I seem to have lost it

[Tom b]

Ok you will have to excuse my bellyaching but something seems to have gone awry with my shooting and I need to vent my frustration.

Back in October I began to shoot registered shoots, after shooting 300 registered target I received my classification in c class and everything started with a bang.

I seemed to shoot out of my skin winning c class twice then a couple of seconds and various thirds, I also shot the Dubai style shoot at windrush and finished on 54! Lately though I seem to be struggling to hit a barn door with a shovel. All confidence has in my shooting has gone, I'm hanging onto targets that I would have previously dusted, I'm over leading a lot of targets that clearly don't need it and don't even get me started on close stuff.

What I'm trying to get at is, is this normal or is this my shooting now and I just need to live with it? If so does anyone want to buy a perazzi and 1000 super fasts?

 

[Sian]

It's a blip and someone with experience will come along and offer some advice

 

[ips]

Simples. imo you reached a stage were you could see your potential and started to try to hard and anylise everything. This from my experience is fatal. Next shoot just mount and shoot the next target. Easy peasy.

 

[tiptop]

Hopes the sales go well for you. :haha:

 

[MJJ]

Everyone goes through the same sort of thing. It will happen if you have not been shooting long, as the learning curve is steep and you improve quickly to a given standard - then hit a brick wall. Not to worry it will pass. Just shoot and stop thinking about the targets.

 

[Paul120]

Simples. imo you reached a stage were you could see your potential and started to try to hard and anylise everything. This from my experience is fatal. Next shoot just mount and shoot the next target. Easy peasy.

+1

 

[MJJ]

PS £2000 cash!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tom b]

Don't tempt me!

 

[Will Hewland]

Go back and shoot some very easy targets. Rediscover the basics and go from there. As a new shooter you will evolve without realising. I recall after about a year, I had to give everything less lead, as I had become more fluid and faster without realising.

 

[sibaldib]

I had to double check that his wasn't my post!

After doing reasonably well and showing genuine improvement over the last year, the last two weeks have been disastrous for me. I don't feel I'm doing anything differently but my last three scores have been 15-20% below what I would have expected. I also have a massive lack of consistency. Today I straighted a stand then on the next couldn't find a pair of quartering birds and was lucky to chip one.

Meanwhile my shooting partner is going from strength to strength.

All very depressing.

 

[Tom b]

It's just the pure frustration of being able to do something relatively well and then all of a sudden loosing it, it's a year this weekend that I first picked up a shot gun and over the 12 months it has got better and better until recently where it's all gone to sh!te.

 

[maddmatt]

Tom, go see a coach, two reasons, 1 this is normal for someone learning to shoot and 2 you need a coach to help you develop a solid technique so when things start to go wrong you have the ability to go back to basics.

 

[westley]

Maybe it is time that you sought the advice of a GOOD Instructor, sounds like you are 'thinking' too much and have possibly picked up a bad habit.........................or two !  It often needs someone on the outside to spot these things.

 

[Tom b]

This is another thing that frustrates me, i see a coach in the south west that is fairly well renowned and comes very highly recomended. I have developed a fairly sound routine and technique with said coach so I don't think that's where the issue is, also when I'm at a coaching session I seem to shoot well and do everything that we have worked on.

 

[RobertBeard]

Ok you will have to excuse my bellyaching but something seems to have gone awry with my shooting and I need to vent my frustration.

Back in October I began to shoot registered shoots, after shooting 300 registered target I received my classification in c class and everything started with a bang.

I seemed to shoot out of my skin winning c class twice then a couple of seconds and various thirds, I also shot the Dubai style shoot at windrush and finished on 54! Lately though I seem to be struggling to hit a barn door with a shovel. All confidence has in my shooting has gone, I'm hanging onto targets that I would have previously dusted, I'm over leading a lot of targets that clearly don't need it and don't even get me started on close stuff.

What I'm trying to get at is, is this normal or is this my shooting now and I just need to live with it? If so does anyone want to buy a perazzi and 1000 super fasts?

If you are hanging on you are trying to make sure when you should be hitting them when they are close and before they get away from you.  Turn your brain off and select auto pilot and shoot them quickly and instinctively!

Well its what I do when I'm shooting crap and it works for me but I'm a very lowly C class shot!

 

[ips]

Too much thinking too much trying to make it happen. End of.

 

[MJJ]

Just to make you feel better - I picked up a new gun (to me) two weeks ago and could not hit a barn door with it.

So i had a bit of cast off put on it and i'm back to hitting a cows arse now.

Its a totally different make to what i usually shoot, but i am going to stick with this for everything - its just soooo nice to shoot

 

[teepee1234]

What Maddmatt said.

It's been happening to me lately.  Over-thinking, trying too hard, losing fluidity, checking.  Confidence drops along with scores.

Go shoot a couple of straw balers and start with a "couldn't give a monkey's" attitude.  Or try a new coach.  Or both.

 

[Hamster]

This is another thing that frustrates me, i see a coach in the south west that is fairly well renowned and comes very highly recomended. I have developed a fairly sound routine and technique with said coach so I don't think that's where the issue is, also when I'm at a coaching session I seem to shoot well and do everything that we have worked on.

I take it we're talking ESP here in which case you need a very extensive repertoire of techniques, good mind management, routine and a big portion of positive mental attitude. If currently you're stepping into the cage with stooped shoulders and low expectations your reward will be fairly predictable. 

Everyone will suffer from these blips and they always seem to drag for a few weeks, part of the art of a good shooter is working out what the causes are and take steps to rectify them. I bet if you were to be accompanied by a high end shooter for a round or two they'd spot some very obvious flaws in not just your technique but application and tempo too.