EricW Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Prompted by the "Draw isn't Everything" Thread. For this season I've decided that I will replace my misdirected objectives of the past with goals that I think will serve me better this year. Prior to this year, my practice had been centered around: - A fast draw. - Fast reloads. - Shooting Fast. - etc. I think far more constructive objectives for me will be: - Learn what tension feels like and let it go before LAMR. - See my front sight pop into the notch on my index with every single draw. - Hit my reloads every, single time - Always see a crisp front sight with proper lightbars before triggering a shot. - Always, see the exact point on a target I want to swing the gun to prior to the gun's arrival. Yeah, I know, it seems silly. But I figure if I simply did those things every, single time and never accepted less, I would probably jump a classification and at least be in the hunt at every match I shoot. This year, I'm going to stop trying to run with the speed demons, and strive to be the most efficient shooter I can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vluc Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 An expert is just someone who does the basics better than anyone else. Good luck with your goals this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Worthy goals indeed. Perhaps more of us should pursue them....especially me. dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 It doesn't seem silly to me at all. The more I shoot the more I realize the goals you stated are some of the best around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 - Learn what tension feels like and let it go before LAMR. - See my front sight pop into the notch on my index with every single draw. - Hit my reloads every, single time - Always see a crisp front sight with proper lightbars before triggering a shot. - Always, see the exact point on a target I want to swing the gun to prior to the gun's arrival. Folks who "Execute" that type of plan with speed win matches. That list is similar to the things that reward me with good stage runs. Now to figure out how to do those all those things on demand instead of by accident ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carinab Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 An expert is just someone who does the basics better than anyone else. Good luck with your goals this year. In other words, there are no advanced techniques, only advanced applications of basic techniques. I think those goals are very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I feel sure you have been practicing those things each time you practiced or shot, but they were just not foremost in your conscious thought...getting things in the right priority can sometimes be just as tough as figuring out what to practice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Anderson Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Eric, Your first set of goals are, by definition, given to the conscious mind. When you think about a fast draw, you get one. When you desire an A on a target, you get that at your current level of natural speed. Your second set of goals are good ones, and will get you closer to your true potential. I would recommend that you keep those things on your mind in practice, and give them up at the match to be replaced by desiring 2 alphas on every target. That picture will give control of the shooting over to your subconscious mind, which already knows what an acceptable sight picture is for every target. Good luck, SA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Two things I noticed... - Hit my reloads every, single time You might consider a slight mod to that one. See what you need to see, every single time, which will allow the reloads to hit, every single time. - Always see a crisp front sight with proper lightbars before triggering a shot. While that's good stuff, strict adherence to one thing may hold you back, eventually. Always see what you need to see to call the shot as it fired. Which on most shots, may be exactly what you said. But on some closer shots, seeing the relationship of the front sight to the rear sight, and that to the target, is all you need to see. For example, if you are keenly aware of the front sight coming down into the rear notch, although it hasn't quite made it into the notch yet, and the front/rear sights are in the A box and the target is at 10 yards - that's all you need to see to know you shot an A. Although you could have waited for a perfect, stopped sight picture, it would have only cost you time without improving the end result. (Shooting an A while knowing you did so.) be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 Thanks BE. You are correct, of course. Flex mentioned the relative sight picture thing the other day. And I do know that I do it reflexively on stuff like Smoke and Hope. I'm kind of hoping to put doing that aside for a season and shoot perfectly or as close to it as I can for a while. For some reason I need to feel like I'm absolutely 100% in control again and that's not happening right now. Tension and trying are a lot of it. I'm making the effort to shoot MANY more matches than I ever have and try to put some serious lead downrange during this season...just for the sake of doing things to the point where it becomes old hat and I relax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Along those same lines... - learn what relaxed awareness feels like (or words similar)...focus on the positive...on the goal...as opposed to pushing down the negative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted March 28, 2006 Author Share Posted March 28, 2006 Shot my best Smoke and Hope ever on Sunday. Totally unspectacular by forum standards, but good for me. 2.5s and change. And saw everything doing it. Hopefully, I'll nail a sub 2 by the end of the season. Screwed the pooch on every other stage. Nailed one or two good reloads (Low 1's) in the shootoffs, then tensed up and reverted to pilot-induced oscillations on my front sight - just like during the match. But I'm still happy about that. Up until now, mag changes have been a challenge during matches, so this is a good tension indicator. I'm finally getting settled down on the line. Other goal for 2006: "Shoot my game, and know just what "my game" is prior to arrival at the match." I think that having the discipline to test, document, and track my progress to know what my game is (and isn't) may be one of the more difficult challenges in the sport. Just some thoughts over coffee... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Vision and awareness can tell you right where your game is...on any given day...at any given moment. My goal is to...pay attention and "just shoot". When I do so, it allows me to perform without any preconceived notions of how my performance ought to be. If I can shoot without the preconceived notions, then I can't judge my performance (good or bad). The performance carries no baggage. The shooting just is what it is. ------------------------- Also... You have to be careful with experience. It can be a double-edged sword. Experience can tell you that you can't make a series of 12y shoots on the move. Experience can also tell you that you can't make a series of 12y shot on the move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 ...know just what "my game" is prior to arrival at the match. That's a good one. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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