Practical Shooting comes easily?

[huntershooter]

A major reason I moved my family from Ohio to Arizona was that the shooting environment was so much better in Arizona than it was in Ohio. It flat out sucked when I lived there in the mid to late '70s. Now there's a guy that wants to shoot. (I was in heaven when I got to AZ BTW.)

be

Brian, I'm sure the folks in the Port Clinton area might disagree that the shooting environment sucks in Ohio. They seem to attract quite a few folks every summer.

Guess it depends on your discipline(s) of choice!

[Flexmoney]

What folks in the Port Clinton area? Don't they all come in from Arizona once a year?

[Sandro]

Does practical shooting (USPSA) come easily to anyone?

I know a lot of things come easily to me, coloring in the lines, playing video games, falling on my a$$ while skateboarding, but I don't think practical shooting comes easily to me. What's up with that?

So I say again: Does Practical Shooting come easily to anyone?

funny how it is, it takes a long time to realize how long it takes to get good at shooting. of course it depends what "good" means to you. when you get good, lets say top five, there will be always someone willing to put more time, more hard work and lots of money to be better than you. yes, I think it takes time. It's easy to say, but work hard and be positive about your jorney! Good luck...

DVC,

Sandro

[kfd147]

Does practical shooting (USPSA) come easily to anyone?

I know a lot of things come easily to me, coloring in the lines, playing video games, falling on my a$$ while skateboarding, but I don't think practical shooting comes easily to me. What's up with that?

So I say again: Does Practical Shooting come easily to anyone?

Not me. I have to keep up my practice or my 9 year old son will out shoot me.

Jason

[benos]

A major reason I moved my family from Ohio to Arizona was that the shooting environment was so much better in Arizona than it was in Ohio. It flat out sucked when I lived there in the mid to late '70s. Now there's a guy that wants to shoot. (I was in heaven when I got to AZ BTW.)

be

Brian, I'm sure the folks in the Port Clinton area might disagree that the shooting environment sucks in Ohio. They seem to attract quite a few folks every summer.

But what about during the '70's?

From where I lived, no range I could go to would allow you to fire more than one shot per second. If you did you were labeled as dangerous.

And all the land was either privately owned, or was some sort of park.

I don't doubt that it's changed for the better now though. Otherwise why would Flexmoney live in Ohio!

[Jake Di Vita]

Otherwise why would Flexmoney live in Ohio!

Yeah. Now all we gotta do is get him to shoot again.

[Matt Griffin]

It depends. If you can get over the hump of running with a gun, and can plan a stage, and have mediocre accuracy, then you're already scratching the top echelons. I won L10 at the DoubleTap with just a couple of matches under my belt. I had spent the winter dryfiring, reading, watching the Burkett videos, and getting to the range when I could. But that was a shallow pool. The next matches in SS and Limited, I was quickly humbled.

I still don't classify worth a damn, but I'm a contender at most matches, and it all comes down to two things, consistency and planning. If you can just avoid the crashes, then the average performance number on things like reloads aren't that fast, at least compared to dryfire times and possibles. And there are a few things that seemed to only come with time. Shot calling, and the ability to focus attention at the right thing at the right time, for instance.

H.

I would like to amend this. Practical shooting does not come easy. Everything else is pretty easy, but I'm learning the shooting bit is hard as hell. Right now I'm chasing the zone, trying to find a way to train it into my shooting. It's hard, but I don't think it's impossible. I just need to forget more.

H.

[benos]

I just need to forget more.

Yes. And more often.

The Zone cannot be caught by chasing.

It appears, uninvited, when all forms of trying and caring have ceased.

be

[little_kahuna]

I just need to forget more.

Yes. And more often.

The Zone cannot be caught by chasing.

It appears, uninvited, when all forms of trying and caring have ceased.

be

This is epic.

This is exactly what I have been trying to do (ironically).

And now that I have stop trying, it works... it's like a principle Law of effectiveness in psycho-physical or coordination-based actions.

[Matt Griffin]

I just need to forget more.

Yes. And more often.

The Zone cannot be caught by chasing.

It appears, uninvited, when all forms of trying and caring have ceased.

be

I agree, from what I'm seeing during training, the zone is what's left after you remove all the other parts. I hit it at the 2008 Nationals on my L10 stage win, just beautiful slow sight pictures and perfect calls, I can still recall some of the sight pictures I had during that stage, that's how clear they were.

I'll go one further on you, Brian, and say that the zone is also directly affected by how you process the rest of the world outside of shooting. These days it's very easy to get trapped into an anxious "gotta do it now!" state due to complexity and the (seeming) super-efficiency we're afforded by the glut of tools; the internet, cellphones, five electronic calendars, text messages, etc.

This leads to a "forcing" in nearly everything we do, which anyone can demonstrate is counter-productive. Make a "hard fast" draw, the time is never as good as a "smooth casual" draw, but it feels faster. (This has been covered to death, I know) but it applies outside of shooting, and likewise forcing can seep into shooting from the outside.

So the big trick is learning how to relax and do one simple thing; shoot the sights. It's a tricky beast to hang on to, though.

H.

[benos]

I just need to forget more.

Yes. And more often.

The Zone cannot be caught by chasing.

It appears, uninvited, when all forms of trying and caring have ceased.

be

I agree, from what I'm seeing during training, the zone is what's left after you remove all the other parts. I hit it at the 2008 Nationals on my L10 stage win, just beautiful slow sight pictures and perfect calls, I can still recall some of the sight pictures I had during that stage, that's how clear they were.

I'll go one further on you, Brian, and say that the zone is also directly affected by how you process the rest of the world outside of shooting. These days it's very easy to get trapped into an anxious "gotta do it now!" state due to complexity and the (seeming) super-efficiency we're afforded by the glut of tools; the internet, cellphones, five electronic calendars, text messages, etc.

This leads to a "forcing" in nearly everything we do, which anyone can demonstrate is counter-productive. Make a "hard fast" draw, the time is never as good as a "smooth casual" draw, but it feels faster. (This has been covered to death, I know) but it applies outside of shooting, and likewise forcing can seep into shooting from the outside.

H.

I'm with you. Since I no longer "compete," I have all day every day to work on removing zone obstructions.

be

[Bongo Boy]

I have very limited experience, and part of the appeal of practical shooting is what the challenges have turned out to be. I 'sort of' knew going in that the challenge wouldn't be having the right gun...lots of experience in life to confirm that it's not going to be having the right equipment. But still, what has turned out to be difficult for me, at my current level of shooting, is not the shooting at all (in the sense a non-shooter might have). I haven't yet learned how to stay relaxed and properly attentive. This is a very, very tough challenge, but one I look forward to dealing with and getting better at. I've managed to attain an extremely low frustration level, and for me that's a huge personal success.

My measure for success here is simply hitting all the targets and hitting them accurately. When that happens I'll feel I've made progress in staying relaxed and having the right things on my mind during the game. When that happens at every match, more or less, then I expect things will actually get very difficult indeed.

[Sam]

When I shoot, I feel like a dog with his head hung out the window of a speeding truck.

That dog is just happy. And he don't give a hoot if that truck ever gets where it's going.

Edited April 23, 2010 by Sam

[Aldrin]

I just need to forget more.

Yes. And more often.

The Zone cannot be caught by chasing.

It appears, uninvited, when all forms of trying and caring have ceased.

be

Practice sessions are for pushing yourself. Matches are for turning everything off and experiencing what you've learned. This approach really works for me. I think I read it in a book somewhere.

[Sean Gaines]

for me the shooting part was easy, it was executing all the little stuff that I have learned up to this point that has been the most difficult, alot was learned the hard way with losses, but has made me a better uspsa shooter because of it.

Dave Re and I were talking about this at the space city challenge, to me shooting open is easy, thats what I told him, and he told me that you are not pushing yourself hard enough. The more I think about it, the more I think he is right. Space city challenge match was the 3rd match I have shot, including local mathces since October, and I finished 6th overall, I never dryfire, rarely have time to practice, in fact the last practice I did was 2 years ago,the last time I did a dryfire session was probably 3 or 4 yrs ago, if I did half the work that some of the people do on this forum, I have no doubt in my mind that i would be a competitive GM. My practice entails visualizing, and thinking about shooting.

I also agree with Jake, like always, it all depends on your mindset.I have always been a competitive person. If I am playing any sport. I want to beat your ass... I hate to say it that way. But I hate losing, I know myself and I know what I am capable of doing, couple that with confidence, and the sky is the limit.

I am fixing to start doing some 3guning, and that will be the real challenge. I am very confident in my pistol ability, rifle is ok, shotgun reloading, is one thing I have never tried on a timer, so that is something I will be working on. Hopefully 3gun will come as easy as the uspsa stuff.

Everyone don't take this post wrong, this is a personal oppinion expressed by myself. I know that I should put the extra work in, just don't seem to have the time to do so, seems like I am always putting fires out, and I have a 4yr old, anyone with a child knows what I am talking about.

good luck to everyone out there

Sean

[RobMoore]

Easy? Not a chance. It took me 3-4yrs before I got over the adrenalin rush you get right before you make ready.

I realized yesterday that the only stage I got that feeling on was the one I didn't adequately prepare for mentally. Every other stage I had run my plan through thoroughly, and stepped up calm and ready to execute.

The last stage of the day was a simple one: all from one position, 3 targets flanked by no-shoots, 6 rounds each with a reload in between each one. I took it for granted. When I stepped up to the line, I got the butterflies. I asked myself "why am I nervous?", and it dawned on me that I wasn't prepared.

I tried in those brief moments while I made ready to get a plan, and it probably helped a little, but in the end I was fast....with several charlies and a no-shoot.

[Sean Gaines]

Easy? Not a chance. It took me 3-4yrs before I got over the adrenalin rush you get right before you make ready.

I realized yesterday that the only stage I got that feeling on was the one I didn't adequately prepare for mentally. Every other stage I had run my plan through thoroughly, and stepped up calm and ready to execute.

The last stage of the day was a simple one: all from one position, 3 targets flanked by no-shoots, 6 rounds each with a reload in between each one. I took it for granted. When I stepped up to the line, I got the butterflies. I asked myself "why am I nervous?", and it dawned on me that I wasn't prepared.

I tried in those brief moments while I made ready to get a plan, and it probably helped a little, but in the end I was fast....with several charlies and a no-shoot.

When you feel nervous, turn it around, think about it and say. This is cool, this is why I play this game for me to do good in these type of situations. Now lets show myself that I can do this. For me the butterflies go away, and a smile appears on my face.

I love those type of situations, when I feel a little ancy, next time turn those feelings around, and think of it as a challenge, and you will embrace the nervousness instead of fearing it.

-Sean

[benos]

When you feel nervous, turn it around, think about it and say. This is cool, this is why I play this game for me to do good in these type of situations. Now lets show myself that I can do this. For me the butterflies go away, and a smile appears on my face.

I love those type of situations, when I feel a little ancy, next time turn those feelings around, and think of it as a challenge, and you will embrace the nervousness instead of fearing it.

-Sean

Good stuff!

be

[Jimdoe]

Easy? Not a chance. It took me 3-4yrs before I got over the adrenalin rush you get right before you make ready.

I realized yesterday that the only stage I got that feeling on was the one I didn't adequately prepare for mentally. Every other stage I had run my plan through thoroughly, and stepped up calm and ready to execute.

The last stage of the day was a simple one: all from one position, 3 targets flanked by no-shoots, 6 rounds each with a reload in between each one. I took it for granted. When I stepped up to the line, I got the butterflies. I asked myself "why am I nervous?", and it dawned on me that I wasn't prepared.

I tried in those brief moments while I made ready to get a plan, and it probably helped a little, but in the end I was fast....with several charlies and a no-shoot.

When you feel nervous, turn it around, think about it and say. This is cool, this is why I play this game for me to do good in these type of situations. Now lets show myself that I can do this. For me the butterflies go away, and a smile appears on my face.

I love those type of situations, when I feel a little ancy, next time turn those feelings around, and think of it as a challenge, and you will embrace the nervousness instead of fearing it.

-Sean

Very good stuff indeed. I always have the feeling of nervousness every big matches I go to (ie SPCC the latest), which in turn would cost me time and points. I am not a seasoned shooter, just started shooting USPSA/IPSC roughly a year ago, and I do admit that I hardly practice which is not helping at all. I made a promise to myself to better my shooting career this year by practicing and dry firing more often.

It's hard when you have responsibilities (3yr old boy) and work and to juggle practice along with it is sometimes impossible. Just like what Sean said. I cannot remember who said who in regards to setting goals, mindset, and just wanting what you want and then you will achieve what you want. Which pretty much apply to all things in life.

AND no it doesn't come easy with me!

[818-DVC]

I got into this after shooting with a business associate. He told me to try ipsc because I would be a natural. I shot some matches, and learned really quickly & humbly that I am not as good as he or I thought I was. There are some extremely difficult parts to the game that only practice can help ease. Am I more natural to shooting? probably, but that RO and all those other shooters behind me! I get a little stage fright. Breaking down stages, forget about it! I can't remember what I watched and practiced after the sound of the buzzer!

I am somewhat athletic, but I (in Arnold's voice) lack discipline. I want to reach M or GM someday, just don't seem to care if takes 10 years or never happens all the while. I'm having fun in competition. I'm out to shoot as well as I can. I want to win. I want to win as much as I want the the MVP of the day to win. I think everyone gets their day/s. when I watch a fellow shooter shoot exceptionally well, I want that shooter to win. I'm not the guy kicking and screaming for screwing up or losing, unless I was unsafe.

Everyone has their reasons to shoot uspsa. some hate golf but still need some sun, and fun w the boys/girls. I get to escape my husband & fatherly duties about 1x a month to shoot a match. It's great to hang out with other people of similar interests, play with my toys, and get some sun & a good workout all the while. beers after complete my match day. If I shoot particularly well, I'm even happier. to win a stage or place well. pure ecstacy!

Imagine walking into this sport a Master or Grand Master. What are you going to learn? Is it fun? Is this something you go on to do professionally? Can a GM like Matt Cheely live off shooting? Does he want to? I think you can only strive to be a TJ or TGO after that. KC, Julie, Michel, Koenig, sevigny, Vogel, Stoeger, michulek: probably get paid pretty well, but I don't think their making close to 7 figures. I think there are so very few top pros making the big bucks shooting. it's not like being a michael jordan or brett favre. the audience is way too small. Your not shooting in front of millions of viewers live at the dome or on ESPN. To be best in this game, 40-50,000 might know your name. Even if you don't play or watch golf, you know who tiger woods is! (even before)