Getting worse

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Rammy

Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2018
Messages
24
:frown:  I'm fairly new on here, and to clay shooting.

practice makes perfect right. Unless your me, turn up at shoot doesn't matter what it is Dtl, compak or English sporting first round half decent score ( not great but not too bad ) next round, worse, by quite a bit then level stays around there for rest of day. 

Seems the more I think about it the more I miss, thought it was just because I was a beginner but a year on its becoming very frustrating. 

 
Lessons? I've only been shooting since about August and appears my ceiling is roughly in the 60s so I'm content with getting that fairly regularly, but was talking just today about there's a point when one is either happy with where they are or if they want to get better, to push on, then you might need self study or coaching to attain improvement.

I'm the former cos I've only shot 10 or so times so lots to learn about what I'm doing in myself still, and each time I go I work out what I need to work on, what I'm doing 'wrong', but still sure if I plug away I'll crack 70 and that will do me for now, it's enough, but do you need someone to point you right or analyse why what you're saying happens happens?

Used to see it a lot with people getting disparaged with instruments cos not everyone picks up a guitar and discovers they're naturally Gary Moore!

 
I used to shoot rifle and pistol and wasn't a bad shot really, so thought I'd take to clays easily, only when I had a lesson found out I was strongly left eye dominant so tried shutting one eye, both eyes open with dot on glasses, using my thumb to loose the barrels, gone to both eyes open I see the bird clearest then close one eye. 

I know I can hit em, I'll just have to do first round or first few stands then go home before I start missing them  :D

 
You can't not miss, it's how often and whether the misses could realistically be cured and I'd say in your case they almost certainly can. Most new clay shooters forget to have a routine, what I mean by that is that you need to have a set up, load, address, call and reset procedure

This means you can eliminate erratic pre-address behaviour, an example is when you watch someone call for the target while the barrels are still in the act and motion of their ghost swing at the line of the target. Then on the next shot they'll mount the gun and call, then call while closing the gun.......................all this means that they can never begin to understand or comprehend what's really taking place from shot to shot. 

Once you've established a clear set up routine for yourself (on each and every stand) it will become much easier to replicate successful shots and understand the causes of misses. 

 
 Practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect . Poor practice makes for poor performance .  We all have our own glass ceiling that we are trying to either break through on not fall through .  You have mentioned three seperate disciplines you are shooting all having a specific techniques if you wish to be competitive one of them using a different gun if you want to be at the highest level  .  So perhaps the question is what are you shooting objectives and where do you want to go ?  Don’t ever compare yourself to other people , that’s a sure way to start a downward spiral , even on a Sunday club  shoot , you might well find a GB team member who is going to make everyone else look average . 

So for my unqualified two happorth .  Just stick with one discipline for the time being . Rather than  just shooting  “ rounds “ ,   Also  find a shooting school or ground with a claymate system where you can take a target ten , twenty or fifty times rather than seeing it just once ( in the instance of a Compak stand ). Get your mount, stance , and gunfit looked at .   Build up your technique by repetition so that it is second nature just as you did in pistol shooting  .  If you can do it on your own great if you can’t you need guidance , and that’s not a mate who shoots 5 points better than you .  Establish a real level you want to achieve for the effort you want to put in .  

I only shoot for pleasure , but the guys on here who are AA class shooters in any discipline are not doing it as a  mere hobby , they are investing large amounts of cash shooting tens of thousands of  ( high quality ) targets a year for many years , to achieve their constistancy 

 
Just a thought, but when I've shot rifle and pistol before they were static targets so if that's the case with you too then is that one area or characteristic unique to shotgun over those previous disciplines where you had success?

 
:frown:  I'm fairly new on here, and to clay shooting.

practice makes perfect right. Unless your me, turn up at shoot doesn't matter what it is Dtl, compak or English sporting first round half decent score ( not great but not too bad ) next round, worse, by quite a bit then level stays around there for rest of day. 

Seems the more I think about it the more I miss, thought it was just because I was a beginner but a year on its becoming very frustrating. 
Can I add my little piece here?  When you first learned to drive you would have been terrible.  When you first tried to get your head around maths it would have been pretty difficult.  This game is no different.  The tools you have will smash clays no problem at all, as will any football score a goal etc......in the right hands and feet.

This game is one of hand eye co-ordination and getting used to the tools.  I was the same 7 years ago.  Going out and shooting 50% then 40% then getting angry and shooting 30%.

Without a doubt, a good coach changed that.  He taught me how to mount the gun at home.  Learn from a good coach and practice good gun mounting......thats cheap.  You develop muscle memory and believe me 5 minutes of solid gun mounting burns calories!!!!

Take a lesson one week.......shoot the practice another week. 1 on - 1 off.  

The reason you are dropping targets (most likely), is because you go in with enthusiasm and just shoot.  Your brain takes over and instincts kill the target.  On the next round, you wish to improve and you will more than likely be "Thinking" how to hit it, and your scores will drop.  Then on the 3rd attempt, after beating yourself up, your mindset has changed from positive (first thing) to negative, and you will repeat your mistakes, dropping the scores again.

Try a coach.  Investing in a good one will save you years of heartache, and you will develop consistency and your own style.

I hope that helps!

 
Some good advice from MartynB and Hamid IMO. (Edit. And Geordie). We can all guess what the issue is, but coaching on a forum is not the key.. For my guess, I agree, you really need a method that ensures every shot is approached in the same way. Instinct and timing type methods will change with your mood, so try and shoot like a good robot, not a diva.

 
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Thanks for reply’s, Geordieboy hit the nail on the head my second round I’m going through the process usually best scores are when I’m not thinking about it, when I get the good score I think about what I did then try to replicate it with a system look hold point kill point etc 

thats when it starts to go wrong and frustration kicks in, I’m in it for the fun but I’m personally critical, I’m pleased when I come home with a consistent score. 

I do practice gun mount at home and arms do burn after a few minutes. 

I did focus on DTL as it’s similar to range shooting, but found on sporting the only birds I hit well were going away my theory is more variety of targets would help. 

I think I’ll have to go to bisley and try same target over and over, and some lessons in the new year 😁 

 
Shooting is something that you either can or cannot do.  If after a couple hundred targets you are not scoring near 100% you obviously have not the talent for it and should give up.  You likely also get drunk easily, regularly fail with women, and usually exude an unpleasant odor.  I could offer some advice but you'd prolly not be capable of comprehending it.

That being said you should realize that you are in like company with many other shooters.    You're the lifeblood of shooting forums where a blind eye to rational advice is a near requisite.  A quick perusal of nearly any topic here will show you the truth of that.   

 Welcome to the club.

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The reason you are dropping targets (most likely), is because you go in with enthusiasm and just shoot.  Your brain takes over and instincts kill the target.  On the next round, you wish to improve and you will more than likely be "Thinking" how to hit it, and your scores will drop.  Then on the 3rd attempt, after beating yourself up, your mindset has changed from positive (first thing) to negative, and you will repeat your mistakes, dropping the scores again.
This is a true observation, if i may elaborate with my thoughts which are pretty much the same.

When competing (even against oneself) one of three things happen.

1 - You start off well but give it no thought and continue to shoot each target well.

2 - you start off well and in an attempt to keep this good performance going you start to try to "not to miss" (the not to miss is a crucial point)

3 - you start off badly and in an attempt to save the day you start trying "not to miss"

So, what we have is the different mindset of shooting to hit the target and trying not to miss, the latter does not work. Each target is a singular competition and should be approached with full commitment to hit it. 

 
So, what we have is the different mindset of shooting to hit the target and trying not to miss, the latter does not work. Each target is a singular competition and should be approached with full commitment to hit it. 
Exactly!  Process  - - - Not Result

 
I think Ips' point is a good one about hitting instead of not missing, and it had me genuinely thinking of which I actually do when I'm off the mark a little, so the obvious question would be what recommendations could people proffer to help achieve the former and avoid the latter?

 
I think Ips' point is a good one about hitting instead of not missing, and it had me genuinely thinking of which I actually do when I'm off the mark a little, so the obvious question would be what recommendations could people proffer to help achieve the former and avoid the latter?
As above, one has to treat every target as a "singular competition" when you have finished shooting "to hit" each target you then find out if you did well enough to win...do not concern oneself with how others are performing as there is nothing you can do about that, the only thing you have any effect on is "the next target" forget those before it or those to come. This is all easier said than done of course but if that was not so we would all be champions.

The process of shooting is reasonably easy to learn and reasonably easy to maintain any degree of consistency however the mental fortitude required to win is quite another thing and is THE only thing that will make you win.

 
The process of shooting is reasonably easy to learn and reasonably easy to maintain any degree of consistency however the mental fortitude required to win is quite another thing and is THE only thing that will make you win.
That "mental fortitude" may be better characterized as "brainless".  As with many athletic activities, intellectual excellence is not a necessity.  Intense consideration of every element of a target presentation and the proper approach may often prove less than satisfying.  The "Just Do It" slogan has some embedded advice of worth to shooters.

JMO of course - - YMMV

 
That "mental fortitude" may be better characterized as "brainless".  As with many athletic activities, intellectual excellence is not a necessity.  Intense consideration of every element of a target presentation and the proper approach may often prove less than satisfying.  The "Just Do It" slogan has some embedded advice of worth to shooters.

JMO of course - - YMMV
I totally agree. The just do it slogan as you refer to it is really the mental strength (fortitude) to be able to

A - treat every target as a singular competition and being able to forget earlier misses or future misses.

B - to be able and willing to trust ones own natural (or indeed contrived) ability / technique.

imho of course

 
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