Slump

[jam-man]

Been an active competitor shooter for around four years. I have gone through times when I feel like I am improving a little faster than other times. I am sure everyone knows what I mean. Well about the last six months I started taking my shooting a little more serious and began practicing two to three times a week. I recognized some significant gains during that time, I really tried to clean up some bad habits and really work on my accuracy. Things went great for the first four months and I felt I was definitely on the right track and making head way.

About six weeks ago things just seem to fall apart. Mental errors seem to be killing me, like shooting targets twice, when three shoots are required etc. On top of that I have been trying to really relax and just shoot. Well, to begin with it seemed to help, however now it seems I have lost my edge and also my aggressive nature. It is all most like when I step to the line I am focused, but I just can't get in gear and close the deal.

The above seems to have lead to super inconsistencies at matches. About half the stages I finish in the top five, the other stages I seem to finish near the last. I feel like by actual shooting skills have improved, but everything else is just gone to crap.

My primary practice is shooting paper plates at ranges from 7 yards to 25 yards. I stager them and shoot them in various manner, I suppose it is like a poor man's plate rack. I train a lot with a 22cal conversion kit and usually switch over to my normal gun to finalize my practice session. The strange thing is I can tell when practicing how far I have came in the last six months, but I just can't get it together at matches.

Am I in a big slump or do I need to try something different? Different training, take a break, train harder etc.

Any encouraging words or advice would be appreciated.

[tgibson]

Good topic post. I am having the same issues. I am anxious to see what people suggest.

Adios,

TG

[j1b]

Imagine what life would be like if we hadn't invented the term slump.

There's a thread out there that is based around taking a break and impact on shooting. Your topic and that topic are similar.

Today I was watching the Ryder Cup and Hunter Mayhan gave an interview about his final putt. It was interesting. His quote was something to the effect of focusing on the moment because he knew it was huge all while not making more of the matter than what was there.

When we start doing unusual things we've never done before (making mistakes we've not generally made before) I'd say generally it's a sign we've strayed from staying focused on the pure basics. Sometimes recognizing the magnitude of the next shot includes making it the most simple shot you've ever taken . . .

J

[VegasOPM]

I have found that advancement in anything is prone to periodic backsliding. In my case, that is the time that I try to step back and work on the fundementals. When I was racing, that meant hitting every apex perfectly- even if it meant going into a corner slower than I wanted to. In shooting, it means that every shot needs to be an "A". Dedicate your next couple of matches to points. Go for all "A's" without any pressure for time. You probably won't come in too high in a stage, but I bet your overall match performance will be about the same.

[AlamoShooter]

Slump. really?

Don't sweat the small stuff, When you practice and applied yourself you get better and expect to get better. Its the -Expect- part that knocks us down.

Stage placement is not the best way to gage improvement, What if the other guys are training harder and smarter than you are? What if they are not practicing at all?

I may learn slower than any one on the Forum.

Think about adjusting the way you Think. I bet what you want to get out of practicing is to (Develop) into a good all-around shooter. Able to shoot big and small matches with consistent results and secure in any shooting challenge.

Good practice helps you (Develop) into that shooter. You have to find a way to learn from every thing.

!!Learn from every thing!!

Six months is just a blink in time and a 1/2 second saved on a stage can be Big ...Real Big.

Learn from every thing and find the Joy in every time you go to the range.

I have not found my true potential yet, I AM! still getting better and faster.

Alamo

[BritinUSA]

I think the better we get at anything, the more failure seems to haunt us; The smallest mistake takes on gigantic proportions. I guess for me, it's become a matter of perspective, I used to stress out when I had misses or had to take make-up shots etc. Now, I realise that it's just part of the game, I try not to dwell on it too much. I find that if I do over-examine everything then it just makes things worse.

You have to let the slip-ups and mistakes slide off you like water off a duck's back. Think about the stuff you did right, eventually there will be more right and less Aaaaaargh !.

Now if I could just learn to listen to my own advice :-)

[lugnut]

I think of it as a time period where things seem to be standing still... but they're not. Soon you will bust thru! I really do believe that. However sometimes you need to make a change- take a break, change what/how you practice, play with another gun for a bit. I swear when people make changes to their sights, trigger, etc and claim great success I think it's 90% mental. Rest and refocus. Always have fun.

[nashvillebill]

I think the most difficult things to practice are doping out a stage that you didn't design and running that stage under the stress that competition brings. I would suggest getting a shooting buddy to practice with, to compete with in practice. Take turns setting up stages, learn to think on your feet as fast and accurately as you shoot. That's what I need. $.02, a bargain at half the price.

[SA Friday]

I find it sometimes takes a couple thousand rounds to figure out what is going wrong. It can be something as little as taking trigger pull for granted because I have started taking the feeling for granted. Then I work on the issue. Other times it's because I have had a breakthrough on an aspect of my shooting and am more focused on that aspect, i.e. shooting a whole match really focused on the speed of my movements instead of my hits.

I find it's better for me to shoot through a rough spot. Other's find taking a break is more beneficial.

[ebg3]

You have to power through the slump with more practice. When you shoot a match and have a miss or screw up, recreate it at your next practice session and work on it. I just finished the NC Sectional and I realize I need to work on my transitions on hard cover targets and partial no shoot targets, on the move.

Hope this helps.

EG

[LPatterson]

It sounds like you have lost mental focus of what you want to do. There is lots of material out there on practicing to shoot better which it seems that you are doing. It is the mental aspect that is the most important part of our game, deciding the most efficient way to shoot a stage and then doing it that way. On the highway the saying is "Speed Kills" and the same thing applies to our sport IF it is uncontrolled speed. Uncontrolled speed is that beyond practiced ability to accomplish. It has been said that it takes over 3000 repetitions for muscles to respond instantly to a thought versus a decision. I think 4 years is just the beginning of your learning curve and if you don't become discouraged because you aren't winning every stage of every match then it is only your physical ability that will hinder what you win.

[ChrisStock]

I recently wrote about this here.

[HotIce]

When I was training competitively (other sport), I went through phases like that, where it seemed that steps back were taken, instead of forward.

In my case, these were due loss of "passion" in the sport, created by over training w/out proper mental preparation.

You need to step back a little and realize that doing this is fundamentally what you like, and try to discover again the native passion for the sport that you had before.

That worked for me.

[Flexmoney]

When we start doing unusual things we've never done before (making mistakes we've not generally made before) I'd say generally it's a sign we've strayed from staying focused on the pure basics.

JB said what I was gonna.

So many times we get caught up in the expected outcome.

What works best for me is when I focus on the execution of the task at hand...letting the outcome sort itself out. Brian talks about "trust" in his book. For me, that trust plays a big role when I execute the fundamentals and trust that the outcome will be what it is. (Which, when I execute, the outcome is good.)

[Jake Di Vita]

Yep.

Go back to the fundamentals.

Just aim.

[Graham Smith]

I don't know about anyone else, but whenever I try too hard or concentrate too hard or any variation on the above, my performance at just about everything goes down.

Make sure you are doing things right during practice then when you get to the match, relax, enjoy, and move with the flow. I'm still shooting worse than most of those I shoot with, but I'm doing better when and if I follow my own advice and not worry about it.

[jam-man]

Let me say a big thanks for all the replies. I have read all the post in-depth over the last week or so. In the mean time I have done a little reloading and have not fired a single shot. I feel that the pure joy of shooting was being overweighed by wanting to shoot more competitive.

I have come to several conclusions: 1. I want shooting to be my hobby and passion, I don't want it to become work. 2. Some shooters are just more naturally gifted than others and it is going to take me longer to realize some of my goals. 3. I am going to stick with my practice, however I am going to keep it fun and trust I will improve. 4. I am going to attend my next match they way I use to view them in the past; a time to enjoy great conversation and be amongst true friends, a time that I will laugh at my self some, I will shoot each stage if it was separate stage and not worry about the overall score, and mainly I will relax and enjoy myself and realize that if I leave the match have learned anything I had a successful match.

I think for me the most frustrating part of the last six weeks is knowing that I am better than I have performed and wanting to prove that to myself and others. However, I will remain self confident and know that I will reach my true abilities and I will definitely have mistakes and temporary set backs, such as I am currently experiencing, along the way.

Lastly, I believe that I will once again focus on the basics as recommended. I will concentrate getting a good grip during the draw, focus on the front sight, and try to keep everything smooth. Past those I am going to let everything else go and just shoot and enjoy.

Thanks again for everyone’s responses.

[Jake Di Vita]

2. Some shooters are just more naturally gifted than others and it is going to take me longer to realize some of my goals.

I was with you right until I read that. "Talent" doesn't get results...practice and devotion do. You'll get good as quickly and you want to.

[j1b]

Let me say a big thanks for all the replies. I have read all the post in-depth over the last week or so. In the mean time I have done a little reloading and have not fired a single shot. I feel that the pure joy of shooting was being overweighed by wanting to shoot more competitive.

I have come to several conclusions: 1. I want shooting to be my hobby and passion, I don't want it to become work. 2. Some shooters are just more naturally gifted than others and it is going to take me longer to realize some of my goals. 3. I am going to stick with my practice, however I am going to keep it fun and trust I will improve. 4. I am going to attend my next match they way I use to view them in the past; a time to enjoy great conversation and be amongst true friends, a time that I will laugh at my self some, I will shoot each stage if it was separate stage and not worry about the overall score, and mainly I will relax and enjoy myself and realize that if I leave the match have learned anything I had a successful match.

I think for me the most frustrating part of the last six weeks is knowing that I am better than I have performed and wanting to prove that to myself and others. However, I will remain self confident and know that I will reach my true abilities and I will definitely have mistakes and temporary set backs, such as I am currently experiencing, along the way.

Lastly, I believe that I will once again focus on the basics as recommended. I will concentrate getting a good grip during the draw, focus on the front sight, and try to keep everything smooth. Past those I am going to let everything else go and just shoot and enjoy.

Thanks again for everyone’s responses.

One thing you should realize is that all of us have hit that plateau at some point. It's easier to see how silly a slump is once you've gotten through it. On the front side a slump is pretty tough to mentally deal with.

For me I had to be very cognizant of this idea that I couldn't confuse effort with results. When I reached my biggest plateau I was in fact putting in the most effort. I just wasn't focused right. When I got back to a results focus and really began to understand where my challenges were that's when I broke through my barrier.

I am not a naturally talented shooter though. So it isn't a natural talent to break through a barrier.

Looking forward to hearing when you're on the "other side" of your slump.

J