Focus....

[Dave McCracken]

I've managed to miss targets for lots of reasons. These days I may be missing fewer.Some reasons for hitting them more than before are....

First, I'm shooting trap most of the time. It's a ritualized COF with repetitive angles and speed. IOW, a shotgunner gets shots he/she has had before many times.

Second, I'm shooting a fair amount. Practice always helps.

Third, as mentioned in the last thread on trapshooting, my game has changed. The targets are taken closer to the house, leaving less time to THINK about the shot. Thinking's the worst thing to do at that moment. Trained responses work much better than conscious thought,at least in this context.

Anyway, the common factor in what I'm missing these days is that I do not concentrate enough. If I'm thinking about anything other than guiding that shot cloud through the leading molecule of that target, the chances of not connecting are much greater. I must hit some while distracted, but missing always seems to be while some thought flits through my head.

I believe this is universal among shotgunners. Once fit and form are good and technique is grooved in, the results are mostly due to keeping focussed on the target. Lots of folks, including me, ruin the chances of going straight by not dealing with one target at a time. Once we think of going straight, we lose concentration on THIS clay,and after busting that one, concentrating on the next one.

IMO,the biggest difference between a top shotgun competitor and the rest of us is the ability to keep that fine focus going, bird after bird.

Questions, comments, donations?....

 

[HSMITH]

I agree. I have shot a few games of skeet, trap and sporting with all the stars aligned and that stuff, "in the zone" some people call it too. The results are simply amazing, and once you know what is possible it is easier to get back to it. Goes for anything in life really.

 

[Kimber Kid]

It's been said that trap is over 90% mental. So it stands to reason that if you are going to change your score you have to change your mind.

The Kid

 

[Nippy]

Its that magic.

 

[sm]

Dave, another great reminder, thanks.
Agree with all said. Shotgunning and other shooting disciplines are much like life. Gray matter required, one task at a time.
Can't think about the one you just missed, or the shot after...its this one ..right now.

I continue to train myself to focus on nothing but the leading edge of a moving target , be it clay, fowl or critter.

Old boy once told me: "If you have one foot on yesterday, and one foot on tommorrow, well son...your tinkling on today."

Yeah, I've tinkled a few shots away, probably always will...but when I focus , far and few occurences.

IIRC it was Misseldine whom said: " Concentration is mentally keyed up--physically relaxed"

 

[PJR]

You can't hit as many targets without the right mental focus and often that means thinking less and trusting your instincts more. The human targeting machinery is absolutely amazing and often best when left to its own devices. Get your thinking done before you call for the target and then just shoot the damn thing.

When I approach a sporting clays station I consider where the bird is coming from, what line it is tracking, when I should see it clearly, what position to have my gun in, how to place my feet and generally where I want to break the bird. With my thinking done, I enter the stand and call for the target. Plan the shoot and shoot the plan. Be prepared to adjust mid stream if need be but the more targets you shoot the more likely you are seeing a target you've shot before.

There are a couple of things that I've picked up at trap that have helped me. An instructor once asked me what I did when everyone else was shooting. When I told him that I watched the targets he asked why I would want to see 125 targets when I only had to worry about 25. His advice was to look away and think of something pleasant and only look at your targets. (I've adjusted that somewhat by looking at the target of the shooter before me to bring my eyes back into focus.) I generally have no idea what's going on with the round and am off in my own little world, bringing myself back when it's my turn.

Another habit I've gotten into is coming to the line with more shells than I need. If I only have 25 shells in my pocket for trap or 10 for a sporting station, I find myself counting how many are left. With the extra shells, if I'm focused, the end of the round comes as a surprise and I don't have the last target jitters.

Finally, shoot your own pace. Some squads are lightning quick and those aren't good ones for me. If I feel rushed I will miss targets. Take the time you need and don't shoot at someone else's pace if it doesn't suit you.

Paul

 

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks, folks. A coupla things...

H, the first straight is the hardest. The confidence factor is immense help.

KinberKid, there's two big "Humps" in good shotgunning. The first is getting good enough at form and technique to get through the kick hump and grind out enough rounds to become proficient.

This is the second, the point where we HAVE to fine tune our attitude, committment and effort.

A Martial Arts fan might call it centering your Chi. And shotgunning, whether "Serious" or recreational, is definitely a Martial Art.

73, the mental image I think of is a good barn cat staking out a hot mousehole. Physically ready but relaxed, mind tightly focussed.

Good points, Paul. However, I shoot a little better on fast squads. Less time to mess up.

Thanks again. Lessee if there's more coming.

 

[HSMITH]

The human targeting machinery is absolutely amazing and often best when left to its own devices. Get your thinking done before you call for the target and then just shoot the damn thing.

the first straight is the hardest

AMEN X 500!!!!! A statement more true than the above is not in print.....

 

[sm]

quote:
"the first straight is the hardest"
----------------------------------------------------
I'll 2nd HSMITH.

I prefer to squad up with better shooters and those whom shoot at a quick pace.

Shells: one of the few times I actually box them are for tourney's. I keep 2 spares. I usually keep some "psych" shells I dump the box into pouch, shoot repeat...I obviously can't count...many times I've gone for the 5th box...whilst everyone else is packing up. Especially when lead off man. See what Focus can do

"Psych shells", the really scrappy looking reloads with candle wax and /or electrical tape holding shot in....especially if I'm lead off with unknown squad, I drop a couple while loading to show my " inexperience and jitters".finally get the durn gun loaded...After stage two I use the good ones ...run 'em and leave 'stepping and fetching...

 

[Dave McCracken]

"Just shoot the damn thing", a good mantra for shotgunners.

Shooting with better shotgunners optimizes progress. Having local legends on my squad, including a couple ATA Hall of Famers, has driven me up the learning curve faster than I would have gone shooting with folks on my level.

Psych shells? Tsk, tsk....

 

[Rupe]

Don't forget the incredible biological trait of muscle memory. Repetiitve exercises conditions the nerves and muscles and they become more effficient in the repetitive movement.

The true term is actually motor memory, but what the heck.

Any musician or athlete can attest to the benefits of repetitive conditioning, i.e. practice.

The level that one finally reaches is all dependent on genetic ability, mental concentration, desire and so on, but even the least gifted can gain greatly from repeated exercising of the same thing.

Desire IMHO is the greatest determination of how good one becomes. Many great athletes have lost to lesser althetes because of that inner drive we call "heart".

I feel shooting is an athletic endeavor so most of the same rules apply except again IMHO age isn't as much an issue.

That is a rare treat for many of us. Music, Trapshooting, art, chess, ect do not depend on the raw brute strength of youth.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks for the insight, ol' buddy.

After a few thousand rounds, the physical moves in this are well grooved in,and the next major improvement in performance is going to be based on how much we want to hit them all.

Desire, you call it. Concentration and focus is what I do.

 

[themic]

this is why i always prefer big ugly red earmuffs to the earplugs. just helps me feel more isolated somehow.

hehheh, maybe subconsciously it's also a little bit of that 'psych' factor, too. kid with ratty sneakers and khakis, and big momma's boy red ear protections steps up....

seriously, though, i do better when everyone's doing better. it's like 5 good people at the line have collective focus or something...

 

[Dave McCracken]

Most folks shoot better than usual when they shoot with better than usual shooters.

I squad on occasion with a couple ATA Hall of Famers and local legends. I get more straights and near straights.

Brad Dysinger, the trap shooter, mentioned in an interview in Shotgun Sports Magazine that he had been on a squad going for 500X500 at the Grand one year. Imagine the stress of not being the one to miss and ruin that.

In 70 years of record keeping, there's been less than 20 perfect 500s.

 

[Rupe]

My dad told me as a young man that if I wanted to become a better wrestler I needed to wrestle with those better than me.

Same applies to shooting I guess.