Pack It In?

it is rare, but there have been times when I've "packed it in" rather than ingrain some bad habits. Mostly I try to figure out what is going wrong and correct it but every now and then I seem to have one of those days where I couldn't hit a barn from the inside.

I know what you mean. I am/was a self taught handgun shooter and I used to have a day when I could hardly hit paper and was very, very frustrated - sometimes I would pack it in, other times I would switch guns. Then one cold winter day indoors, my best shooting buddy and I had the whole range to ourselves. A range employee who seemed bored at first wandered into the bay and just watched us for a bit - then spontaneously struck up a very friendly conversation and said he likes it when THR/safe type guys use the range. He said we were shooting pretty well, but noticed a few things..........well here we go MAN EGO, PROUD EGO DEFENSES ON RED ALERT - RANGE GUY GIVING UNSOLICITED ADVICE - WARNING, WARNING, RED ALERT!! ALL PRIDE WALLS UP.

But it was not like that at all. He noticed very subtle things. No radical change in grip, posture, stance - he actually was so observant and had a keen knowledge to give advice based on the good that was already there and building on that. My buddy and I were shooting groups with all holes touching - and some holes in the same spot. I have not had a pack it in session since that one encounter. Strangely I have not seen that guy since that day, but if I have even a slightly off day, I think back to the three points specifically for my style.

I guess my point is, use such "off" days to learn.

Way back in the dark ages,,,

Way back in the dark ages,,,
Before compound bows got popular.
I was an aspiring (hopeful) competition archer.

My coach always expounded the theory,,,
"Never practice doing anything badly."

His reasoning was to shoot an end of six arrows,,,
If they hit reasonably well and felt good,,,
Then practice that day to cement it.

If that first six arrows were wild and scattered,,,
Perhaps you shouldn't practice that day,,,
As you would cement bad technique.

He got this from the writings of some ancient Japanese archer.

I hold somewhat to that theory,,,
If my first couple of cylinders are good shots,,,
I then seriously practice that to cement the good muscle memory.

If they are not patterned but are all over the paper,,,
I will continue to shoot but focus on larger reactive targets,,,
After all, I am out there to have fun and there's no fun in not shooting.

Aarond

.

i seldom have an off day, at least one that i can not work my way thru. sometimes it takes a while to get into the groove, but i can usually get there. on the days that either i can not, or just find myself not enjoying it (yes, that can happen too), i first try shooting something entirely different, than i had planned on "working on". i always take at least 3 rifles, and 2 pistols, not including a 22lr or 2. i have also packed the stuff up, put it in the truck, and did some work to improve the range. that can break the mood, and change the day sometimes. and if it does not, at least the trip was not a total waste. once in a while, i must confess, i do just pack it in, and chalk it up to a bad day. sometimes, it just is not going to work out. and with the way things are, trying to even find reloading components, i am not willing to totally waste ammo.

I'm 68, retired and at this stage in of my life burning some gunpowder is just pure joy.

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Same here, though I'm "only" 65. For 25 years, I was a serious bullseye pistol competitor (earned my Expert card 20-some years ago). Never could quite make Master. Now I figure at my age I've already been as good as I'll ever be, so I just shoot matches for fun. Like doing the .22 and centerfire stages with revolvers.

Like many other posters here, I have to drive at least 45 minutes to get to a decent outdoor range. Its typical for me to spend a couple of hours the night before just getting ready for the trip. Brought my son with me one time and we started with long range on a bolt action I recently acquired - kid was bored to tears. So we switched to pistols and shot water jugs on the short range - that saved the day!

Pack it in? I can imagine when your shots are not making any sense or some similar problem you might want to cut your losses, save your ammo and leave. But on the way home you might think, 'Well, I could have tried this or that." Most of us with any experience at all I think realize that there are so many variables affecting our accuracy you can change one thing and get totally different results. To me, its worth the time to stop, take a break, watch some other shooters for a few minutes, clear my head and then go back and try something slightly different. Even a bad day can be a learning experience if we can remember what we did and later, try to analyze the cause and effects.

Just another martial art

Shooting is a martial art and as such I don't allow myself to leave on a bad note.

Since I perceive the art of shooting as one that can save my bacon on any given day ,I don't stop till I ironed out whatever is bothering me.

Might take a coffee break and then a water break and a toilet break after all that.

But its worth the time and energy and I NEED to trust my skills and know they are 'ON' at all times.

I head out with a full tool kit and first aid kit, when I plan an outing there isnt much that is going to rain on my parade.

Some days the groups are a little tighter than others. Some days I will see my target and think, "I did that?!?" in both a good and bad way. I can surprise myself sometimes and other times I will squeeze the trigger and be way off my POI and can't figure it out. But I have never just stopped shooting because I was shooting poorly. Usually because it is such an investment of time to shoot (hour drive to outdoor range, 20 minute drive plus a likely wait for indoor range, plus all the time before and after the range, at home getting ready or cleaning the guns).

Regardless of how well or how poorly I shoot, I usually go home feeling better about life than I did beforehand. It's like my zen.

If I'm having an off day, I'll go right up to the target and make sure my rounds are going where I want them.

If at 10 yards, I'm trying to do things right and I'm still sucking...I'll get to 1 or 2 yards and do everything I would normally do and work my way back.

So, I won't pack it in, but I won't stand at the 15 or 20 and throw rounds all over.

An "off day"? Sure. Had lots of them. But having an "off day" in and of itself isn't enough to make me pack it in for the day.

An off day can simply be another interesting challenge to work thorough...and that can be both fun and a learning experience.

However, if the shooting stops being fun...then I'll pack it in. To me, there's no sense in turning a shooting hobby that I love into something that I don't like. If it gets to the point where the frustration, irritation, or general blues sap all the fun out of being at the range, then it's time for me to quit and come back later.

If you are having a bad day, as mentioned, your head is not there. You are preoccupied with something else. You must center yourself with your breathing and go back to basics, "as with anything". It must come back at that point. Once it returns you may resume what you were doing before you had the problem.

I try to keep a modded Ruger 22/45 in the bag every trip. If a "bad day" starts, I get it out and get back to basics - sight picture, breathing, trigger. Usually refocuses me quickly.

b.thomas said:

I'm 68, retired and at this stage in of my life burning some gunpowder is just pure joy. I'm not trying to empress somebody of how good I am, I'm just out there to have fun.................good day, bad day.............it don't matter.
If I'm having a bad time hitting the target............who cares! I'm out shooting just for the fun of it and as long as I can put some lead down range?
Well...................what else matters?

Click to expand...

Pretty much a ditto on that but I am 63 and this is my first summer retired. I am out there for pure leisure and enjoyment.

Today was funny. I dragged my Colt Sporter Target AR. The rifle has a 1:7 twist and have no clue why but I was thinking 1:9. Unfortunately I dragged 55 grain ammunition along. The Federal stuff shot all over a target at 50 yards, I just couldn't group. I also had some of my hand loads I loaded in March of '99. They were 55 grain Nosler ballistic tip boat tails. I graduated to keyholes. I finally read the barrel clearly marked 1:7. On the bright side not a single piece of brass went unrecoverable. Called it a day with the AR and had a ball with my old Remington 512.

What matters was I had fun and really enjoyed the day. I'll sleep well later tonight.

Ron

Just this past Saturday I had an "off day" so to speak. I was getting patterns at 25 instead of my normal groups, with a proven pistol load...

So I packed it in, sort of. I took the pistols and couple hundred rounds I planned to shoot back to the truck and got a bottle of water. Alabama heat gets to you this time of year. Then got out my front loader and slung some lead balls at 100. I still had an enjoyable day granted it was at a much slower pace than anticipated. But I didn't blow through the rounds that I worked hard preparing a couple days before. So I guess for me ill be sure to always have a backup plan, especially if you have a long drive to the range you visit.

I never pack it in unless I am having a bad stress day and am knowing that I am just wasting ammo. That doesn't happen very often but it does happen and when it does I leave the lane and go BS with the guys at the counter of the indoor range.
I do this to cool down so I don't take my frustrations home with me.

Anyone who has shot a lot over their life knows what I'm talking about, including the range officers, so theirs no penalty in talking to them or any other seasoned shooter about it. It only relieves the stress of the problem. We have all been there.

When you can find that you can admit your having a bad day to someone else, you will be able to admit it to your self and then start analyzing what is causing it. Don't beat yourself up over it, dump the stress from it and look forward to the next range day you will have.
There are days I walk into the range and know I shouldn't even be here because I had a really hard or bad day at work. That's when I shoot for the pure enjoyment of shooting. I know I'm not a "TERMINATOR", I'm human and subject to emotion and it will always affect my shooting if I'm not having fun. When I get too serious about being human, I totally change the reason I'm there and start having fun, ( break out a small snub and try to shoot 25yd bullseyes with it so I can laugh at myself).

The point is that we all have days we aren't proud of, just don't leave the range on a bad note, and always look forward to the next trip and think it will be sweet, because it will be, but don't keep making the same mistakes over and over again. That helps nothing.

Treat it like the fishermans moto':
A bad day of fishing is better than a good day in the office".