Please Opine

[Steven Cline]

I'm an A class shooter. I recently performed well in a local single stack shoot out. I commented on another forum the following (but I would like those who understand it better to opine):

After enough shooting (for me over 20,000 rnds in the last year and a half) most of the shooting is just rote.

I don't think consciously about pulling the trigger, I didn't conciously think about how the trigger pull was feeling. I just pulled the trigger properly.

I don't think consciously about sight allignment, I don't consciously acknowledge that the sight picture is proper. They sight allignment was just made.

I don't think consciously about the reload, I don't consciously press the magazine release or grab the spare magazine or put it into the gun. I just reloaded.

Just like I don't actually think about walking- putting one foot in front of the other. You decide to walk to the end of the stree or to the car or to the door. You decide on a destination and let it happen.

I just decided to... well it was like this: I decided to shoot these 4 targets in this order, reload, shoot these four targets in this order, reload, shoot these last four targets in this order. I wasn't really thinking about the sights, the grip, the trigger. These were all auto-pilot. Sometimes the automatic pilot was set for a fast speed, other times a bit slower to allow the auto-pilot to be more exact. But the sub-concious was doing all the more complicated tasks involved with the shooting.

I was just calmly directing the big picture while the sub-conscious took care of all the details.

I decided this is what I wanted to do, and then I did, largely watching it happen. Though I was intimately aware of everything. I can recall still nearly every shot.

And I won my Division.

Edited October 1, 2010 by Steven Cline

[benos]

Nice work!

You've put the time in, so now you know what is required to function at the next level. Only when all doubt is eliminated can you decide with conviction, in all realms. And then witness the beauty.

be