselves. You really don't have to do anything to aid them.
Bruce thought Tom's problem was just the idea of putting a dollar bill on the outcome of a shooting match score. Tom could do fine in practice, but if you put any Pressure on him, he could not take it. On many occasions, I saw Tom outscore Bruce in practice matches, only to lose to him when they bet on the next match.
Most new shooters think that shooting well is 99% physical and 1% mental. Older, more experienced shooters will tell you that the physical aspect of shooting is only about 5%, and the rest, 95%, is mental.
Bruce convinced me of that truth after watching me shoot Trap with for a year. He told me that I had seen and shot about every angle of bird thrown from every station on the field, and had broken the clays. So, I could physically hit anything thrown up for me. The only reason I missed was due to mental errors. He told me "forget" about the last target, and all the targets left in the round. Focus solely on breaking the next target, doing everything you know you have to do to accomplish that.
Shooting Doubles Trap taught me that focus and rhythm. Most good trap shooters will miss a first target( short range, on a predictable path) by moving the gun before the shot is fired, worried more about getting to the second target quickly, instead of taking their time and breaking the first target, FIRST, and the second target SECOND. Bruce had been trained by a man who had won the All-American Trap shoot 5 times, who told him, " First you shoot the first target, and THEN you shoot the second target!"
Its not much of a " switch" to use the same kind of mental discipline when shooting rifles and handguns.
The focus before, during your shot, and follow thru should only last as long as needed to fire a good shot- no longer. You can wear yourself out both mentally and physically by trying to focus intently- both tunnel vision and auditory exclusion--- for too long a time. This aspect of mental training is only accomplished, and MASTERED, over time, and a lot of correct practice.
My second wife noticed how Smooth Bruce and I moved when loading and catching our empty shells on the trap line, compared to the fumbling she did when she was first joining us to learn to shoot. She asked me how long it would take for her to become smooth, like us. I told her it would take at least a year of practice to begin to move smoothly, and it would take a few more years after that to be as smooth as we were- simply because we had been shooting so much longer than she had. I told her it was more important that she think of each step she needed to do when loading, mounting the gun to her shoulder, pointing the gun at that trap house, her foot placement at each station, calling the target, following the target, leading the target, slapping the trigger, and holding her face to the stock through the shot and recoil until the muzzle came back down to where she was still in line with the moving target, if she missed her shot. The "Smooth" part would come along in time on its own.
It did. :grin: She was very proud of her progress when she noticed. :thumbsup:
troutabout
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Keb said:
Back in the days of the dinosaur I wanted to date a very pretty young lady who was a temp for my employer. She was from a wealthier family and always wore blouses with her name or initials.
One day I finally got up the nerve to talk to her and I walked up to her and looked directly at her finely embroidered name above her left breast and said " Susie - that's a lovely name" and she smiled big and said "Well thank you !" Whereupon I looked over at her right breast and asked "Have you named the other one ?"
It was a little forward but she got the giggles bad and we ended up dating all that summer until we went off to different colleges. Darnit.
hoochiepapa
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At a dairy farm where we used to target shoot and shoot p-dogs, I took out a new Ruger semi-auto .22 with a bull barrel. THis thing was a tack driver. There was a guy there shooting with his teen-age son. They were shooting at pop cans, and I challenged the dad that my pistol could out shoot his rifle. Everytime he aimed at a pop can, I would zing it with the .22, and the can would fly in the air. He got so mad, that he loaded up and went home.
I don't know what this has to do with anything.
I don't know what this has to do with anything.
ken.clements
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in my first comp shoot I was was nervous as heck...checking and rechecking all my stuff at home, counting my loads and such. I must have cleaned the rifle 3 times before leaving.
I remembered I was shooting in three different comps. Well got to the range, got my number and was called to the line to take my practice shots.....and I remember thinking...practice shots?? oh darn!!
Not having enough powder and Minie’s to practice, thinking the comp is already over for me I said the heck with it and when someone asked me if I was going to take a practice shot I said ”žno,I don’t need to“
These guys I was shooting against were using peeps, special jackets, glasses and all the other fine expensive stuff with Rifles in quality that were way above mine. I was shooting an out of the box, cleaned three times, shot twice Zouave
I won two of the three comps on that day, shooting my highest score to date. It’s never happened again, not even close.
But it is funny as heck when I see these guys again, they look at me funny and I have to smile.
one for the memories and grandchildren someday.
I remembered I was shooting in three different comps. Well got to the range, got my number and was called to the line to take my practice shots.....and I remember thinking...practice shots?? oh darn!!
Not having enough powder and Minie’s to practice, thinking the comp is already over for me I said the heck with it and when someone asked me if I was going to take a practice shot I said ”žno,I don’t need to“
These guys I was shooting against were using peeps, special jackets, glasses and all the other fine expensive stuff with Rifles in quality that were way above mine. I was shooting an out of the box, cleaned three times, shot twice Zouave
I won two of the three comps on that day, shooting my highest score to date. It’s never happened again, not even close.
But it is funny as heck when I see these guys again, they look at me funny and I have to smile.
one for the memories and grandchildren someday.
Tumblernotch
69 Cal.
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I've had that happen a couple of times shooting sporting clays. Not that I was ever that good at it, but once in a while I have a good day. I've shot some rounds with guys wearing all the special gear and shooting glasses and using $50,000 Krieghoff shotguns and I'd blow them out of the water with a $300 Stoeger. And what's even better was the fact that I only got to shoot no more than 2 times a year and they shot weekly. Good times. :grin:
The same thing happened on several occasions in military musket matches when I shot against guys who had target sights and I was using my RM as issued. Didn't always win, but I made them work to beat me. These are the fellers who would check the scoreboard and reenter.
The same thing happened on several occasions in military musket matches when I shot against guys who had target sights and I was using my RM as issued. Didn't always win, but I made them work to beat me. These are the fellers who would check the scoreboard and reenter.
I just try and focus on the tiniest sharpest pin point in the exact center of the bullseye. Hey, that music idea in an earlier post sounds like it's worth a try. I might hum a rock n' roll drum solo to help focus my thoughts while squeezing the trigger :thumbsup:
I didn't play "mind" games when I was shooting for score but I did have a couple of yahoos play one on me. I was shooting pretty good one day at a different club. I had a 48-3x on the 50 yard line but had to wait for a break to get my target. This guy came up and proceeded to add a few holes to my target "by mistake". Turned out I was beating the club champ and he couldn't take it that a stranger was beating him, so he had a pal mess up my target. I got so pissed I couldn't get back in the groove and the rest of the day was just big waste. Never went back to that club.
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