wsimpso1 Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 In the last couple months, I have been able to see the sights through most of recoil and most of the time they came back to the target close enough to alignment that I could nudge them a bit, and then the gun would go off again. Useful but not the tremendous event of having the sights just land back on target aligned. Then I had two practice sessions where I had my moments of epiphany... Last Wednesday, I was shooting 20 yards on a paper plate, staying on the plate, with draw and fire pairs. Hits were pretty evenly distributed on the plate, and I was feeling pretty good about that. Then I started to track the sight through recoil, see the flash, and have the sights come back down roughly aligned. Not perfect, but white was showing on both sides of the front sight, elevation was good, and the whole thing was on the paper plate. COOL! I stopped and thought about what I had seen for a couple minutes, cleared my mind so that I could observe what was happening, and then continued. I think that the mind clearing allowed me to continue being observant, but I am not sure... Now tracking the sight and seeing the flash and the sights returning to the center of the target was happening almost every shot. Well, it was soo cool seeing the whole shot that I stayed with it for awhile because I believe that when you are doing something well, you should do it a lot. Burn it in, until somethng changes, then STOP. It felt almost slow, but I tried to just accept it and trust that this was good. Next thing I know, I have burned through all of the ammo I brought with me (160 rounds), the gun is HOT, and the center 4" of the plate is just gone... Well, I thought about this some more, and went back to the range with 110 rounds on Friday. And it happened again! This time, I started seeing it after only first couple of rounds. I not only shot from offhand, I tried cover from both sides, standing and kneeling, even using 90 degrees of cant. WOW! It still felt like slow motion, and again ripped the centers out of the plates. Very cool. Why couldn't this have happened a week ago, before the Michigan IDPA Match? Now comes the rest of the story. I did not shoot on the weekend, and the next two weekends will be full of great stuff but no shooting, so it will be three weeks before I get a chance to see if it shows up despite the adrenaline dosage of a match. So how do I maintain this? I have read Brian's book twice now. I do know that the frame of mind has to be one of awareness, that the gun skills have to be fully in the subconscious skill category, and I already use the heck out of rehersal, but is there anything else that I can use to keep this thing happening through a period where shooting will be scarce, and then be able to have it happening when I can finally take it to a match in Septemeber? Thanks in Advance! Billski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Bill, In your situation the main thing you can do (especially when you start shooting again) is remember exactly what it felt like. How your body felt at the time it was happening and all that. Think about it and remember it each night in bed before you sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Great advice Jake. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsimpso1 Posted August 23, 2005 Author Share Posted August 23, 2005 Brian and Jake, Coming from you guys, I will definitely apply the advice. Thanks for the support. Billski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 Wow, billski, that is way cool! Now that you know the way there, it will keep getting easier to find the way back. Visualization and repetition will burn the right groove. I was shooting for many years before I discovered the truth and let me tell you, re-learning is harder that learning right from the start. I wish I had found Brian's book back when I first started, instead of over a decade later. -- Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsimpso1 Posted August 23, 2005 Author Share Posted August 23, 2005 I agree that learning this from the start would have been helpful. Wish it were me... I have had 25 years of owning pistols now, and I have only been exposed to Brian's wisdom for the last two shooting seasons. And it has taken both of those seasons to get to this point, what with unlearning lots of stuff and replacing it with other knowledge. So, experience makes it easier, eh? Good. Perhaps the fall will be a time of real growth. Thanks for the good advice. Billski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 Old Dawg's can learn new tricks, IF they want to ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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