Anyone ever get burnt out on shooting?

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280PLUS

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I've been shooting regular matches for several years now and I was starting to feel burnt out near the middle of the summer. 90* plus all day matches had a part to play. So I took a break and just shot for fun for a while and yesterday just shot my first match in 2 months. Shot an average match but just wasn't into it. I know I could have shot better if I was more in tune.

Any ideas on how to rekindle the spirit?

:confused:
 
I'd suggest a decent-length break, plus a "change of scene" as far as recreational activities go. I'd drop out of competitive shooting for a full season, so as to have a chance to really relax and unwind: and I'd look for another hobby or recreation unrelated to shooting, so as to give myself a new perspective on life, the universe and everything. It's amazing how a new activity in an unrelated field will quicken your interest and enthusiasm, and often lead to a whole new attitude. You won't have abandoned shooting, and I'm sure will shoot the odd practice session or whatever: but it's certainly easy to "burn out" by constant, unrelenting practice and competition, and a change is as good as a holiday for a time.
 
Multiple hobbies, even ones you're not particularly good at, are your friend. They keep you from burning out on any one thing.

Me, my hobby that I enjoy but I'm not particularly good at is shooting. :uhoh:
 
What kind of matches? Assuming its pistol, try rifle or shotgun sports. Many differnert choices. And you don't have to be in competions!
 
Pistol is right. The 2 month break was supposed to help. Problem now is I've been on a team for, I think this is my 5th season, and they tend to rely on my showing up. It's the beginning of the new season. Theres 24 weekly matches. :eek:

Preacherman, you KNOW I've done too much thinking about the universe recently but I like your advice... :D

I'll pull through, a new gun might cheer me up... :p
 
I shoot IPSC (not very well though). My club does one match a month and usually after 3 or 4 matches I take a break skipping one or two matches. By then I'm ready to start up again.
 
Shooting in 90 plus weather is never fun. I would say take a break from shooting, as Preacherman suggested, and be a little more selective on what days you go out. I like partly cloudy or overcast with temps no warmer than low to mid 80s.
 
honestly, the more I think about it I think some of it has to do with my feeling a bit like I'm at a plateau and having trouble making progress upwards in my abilities. Lately, I've been shooting a bit below par. Scoring my neighbor's sequence of about 8 clean targets may have fueled my frustration. Man could that guy shoot! :cuss:

:D
 
Stop shooting to win and start shooting for fun. Burn up some ammo doing something other than trying to hit the ten-ring.

Brad
 
If you plan on shooting for years and years to come, do yourself a favor and take a break. By break I mean like a MONTH of no shooting. Put down the gun. Clean it, stow it, and then go hit the gym, read some books, clean your house. By the time that month is up you'll be itching to shoot again.

I recently took a forced hiatus earlier in the year due to feeling the same sort of feelings. I had been running myself ragged shooting IDPA all over the country. When I shot a match and felt like there was nothing more left inside me, I knew I had to set things down and take a break. I didn't even reload for like two weeks.

I'm shooting the IDPA Nationals later this week. After that I may take another enforced hiatus of at least a few weeks, although it is more likely that I'll just throttle back for the month of October.

Scott Warren takes at least a one month break every year where he does no shooting. He is THE most winning IDPA shooter to-date. (Dave Sevigny will likely take this title from him at some point, fwiw.) He says that the key to longevity in the shooting sports is to be able to recognize burnout and avoid it by doing what you need to do. (Taking a break, doing something else.)
 
I've been "burnt out" on shooting starting in January of this year. I think it has to do with three things.

1) I didn't re-up my membership at the range I shot at the most, I still belong to two others and will join a third, I just don't seem to want to shoot.

2) I started having problems with my knees.

3) I really disliked what I saw as disingenuous and partisan posts regarding the IDPA rule changes.

I don't now when I'll come around, maybe when I find another shooting goal.

Respectfully,

jkelly
 
I have three (expensive) hobbies: guns, guitars, and motorcycles. I rotate my hobbies to keep them "fresh". I used to do a 2-year rotation, as that was how long it used to take me to get bored with one, but recently, I have been trying to keep two fairly active at all times. I just don't have the time and money to keep all three thriving at the same time. The last year, it's been guns and motorcycles. The 2-3 years before that was guitars (I was in a band) and motorcycles. As colder weather gets here, it may become guns and guitars. Anyway, I went from 1996 until last year without shooting more than 500 rounds or purchasing a firearm. Relocating and losing my backyard shooting range was the main death to my firearms hobby, but a resurgance in interest, getting my wife into shooting, finding two local ranges, and purchasing several guns has the firearms in the fore-front, again.
 
Find a young shooter to teach everything you know. Amazing how a look at things through someone else's young eyes can help.

pax
 
Never burned out on too much shooting. But have been burned out by too much gun cleaning! Used to take a lot of iron to the range, shoot lots of ammo, and stay until the last possible moment ... then be faced with all that cleaning when I got home. Now I take a couple of things and shoot them more, and don't complain about cleaning them.
 
Doh!

Then there's the part about how I'm the RO at my local range every monday night for the next 10 months!! I'm hopelessly trapped... :p
 
280Plus ~

It sounds like you're not really burned out on shooting.

You're burned out on "have to."

Try getting rid of "have to" and see if there's any "want to" left...

pax
 
It sounds like you're not really burned out on shooting.

You're burned out on "have to."

Try getting rid of "have to" and see if there's any "want to" left...

pax
Click to expand...

I've done the same thing with sailing. I loved sailing so I started sailboat racing. Well the long weekends, hard races, and getting up and dragging my ass to the boat all took it's toll, and eventually it was just no more fun. After it was no more fun I still did it for another 2 seasons. :banghead: As soon as you are part of a team it's a whole new world, because like was said. It doesn't matter if you want to be there, you don't show up everyone suffers / looses and thats not cool.

Finally just one race I just had enough. Finished that day and told the skipper I was done sailing. It's been about a year sence then and I'm just now starting to get my desire to go out sailing (recreationaly) back again.
 
Yea,,,Have to...

I think you guys are on to something. It's not fun because I "have to".

Well, off to the range! :eek:

:)
 
Stop shooting in comps for a while and take that "have to" out of the picture for a while, but also thinking about getting a new gun. But not the new gun you were thinking about. get something that has always intrigued you but you would never usually buy in a new caliber.
 
Yupper.... the "have to" makes it like work. For me when something becomes work, like a regular job, much of the fun goes out of it. A hobby is (unlike a regular job) something you can simply stop or walk away from if you like, with no repercussions.
Josh
 
280PLUS, competitive shooting is the most interesting aspect of the sport for me. That gives one a challenge in both practice and matches. Question on your plateau. Have you been practicing as much as before? If not you will definitely plateau. If you are practicing, do you have a goal in your practice each time? If nothing else, you should try to focus on each shot during practice, rather than just a match run thru. I like to try other types of competition rather than just the one that I am best at. That will start you lower down on the chain in a competition that will give you room to grow. Fun again. A challenge is required in shooting to maintain long term interest. A new type of match will make you think about your shooting again, and benefits will often carry over to all competitions.
 
I really injoyed highpower competion and hit it hard and heavy for about 6 years in the late 80's and early 90's.

In 1994 I was shooting two weekends in a row, A state championship and a regional match at Baily, Colorado. When it came time to shoot the last match of the 2nd weekend, a leg match which I loved/lived to shoot, I just did not feel like shooting. I mention this to a friend and she said."If you don't feel like shooting, don't."
I walked off the 200 yd assemble line back to the 600 yd line and never fire another match or practiced for nearly 6 years. I just did not feel like shooting and for the most part still don't although health has a lot to do with it now.

Vern
 
Lots of good advice here, and I don't feel like I'm the only one out there dealing with this particular situation either!

;)
 
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