Overcoming Inconsistancy

[Kory]

If there is one problem I would like to overcome, it my inconsistancy.

Some days I go warp speed, get the hits, miss the no-shoots, and end up higher in the overall than I normally do.

Some days I just crash and burn.

I'll be the first to admit that I shoot faster than I can really see. I accept really sloppy target focus that degrades into point shooting at anything resembling a close target. Sometimes I get lucky and this strategy works out just fine, despite itself.

I'll shoot a stage and not remember seeing the sights at all, well perhaps a black blur in the foreground but certainly no sight focus.

I practice getting a good sight picture while dryfiring, almost bullseye quality. That just doesn't happen after the buzzer. Last week I had so many mikes, I zeroed a stage for the first time ever. I had two good stages, two ok stages and two stages where I crashed hard.

I know I have the accuracy, but I push myself to go fast and take for granted that accuracy, and sometimes it doesn't show up when taken for granted.

I found initial improvement pushing myself to shoot faster than I was really comforable with, now I think that strategy is dooming me. Typical B-class stumbling block, Now I need to move beyond it.

I have asked no specific questions, but this post is an attempt to solicit advice on conquering this all too common problem.

Edited May 19, 2006 by Kory

[Flexmoney]

Shoot for accuracy and take the speed for granted.

It really is as simple as that. That should carry you to Master. Come back then for some more input.

[Chris Keen]

You sound like me .......... last year.

You have to MAKE yourself slow down. Do it intentionally. Do it now. OR you'll have to force yourself to go back to basics later, and re-learn the fundimentals your lacking now. Doing this later on will cause great pain and agony. Sometimes even enough to upset some shooters so greatly .... they give up, and quit the game.

You sound like you have the skills, and the drive to win. Do yourself a favor and learn the accuracy part of DVC now. I know it sounds like a broken record .... I thought so too when I was new ..... but the speed will come later. Speed is a by-product of smooth and consistant shooting.

[Matt Cheely]

Yes, you must learn to shoot accurately before shooting hoser IPSC stages all the time. I love setting up stages with 25+ yard shots on US poppers and the like. Really seperates the real shooters from the hosers.

Edited May 19, 2006 by Matt Cheely

[Kory]

I'd love a stage with 25+ yard poppers, steel doesn't bother me and I know if I need to take a make up shot.

I do have the accuracy when I want it, I spent the first four years shooting steel only and just moved into USPSA. I just seem to take it for granted when shooting USPSA and that can be disastrous.

Maybe it's my steel shooting that has me where I am now:

Hose like no tomorrow, then take the well aimed make up shots as needed. That strategy doesn't work on paper.

[Flexmoney]

I want to point out something that I think is important.

I hear a lot of guys/gals talk about shooting slower. And, that may be what a shooter needs to do and think to get over the hump. But, thinking slower or thinking faster...that is still a focus on speed.

The mind can hold only one conscious thought at a time. If you have the mind's conscious thought on speed, then it can't be on accuracy.

Slow doesn't mean accurate. And, fast doesn't mean inaccurate. (Even though there appears to be a strong correlation.) Fast and slow are both a focus on speed. (they are a duality...relative...and hard to separate from each other).

If you want to make accurate shots, then you need to focus on making accurate shots. Visualize what you need to see to shoot two Alphas on each paper target (as required). Visualize what you need to see to connect with steel.

Get your conscious mind on making the shot, not on going fast or slow.

[Steve Moneypenny]

Shoot for accuracy and take the speed for granted.

that's the best quote i've seen in a LONG dang time. I didn't shoot worth a crap until i did that... think that "i am fast" not "i have to be fast"

Calling your shots/See your sights 2 most important mental images you can give your self. This will greatly help consistancy.

Get a mental program going exactly how you do everything before a stage and do it that way EVERY time... control every thing you can control.. and stay in control after that big scarry beep and you'll have it...

[mike cyrwus]

+1

That one got printed and cut, and its currently hanging over my computer.

[CZ52GUY]

I think of it as riding vs. driving.

When I first start shooting competitively, I was like a bronco rider holding on for dear life. Now I try to have the mind set of a Formula 1 driver. Intense focus, avoid any debris that may be in my path, braking, turning cleanly, shifting smoothly as important as accelerating fast out of the turn and going flat out pedal to the metal on the straitaway.

I don't want the gun leading me around by the nose while I'm running from the devil timer. I'm the driver, I go as fast as I safely can and shoot as fast as I safely can. It's just me and the course, the wind in my face, there is nothing else and no-one else to be concerned about. God forbid there is an unauthorized entry into the course when I'm running it, I KNOW I can shut it down.

It took me about a year to realize that and really had to re-learn how to shoot and attack a course of fire.

Safe shooting,

CZ52'

[1911user]

I don't want the gun leading me around by the nose while I'm running from the devil timer.

Interesting way to put it.

Great thread. Very applicable to my shooting.

[mike4045]

I thought I was the only onegoing thru this too. I really pushed the speed thing last weekend. I dropped about 100 pts in penalties. All thie week in practice I have been working on finding the dot and calling shots. Guess I will see how it works out this weekend. Just have to remember to shoot when I see it, instead of just hosing.

Mike

[shooterbenedetto]

Try getting to the range 1/2 hour early and shoot the stage by your self.

you need to be very honest about the stages. focus on smooth TRANSITION and all alphas. turn in your score sheet AND I GUARANTEE that you will feel that you are in slow motion shooting the stage but belive it or not you are actually faster because of smooth movement. YOU SHOULD POST almost the Best time and should place an overall good standing. I know because i have done it several times.

it seems that when we shoot with other fellow shooters, everyone gets hyped by the SPEED so you push your self trying to get the speed all the time and accuracy suffers leading into mikes. i hope you try this and post me a feed back. GOOD SHOOTING!! AND BE SMOOTH.

Edited June 13, 2006 by shooterbenedetto

[Sunuva]

Thanks guys,

This is just what I need to be reading right now

[Rocket35]

Awesome thread! To me this is what this forum is all about! I am also working past these same "speed traps". I especially like the comment about "taking speed for granted". Also about how you can focus on only one thing- so focus on accuracy. Good stuff, thanks guys for all your insight!

[chp5]

I haven’t overcome inconsistency yet, but working on it. Here’re my 2 cents.

1. You must understand what type of sight picture you need to see on each target in a stage – then EXECUTE IT.

2. Don’t shoot with your ego. I can’t remember the title of the book, but it’s a book on golf. It’s been discuss here at length – Eric N started the thread, I believe. One of the main topics of the book was to play with a goal of mastery of your own game – don’t play with your ego. Shooting with your ego will lead to violation of #1 above – which will lead to crashes. This advice is easier said then done but – at the same time – only requires a simple mental shift.

[Irate]

I would compare transition shooting to racing someone to put together a disassembled weapon, don't rush or you won't be able to manipulate the pieces to fit. Concentrate on fitting the pieces together. Like I was always taught, "slow is smooth and smooth is fast"

Irate

[tking]

I'm glad I read this post today. I was planning on going out tomorrow and seeing just how fast I could shoot. Now I'll be working on how smoothly I can acquire the correct sight picture and move on. Thanks to all who have contributed so far.

[benos]

Focus your mind on the "job at hand." When you are shooting a stage - what is the job at hand? Is it to:

a. Shoot through the stage as quickly as possible?

b. Hit each target as quickly as possible while knowing that you are doing so?

c. Impress your friend's with how fast you are?

d. Show off the new skills you mastered at your latest class?

e. Send the spectators scurrying for cover as your new compensator blows out their eardrums?

If the best answer seems to be "b" - then wonder what I mean by "each target." If it's a steel target, the "target" is the middle of the target. (Allowing for a margin of error is not a bad thing.) If it's a paper target, then "the target" is the A box. (Either for the body or the head box.)

be

[Singlestack]

e. Send the spectators scurrying for cover as your new compensator blows out their eardrums?

Thats what I'm talkin about!! RO's too!

[Still Praying]

Hi Kory

I too am working on the same thing. I'm in B class open and I'm going for Master. I guess this is realy an A&B class thing. So like everyone else, here's my two cents worth.

Consistency comes from shooting your own game, at your speed, with your accuracy.

Most all of the inaccuracys come from to much speed. If you push your moves, you find your self shooting from the wrong spot and rushing the shot, or having to back up to make the shot, or leaning to another position and just getting enough sight picture to hit that brown thing. (not the A zone) All of this cost us time and points.

So, this is what I try to do. "MOVE FAST AND SHOOT DELIBERATE" I've heard shooters say "Move fast and shoot slow" That don't get it for me. I don't want to hear the word slow when it comes to IPSC. When it comes to moves, "MOVE DELIBERATE" just like you did in your walk through, but with a comfortable fast speed. Normally when the beeper goes off we have a tendency to go into a PANIC MODE. Back off of that just enough to stay in controll and stay in focus with the dance. A stage is like a dance to me (although I have two left feet). We take one step to the right then three steps forward, run to this spot then lean to the right, what ever the stage is. It's a dance, remember the steps. You can't remember them in the panic mode. Stay with in your capabilitys and remember what we heard when we started this sport. "SPEED WILL COME WITH TIME" To get faster, push your capabilitys in practice and get off your/our fat a$$e$ and exersise.

As far as shooting deliberate goes. I start with the walk through. I try to use my minds eye to see the right sight picture before I move my trigger finger, no mater how close or far the target is. If you PRACTICE SLOPPY, YOU SHOOT SLOPPY. Max has told me that he see's the dot in the A zone on all of the targets, even at three feet. So this tells me that I've been doing it wrong with the close targets. I say, let the front sight be your SPEED-O-METER. Your sights will tell you just how fast you can shoot. Don't pull the trigger faster than you can see the sights/dot in the Azone.

So that is what I'm trying to do. Most of this I've been doing for a while now, but some of it I've just figured out. Right or wrong??? It sounds and works good for me. FWIW, I just shot the 06 Ga State with the most consistent scores I've ever had on a major match. I think I'm more proud of the consistency than the win. I have a lot more to say, but I think this thing is to long already.

Remember "MOVE FAST AND SHOOT DELIBERATE"

Good Luck

Ronnie

[Flyin40]

If there is one problem I would like to overcome, it my inconsistancy.

Some days I go warp speed, get the hits, miss the no-shoots, and end up higher in the overall than I normally do.

Some days I just crash and burn.

I'll be the first to admit that I shoot faster than I can really see. I accept really sloppy target focus that degrades into point shooting at anything resembling a close target. Sometimes I get lucky and this strategy works out just fine, despite itself.

I'll shoot a stage and not remember seeing the sights at all, well perhaps a black blur in the foreground but certainly no sight focus.

I practice getting a good sight picture while dryfiring, almost bullseye quality. That just doesn't happen after the buzzer. Last week I had so many mikes, I zeroed a stage for the first time ever. I had two good stages, two ok stages and two stages where I crashed hard.

I know I have the accuracy, but I push myself to go fast and take for granted that accuracy, and sometimes it doesn't show up when taken for granted.

I found initial improvement pushing myself to shoot faster than I was really comforable with, now I think that strategy is dooming me. Typical B-class stumbling block, Now I need to move beyond it.

I have asked no specific questions, but this post is an attempt to solicit advice on conquering this all too common problem.

This almost describes my shooting last yr perfectly. About the only thing that was different is that I never had the accuracy. Towards the end of last yr I figured out what calling the shot was. That was the first step for me. My follow through was horrible. There would be tons of times I would see the sights on the target but by the time I pulled the trigger the gun was already on its way to the next target. It wasn't until I figured out what calling the shot was that I realized what I was doing. I'm still not where I want to be with consistency but I'm way ahead of last yr. Last yr my crash and burn stages where due to misses and some bonehead mistakes. In the last couple of months my mistakes are almost all just dumb mistakes and not misses.

Learn to call yours shots. To properly call your shot you have to see the where the sights are when the bullet leaves the barrell.

Buy with "With Winning in Mind". Understanding and learning how to run a mental program will be a huge benefit. Best $13 you will spend.

Flyin40

[Z-man]

Just a thought, but in addition to working on shooting at the proper speed in order to maintain consistency, I've found that mental focus outside of the actual shooting greatly affects match consistency. For instance, I've really struggled (as a new shooter) to put together a complete match with few penalties. It seems that there is always 1 or 2 stages that I rack up penalties on or shoot poor hits that take me out of the running. While my shooting speed on those stages may be the exact same as the other stages on which I shot well, the difference is the lack of focus or not being in the right mental state prior to LAMR. Over the course of a 10 stage match its a challenge to keep your head in the right place throughout with the same level of focus and intensity. Lately I've wondered if it might be helpful to develop a routine that I can consistently follow prior to shooting a stage? If others have a similar experience or insight on improving this as well, I'd appreciate it. Sorry to shift the topic a bit!

[Flyin40]

Just a thought, but in addition to working on shooting at the proper speed in order to maintain consistency, I've found that mental focus outside of the actual shooting greatly affects match consistency. For instance, I've really struggled (as a new shooter) to put together a complete match with few penalties. It seems that there is always 1 or 2 stages that I rack up penalties on or shoot poor hits that take me out of the running. While my shooting speed on those stages may be the exact same as the other stages on which I shot well, the difference is the lack of focus or not being in the right mental state prior to LAMR. Over the course of a 10 stage match its a challenge to keep your head in the right place throughout with the same level of focus and intensity. Lately I've wondered if it might be helpful to develop a routine that I can consistently follow prior to shooting a stage? If others have a similar experience or insight on improving this as well, I'd appreciate it. Sorry to shift the topic a bit!

This is exactly what is covered in "With Winning in Mind". Again spend $13 and buy it. Its not a read it book and everything is cured. You must be willing to do alot of work mentally.

You have to put alot of stuff on paper. I have only been working with it a short while and I can already tell a big difference.

I'll give you a quick version. Basically a mental program is a thought process that you use to prepare yourself prior to shooting. You use the Exact same mental routine every single time you shoot. If you think about shooting fast on one stage then think about shooting A's on another stage its hard to be consistent.

Basically stages are designed to distract you from shooting. Things are added in that make you think about everything but the shooting. Say if a stage has a prop you have to activate or carry. If prior to shooting your thinking about that prop your focused on that and not the shooting. Regardless of what the stage design consists of Its all about the shooting, just shoot. The mental process, mental program, routine, or whatever you want to call it has to be consistent for your shooting to be consistent. Take it from a guy who would crash and burn a stage or two every match. I'm still working on it but and its going to take some time but theres no doubt it works.

Flyin40

Edited June 22, 2006 by Flyin40

[BR]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for this topic. I just finished my first year in USPSA. The past couple of months have been brutal, and I am glad to know that I am not the only one experiencing it.

This winter I spent a lot of time shooting indoors, concentrating on shooting groups, learning to watch the sight, etc... This spring, I came out and shot better than ever. I could actually see my self improving from match to match, and concentrated on completely relaxing and just watching for a good sight picture and a clean trigger pull. I did not really care about speed, but concentrated on smoothness. I looked at one of my matches from March, and I finished every stage in first or second in my division.

I started to notice an increase in speed. My scores started to improve, and my times started to get faster. These scores earned me a B card in Production.

Then, problems began. First, I started to TRY to shoot fast. Feels great, but my shots are all over -- and off -- the target. Second, I started comparing my times to other shooters, and trying to BEAT certain other shooters who I considered to be my competition. For the last two months my scores have dropped like lead bricks, and this past weekend I zeroed my first stage ever. I am falling backwards in the standings at each match. While I usually have 1 or 2 stages where I really smoke it, I also have 1 or 2 where I completely bomb it. I now regularly have misses or no shoots. I get going so fast that even when I see the shot break and realize that I had a miss, I am moving too fast to take a make up shot. I am starting to develop some REALLY bad habits, such as (1) not seeing, or even looking to see, the sights, and ( shooting based on the timing of the gun. If I don't correct these issues now, my shooting will only get worse.

I am going to practice with no thoughts about speed, only about A's and smoothness. I am going to only shoot A's. I am not going to listen to any other competitor's times. I am not even going to listen to my own times. I am going to shoot smoothly and see the sight for every shot. No thoughts of fast/slow. No ego. Maybe take one step back, so I can eventually take two forward.

Anyways, this topic is just too good, and deserves to be bumped to top. Any other thoughts on (1) getting past "the need for speed," and (2) increasing consistency are greatly appreciated. Thanks - cheers,

-br

Edited July 11, 2006 by joker22

[Sunuva]

Really good post joker22 now i need just to do it!!