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jake.keeling

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2011
Messages
558
Location
Isle of Man
Shoot one clay at a time is the good old advice, and that is how you shoot a 25 or 100 straight, but there is more to it, because your mind attaches more importance to some clays than others such as the first and last etc

 
I believe one of the most common mistakes the average clay shooter makes is to curse at the clay they have just missed and thereby losing concentration on the next one.The most important clay is the next one you are going to shoot at.The last clay no longer exists,hopefully because it's broken,don't think about it.  Vic.

 
Yep - and lots of threads.... we have cavalry coming to help as well.

 
i have to say, I know exactly What I should be doing, actually achieving it is something totally different. I do find this part of the sport the hardest to get right. When you are trying to watch your stance, speed of the clay, lead, etc etc I find it impossible to keep the mind focused, of course the trick is to make sure all these points are second nature and so you don't have to think about them - easier said than done!Has anyone got any little tips or routines to keep me / us "in the zone"?

 
I used to wear the same clothes and hat, not because of luck but everything remains the same, consistant.I agree with the motion to take each bird as it's own seperate job and not as a group.Always keep more shells in your pocket than you need for a stand / line so you dont think about ' it's the last pair because I only have two cartridges left ' and let the scorer tell you that you have finished.I only ever shoot with full ear defenders on so that I can not hear background chats, I find I can concentrate on what I am doing when I am unaware of someone else's problems, very useful if you are next to a ' gob on legs '.Just my own thoughts guys.Phil

 
From a professional perspective it is the challenge of the target and the challenge of the mind. There is very little reason why all targets should not be hit, putting aside technique, it is the computer between your ears that is the biggest help (and sometimes hindrance). I look forward to adding more details to the Forum.Clay Shooting Success website is dedicated to personal improvement in clay shooting through using mental skills. I am a keen follower of Shoot Clay and I have now added Shoot Clay as our preferred Forum.

 
Good to see you on here Phil, I have a copy of your ebook, and found it fascinating. As a mainly skeet shooter, all the clays are easy to hit, we've hit them in practise 100s of times. The problem in competition, is not missing any, which must be down to mental approach. It's a disipline where I can shoot a 91 one day, then a 99 the day after, and I never understand why that could be.

 
Welcome aboard Phil! Glad to have an expert in this field on the site.

 
technique is 1% of the issue, after many 1000,s of practised gunmounts and feet awareness sessions, move mount shoot lessons, targer acquisition assessments lessons and all the rest  One knows one can shoot to a reasonable standard on any given day. The trick is to get the mind focussed on a regular basis on many levels1. concentrate on ones  own performance and score not any one elses2. take each clay one at a time, even simmos, do not count into the future3. Get in the zone when one  needs to and come out when one needs to also4. believe in yourself Easy to write down but god its bloody hard to do!!!

 
The getting in the zone is the real challenge, to get this right one of the keys is visualisation of situations and also targets, this followed by a routine to use everytime you shoot - it is the routine that is the most important element. A top shot will know when they are in the "zone", plus how to get in that frame of mind - the zone is not an absolute point, but an area of peak performance.The top shot will use a routine that has become a sub conscious ruitine, and only ever thought about in a situation of pressure or poorer scores, keeping the routine simple and occupying the mind will eventually start to pay benefits.It is of course easy to write down, but just as a top shot will shoot round after round to perfect a target, it is also visualisation and adding positive target information to a mental/muscle memory to make the reaction to a target subconscious, this can be achieved through visualisation.

 
A few things, yes Ed this may take a while. The putting too many cartridges in pocket is a good one, but when you get more experienced it dosen't work and you will find that top shots know exactly how far into a round they are and have built up a solid routine which they trust in, which breeds confidence. Doing this allows you to immediately forget a miss because you trust the routine.Welcome Phil, good to have your input on the most important part of competitive clay shooting!

 
I put 12 shells in my pocket to allow for a no bird or two, too many more makes a big bulge. I also find I know exactly when to stop regardless of whether it's a 6/8 or 10 bird stand, also tend to know my score without really counting the card.

 
I suppose one of the issues could be that unlike nearly all other sports we have no physical contact with the end product so to speak it is a remote conclusion to an event some 20-50 yards awayin all other sports there is usually physical contact before during and at the final conclusion of the event .i.e. Fooball,Rugby,Tennis,Golf etc.I sometimes feel distanced with what I am trying to do. I am sure this is not making much sense but I thought I might throw it out there for discusssion.

 
I put 12 shells in my pocket to allow for a no bird or two, too many more makes a big bulge. I also find I know exactly when to stop regardless of whether it's a 6/8 or 10 bird stand, also tend to know my score without really counting the card.Yep, that's the sort of thing I was getting at with the title of this thread

 
To David, yes that's why it is hard to get into and stay in the Zone, we have actually have a lot in common with Golf though ie- too much thinking time and you deciding on action rather than say someone serving a tennis ball at you and you reacting to it.

 
Jake said:

To David, yes that's why it is hard to get into and stay in the Zone, we have actually have a lot in common with Golf though ie- too much thinking time and you deciding on action rather than say someone serving a tennis ball at you and you reacting to it.Yes I think thats the real issue for me, too much time to think !!! all that standing around waiting to shoot and when you  are in there remembering what you had decided to do goes to pot because the picture you had has changed !!!Finding a way of switching on and off is I suppose the key element in keep oneself mentally strong and fresh for each stand/target. The other big issue for me is if I am concentrating I find it hard to socialise which is a big reason why I enjoy shooting !!!/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-frown.gif a miserable winner !!/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-cool.gif
 
Jake said:

To David, yes that's why it is hard to get into and stay in the Zone, we have actually have a lot in common with Golf though ie- too much thinking time and you deciding on action rather than say someone serving a tennis ball at you and you reacting to it.Yes I think thats the real issue for me, too much time to think !!! all that standing around waiting to shoot and when you  are in there remembering what you had decided to do goes to pot because the picture you had has changed !!!Finding a way of switching on and off is I suppose the key element in keep oneself mentally strong and fresh for each stand/target. The other big issue for me is if I am concentrating I find it hard to socialise which is a big reason why I enjoy shooting !!!/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-frown.gif a miserable winner !!/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-cool.gif</Oh so many mental areas and not enough time to talk about them!This is another classic, if you are in a Squad who are having a laugh, you will enjoy it more but are unlikely to win!
 
reclusive shooting is the answer then !! speak to no one ,acknowledge no one and win!! I'll stick to occasional good scores and having a laugh/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif

 
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