Applying what you practiced on game day..

[chino]

I have been practicing reloads every day, but on the day of match everything got thrown out he window. Fumbling and shanking. At home I'm as smooth as glass at the match differt story. So my question is why is this so, do I need more practice? Is my mental game plan not there? how do you big dogs do it?

Thanks, Mike.

[Loves2Shoot]

Not a big dog, but if you focus on seeing everything instead of hurrying to do things you will shoot more like you practice during a match. Remember you have time to see everything, you don't have time to guess.

[DogmaDog]

I noticed that most of my reloads during matches take place while moving, while I was practicing standing reloads at home.

I started practicing moving reloads during dry fire, and discovered they aren't the same as standing reloads--there's a greater tendency to want to look away, to where you will put your feet, and a tendency for the gun to move around as you try to hit the mag well with the mag, and a need to pay attention to the 180, etc. etc.

All those distractions, even without match pressure, make reloading on the move harder. So it's possible that your practice at home just doesn't adequately simulate what you will encounter at a match. Take a close look at what you have to do in the match, and try to replicate it at home.

Another thing I found during live-fire practice (and we all knew this already) is that rushing will really cause you to bungle a reload. If I just did it at what felt like a casual pace, it was very smooth and easy. If I tried to get the gun back on target as quickly as possible, I'd usually have difficulty getting the reload.

The timer didn't reflect the smoother reloads because I was also moving casually from a mounted gun to the reload, and from the reload to mounting the gun and firing.

I think what's happening there is that when I try to go fast, I'm trying to "round the corners"--start to get the gun back on target before the reload is complete. What I need to do is do the reload, and have it finished, and then shift my attention back to the target.

Anyway, just a couple things I've noticed that might be helpful.

DogmaDog

[wide45]

You are trying too hard. You know how to reload. On match day, just let it happen.

[benos]

Chino,

Keep the practice going at home - it is invaluable.

Then, as you become more comfortable/less stressed in matches, the dividends will add up, and eventually the unexpected payoff will send you tap dancing down the street.

be

[Steve Anderson]

I believe that each improvement must be internalized consciously, through refinement and repetition in practice.

Then, when a new skill becomes part of our subconscious, we go back to autopilot and perform at a new higher level.

(A new skill isn't mastered if you're still thinking about it on match day.)

With your reloads, did you go into stage thinking, "reloadreloadreloadreloadreload"?

Try setting up some mini-stages in practice that require a reload and look at the targets and shoot them. Your reload will soon be a non-issue.

SA

[Kyle Norris]

Just a thought also, do you have any weight in your mags when dry firing? Can make a huge difference in how the mags balance, leading to an unfamilar feel on match day. And the unfamiliarity can lead to your practiced technique breaking down.

[chino]

Thanks Brothers, Mike.