Have a break or push on?

[Simbo]

Rotate through Gliding, Sailing and Shooting, occasional round of golf.

Jack of all sports..........master of none!

Last weekend you told me that you once flew solo at nearly 35k feet with minus 20 outside. I'd say you've pretty much mastered the Gliding one mate!

 

[Iggy]

Last weekend you told me that you once flew solo at nearly 35k feet with minus 20 outside. I'd say you've pretty much mastered the Gliding one mate!

View attachment 5887

And that was without a glider. 

 

[Darren9330]

Not even close https://www.cpsa.co.uk/classifications/member/50/EE/130879

Well detected balltrap, but as you can see those were CPSA scores and do not include the small shoots at which i attend every weekend...but a valiant effort to embarrass me on the internet....kudos to you!

I was looking for a balanced informed answer, not a public drubbing. But thank you anyway for your input :lol:

 

[balltrap]

Well detected balltrap, but as you can see those were CPSA scores and do not include the small shoots at which i attend every weekend...but a valiant effort to embarrass me on the internet....kudos to you!




 




 

There was never any intention to embarrass you, but you need some street cred first !

you dug your own hole !

 

[Sian]

Maybe you need to do more competitions rather than your small shoots.  I know that whilst I enjoy all my shooting, there's nothing quite like a competition for some reason it means more to me, only a bit but it's there.  Perhaps your small shoots aren't enough for you now maybe you need to be testing yourself.  I don't pretend to know the answer just a thought.

 

[Darren9330]

Maybe you need to do more competitions rather than your small shoots.  I know that whilst I enjoy all my shooting, there's nothing quite like a competition for some reason it means more to me, only a bit but it's there.  Perhaps your small shoots aren't enough for you now maybe you need to be testing yourself.  I don't pretend to know the answer just a thought.

Cheers Sian,

There are very few and far between shoots over here, as somebody has already mentioned my CPSA scores are lack lustre, you can also tell from that that most are actually at mainland shoots where i have suffered.

When you're looking at £60-£80 per boat trip plus other expenses it tips in at nearly £200 per shoot....that's without overnight accommodation if its an early start, hence not much mainland/comp experience.

No hole digging here, more a case of not having all of the facts!

 

[Darkside]

There was never any intention to embarrass you, but you need some street cred first !

you dug your own hole !

It did look like you were ripping into him, trying to embarrass him...

 

[Skeetfreak]

TBH you are really at a crossroads with where your hobby of clay shooting goes as far as i can see.

Reading between the lines it sounds like your scoring well in small local club shoots but you want to improve / are getting frustrated at performance at the registered shoots you attend. At the kind of sums of money you talk about (£200 per shoot - take it this is 100 registered targets) you will without even realizing be putting extra pressure on yourself to perform to perceive the "value" in it.

This is never a good idea IMO.

So you have a choice.

i). Accept your level of improvement will be a slow and steady with the amount of larger shoot experience you get - but this will mean you likely need to continue to shoot on the mainland at least once a month as you have been for a prolonged period but without being too hard on yourself.

ii). Try to push on even further / faster and spend more time on the mainland shooting more registered shoots. See if this creates the spark you want / need to continue to enjoy the hobby.  One of the things i would suggest if you do this is plan better around major shoots - so you maybe do 3 registered shoots over a week period coupled with some holiday time. 

iii). Accept that the majority of your shooting will be local club level and enjoy the hobby that way. If that means you shoot less / take a break to re-assess then so be it.

For me i discovered a planning routine that suits me best about 3 years ago. I am not a fan of shooting every week regardless at anything i can find locally as i just get bored quickly with the mundane nature of it so........ I shoot in batches of say 3 or 4 shoots then take a break for a week or two - and i mean totally. Then do the next batch etc. This keeps me keen and focus's my attention on the next batch of shoots once i complete the previous one. I also try and slate a larger shoot / specific shoot at the end of a batch to build up to with the aim of doing well if i am on form.

Plus i really only shoot competition between late March and early October with little or no practice. I make changes over winter to improve, then build up to my first batch of shoots, then shoot my "season" with my planned shoots. I typically shoot 17-18 events a season which in nssa skeet equates to about 5000-6000 registered targets for myself.

Its important to accept (some won't like this next statement) that shooting is a hobby / pastime for 95% of us (myself included) and we all enjoy it at varying levels. Of course shooting well means we enjoy it more - but accept that shooting well at YOUR level is more important than basing a good performance on expectation of some of the semi professional scores we see at shoots these days.

But equally i have found planning my hobby means i am more structured and get more enjoyment out of it. Just do not fall into the trap of over planning / thinking it.

Hope my ramblings make some kind of sense and help / give you something to think about...

 

[Nimbusgb]

And that was without a glider. 

Not quite, I wish! but I do have the barograph trace to prove it. only 32000' though.

 

[Iggy]

Not quite, I wish! but I do have the barograph trace to prove it. only 32000' though.

Oh, so only 32,000 feet then.

I feel sick in the loft. 

 

[Darren9330]

TBH you are really at a crossroads with where your hobby of clay shooting goes as far as i can see.

Reading between the lines it sounds like your scoring well in small local club shoots but you want to improve / are getting frustrated at performance at the registered shoots you attend. At the kind of sums of money you talk about (£200 per shoot - take it this is 100 registered targets) you will without even realizing be putting extra pressure on yourself to perform to perceive the "value" in it.

This is never a good idea IMO.

So you have a choice.

i). Accept your level of improvement will be a slow and steady with the amount of larger shoot experience you get - but this will mean you likely need to continue to shoot on the mainland at least once a month as you have been for a prolonged period but without being too hard on yourself.

ii). Try to push on even further / faster and spend more time on the mainland shooting more registered shoots. See if this creates the spark you want / need to continue to enjoy the hobby.  One of the things i would suggest if you do this is plan better around major shoots - so you maybe do 3 registered shoots over a week period coupled with some holiday time. 

iii). Accept that the majority of your shooting will be local club level and enjoy the hobby that way. If that means you shoot less / take a break to re-assess then so be it.

For me i discovered a planning routine that suits me best about 3 years ago. I am not a fan of shooting every week regardless at anything i can find locally as i just get bored quickly with the mundane nature of it so........ I shoot in batches of say 3 or 4 shoots then take a break for a week or two - and i mean totally. Then do the next batch etc. This keeps me keen and focus's my attention on the next batch of shoots once i complete the previous one. I also try and slate a larger shoot / specific shoot at the end of a batch to build up to with the aim of doing well if i am on form.

Plus i really only shoot competition between late March and early October with little or no practice. I make changes over winter to improve, then build up to my first batch of shoots, then shoot my "season" with my planned shoots. I typically shoot 17-18 events a season which in nssa skeet equates to about 5000-6000 registered targets for myself.

Its important to accept (some won't like this next statement) that shooting is a hobby / pastime for 95% of us (myself included) and we all enjoy it at varying levels. Of course shooting well means we enjoy it more - but accept that shooting well at YOUR level is more important than basing a good performance on expectation of some of the semi professional scores we see at shoots these days.

But equally i have found planning my hobby means i am more structured and get more enjoyment out of it. Just do not fall into the trap of over planning / thinking it.

Hope my ramblings make some kind of sense and help / give you something to think about...

Thanks for your suggestions, it certainly makes good reading.

That really is it in a nutshell, I think rather than roll up each weekend and shoot come what may, it might actually be better to structure things better by pencilling in more larger shoots throughout the season, whilst having a bit of time off in-between.

You're right in what you say that for 95% of us this is a hobby. Albeit somewhat frustrating in times, it's not what pays the bills and should be enjoyed accordingly. As I originally posted, its not about bringing scores into question, more about where the obligation/ enjoyment starts and finishes.

Thanks for everyones input, all taken onboard and I'll think on.

 

[Jaykaysea]

Hi Darren, 

As a fellow Islander I was pretty much where you are now about 18 months ago.

Going to the mainland shoots has really upped my game and if you get it planned right and get a car full together there is a shoot every Sunday that you can get to within a couple of hours pretty much every weekend ( OLSS, Podimore, Barbury, Four Counties, Weston Wood, Ower just off the top of my head) then if you share the ferry cost between 3 or 4 of you it becomes minimal extra cost for a lot more enjoyment.

Expect to go backwards before you go forwards, you have after all been shooting pretty much the same targets against the same backgrounds week after week so you have "learnt" them.

Variety really is the spice of life I have found....