Superstition

[CrispyKC]

Playing competitive sports almost every player had a specific way to get ready for a game.  Any of you have the same thing for a match?  

[ccollins3006]

I'm a very superstitious individual from my baseball playing days. I need the same Gatorade flavors, same brand of ear plugs, can't shoot a round that's touched the ground.

[Seery]

Fortunately, no superstitions here.

[dgrdvm]

Being superstitious is bad luck.

[Orlandoech]

None here lol but I dont find it odd or crazy that people do.

[Doge]

I like to pack my range bag and prep my stuff the night before. That way I can just wake up and throw it in my car and not worry if I forgot to pack anything. 

[DFIVE3]

I have a habit of turning my ear pro (Howard Leight Impacts) off and back on to full volume at the end of my make ready. Not sure what got me started with that, I don't have trouble hearing the beep. But i noticed one day, that was now part of my make ready.

[rowdyb]

when i am at a major match and i see a round in my ammo box that now looks ugly or just wrong it gets in my head. even though all the ammo has been gauged and the load thoroughly tested if in the moment it gives me any sort of bad feeling i remove the round from my ability to shoot it in the match. so i will let a weird hunch in the moment cause me to not shoot a particular bullet.

 

with absolutely zero basis in fact. hahaha.

[SGT_Schultz]

On 2/23/2021 at 1:43 PM, Doge said:

I like to pack my range bag and prep my stuff the night before. That way I can just wake up and throw it in my car and not worry if I forgot to pack anything. 

 

Same here.

 

I have no weird rituals, habits, or superstitions, but I thrive on routines and consistency.  I always have the same number of mags, and always in the same position on the belt based on how many rounds are in each.  I always reach for the make ready mag from the same place, and always put the last mag away in the same trouser pocket each time.  I manipulate the pistol exactly the same way every time I LAMR and ULSC.  I always head to reload and reset my gear as soon as I come off the stage. 

[Boudreaux78]

I have a bunch of superstitions that have worked their way into my stage prep and performance. Touching my gun, ears off, deep breaths all work to calm me. The superstitions are closing my eyes and picturing my kids smiling, if I can’t see it, bugs me so I almost can’t shoot. I have to know they are there with me... 

[Vic]

If I ever once, found myself starting to perform some manner of ritualistic or compulsive habit, I'd nip it in the bud fast. I loathe habits and rituals, and it pisses me off to see them manifested in other shooters. Can't say the number of times Ive wanted to scream at a guy on line to just make ready and shoot the damned stage. Some guys get set, and take 20 stabs with their hand to the gun, I dont know about everyone else, but Ive grabbed my pistol/revolver a million times, I know where it is. I handle it once, to load the cylinder, and place it in my holster, I don't need to keep feeling for it, or make sure my hand hits the butt just right 20 times.

  I could ramble endlessly, their are a ton of bad habits and rituals you can see at a match. Possibly the only habit I have, and I don't really consider it a bad habit, is if the stage allows shooters to get ready in any order as long as it is timely, I will always ask to shoot first. Nothing ritualistic or superstitious, I just like shooting clean paper or freshly painted steel targets.

  

  

[BoyGlock]

I see them as mental prep routines not superstitions. 

[nso123]

To revive this thread I will throw one superstition out that I have. This is for PCC in Steel Challenge.  I load 12 rounds in my mags, because 13 is a bad number. I know I’m not the only one that does it.  I want to go a day with 13 in each mag, but I can’t make myself. 

[Reds_Dot]

I don't know if it's superstition or a compulsion: once every 2 or 3 matches I will be loading a mag between stages and something will "feel off" about it. Not physically, like the mag is loading just fine. It just gets in my head that I have to unload that mag and reload it. So, I do. Then I feel better. I do it because I generally feel better afterwards and it's relatively insignificant. 

[JFlowers]

What is the difference between superstition, ritual, and consistent behavior?  The fact that we do something the same way everytime is the same regardless of the name you call it by.

[bludog]

routine is different than superstition.  I love the former and no belief in the latter

[Kwontanamo]

Since everyone has beaten the dead horse on the difference between superstition and routine i'll just say to never change up your diet and sleeping schedule. Travel will always ruin a sleep routine and you'll never feel 100% if you get drunk the night before. 

[loubob]

I actually think i would be superstitious if i had a better memory!

[rhino3]

On 11/27/2020 at 4:30 AM, dgrdvm said:

Being superstitious is bad luck.

 

I'll disagree with you on this. Being superstitious attimes does not mean bad luck, being superstitious means GETTING TO KNOW YOURSELF AND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

[maur]

Im not normally superstitious but I do better in my favorite pair of underwear 

[rapture090]

 

I always set my loaded mags next to the gun they belong too after loading them,i dont want to get them mixed up and put .22's in my 1911,or .45's in my S&W.22a
I know there is no chance of that happening with those 2 guns,but im hoping for new guns in the future in which it may become a smart thing to do.
So yeh im doing an odd ritual so it will make me prosperous to buy more guns.

 

 

On 11/26/2020 at 2:30 PM, dgrdvm said:

Being superstitious is bad luck.

[Racinready300ex]

On 5/26/2020 at 12:09 PM, ccollins3006 said:

I'm a very superstitious individual from my baseball playing days. I need the same Gatorade flavors, same brand of ear plugs, can't shoot a round that's touched the ground.

 

Doing this the same way every time can also be a mental preparation thing and not superstition. There are lots of things I do in vary specific ways, but they're backed up by logic and learning from experience. Not a concern over luck.