Sporting shoots. Your personal accounts. 2022
- Thread starter Will Hewland
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Jonny English
Well-known member
Shot the 50 bird 6 stand sporting course at the game fair yesterday as part of the Cpsa COC. Shot it really early on to beat the queues so got done before 10. A nice mix of targets, some bag fillers and 2 or 3 targets to push your ability. My dt11 is still away for repair so had to borrow a gun to go shoot with. After a 5.00 start to the day and a 2 1/2 hour drive I was pretty pleased with a 42, didn't have to worry about keeping the gun out for the super final at least. Churchill have done a really good job with the course, very nicely balanced for what it needed to do and the event in hand. The volume of people shooting it in the afternoon was huge.
Watched the superfinal in perazzi sportrap arena. Some excellent targets on show and a superb performance by Ben Hollamby to win on 22. Again there were probably 3 bag filler targets and 2 that were pretty stiff, coupled with some challenging sim pairs. Superfinal gathered a decent crowd to watch as well.
All in all really nice and well attended event.
Watched the superfinal in perazzi sportrap arena. Some excellent targets on show and a superb performance by Ben Hollamby to win on 22. Again there were probably 3 bag filler targets and 2 that were pretty stiff, coupled with some challenging sim pairs. Superfinal gathered a decent crowd to watch as well.
All in all really nice and well attended event.
Westfield today, little light rain but didn’t last. Simo teal and driven on report got me as always 4/8 and 3/8. A right to left crossing bird on edge also got me and missed all four. Occasional good shooting from me on some stands including a biggish battue. A left to right quartering missed the first two then remembered what Cheryl told me to do and got the next two so was happy with that. Saw a few folks out and about including Mr Hewland.
chippy
Well-known member
Eriswell today some very clever and deceptive targets. An ex world champion only hit 83 so I was fairly happy with 81 first time out with a new gun. 95 high which was very good shooting.
Westfield for me too, even though I was sworn off registered till after treatment. Fact is cabin fever got the better of me and given the good shooting weather I just had to get out for a pop at the clays.
Enjoyed the course today, my consistency is still lacking but everything was hittable as MM showed. I'm finally getting to understand how to shoot with prescription glasses too. Had a chat with Sian, bumped in Clynt and lots of people from around the region so a good day to be out.
Jasper seems to have had pretty good day too with a cracking 95. Well done mate.
Enjoyed the course today, my consistency is still lacking but everything was hittable as MM showed. I'm finally getting to understand how to shoot with prescription glasses too. Had a chat with Sian, bumped in Clynt and lots of people from around the region so a good day to be out.
Jasper seems to have had pretty good day too with a cracking 95. Well done mate.
.EJC for me today and shot with strangers but a nice group to shoot with. I thought it a good shoot, not overly hard which doesn’t reflect in my score! I missed three second birds on the first stand which was very sloppy having found the first one. It was a sim pair crow and right to left curving dropping thing. Stand 2 on report driven 8/8 taken as crossers. On stand 3 I missed the first bird then shot fine and then missed the last pair. Up on the scaffolding right to left orange across the back and a right to left orange from left to right corner. Stand 4 I missed the last pair - now stupid twice in a row. That was a sim pair midi/mini (small) coming over the bank and a left to right close in. Stand 5 left to right orange not high and a right to left slightly lower I think and although I didn’t like the idea of these mainly the colour against the background I missed only the first one and I shot them right at the end of their journey where I could see them. Stand 6 a sim pair one a midi I think which was one of my two worst stands and I kicked myself because I should not have missed 5 but I rushed myself. Carrying irritation onto stand 7 right to left rising and left to right crosser I missed the first crosser and the third pair! stand 8 left to right quartering but a slow showing a lot orange that did dance a bit on a breeze and a smaller (not sure what size) right to left higher black clay left to right corner a straight! Stand 9 was bad, simple orange teal but paired with a left to right chondel going out not across. I couldn’t get comfortable for both and missed 5, first two pairs and the last bird. All I could think was I managed a much harder Westfield battue on Sunday with no problem. I think missing it was more to do with not standing correctly. Stand 10, 11 and 12 straight. Stand 10 a smaller black left to right battue I think - William will correct me and an orange right to left bunny. Stand 11 sim black pair off the little tower right to left. Stand 12 up in the middle section right to left black and a right to left battue god knows. There were definitely a few that I missed that really I shouldn’t but consistency is my nemesis. 78/100. I had a lovely warm crusty bacon roll to start.
Bebo
Well-known member
Churchills as well. Stand 10 lr was a midi rather than a battue. I had a day of having the yips. Two trigger flinches and on 7 stands I dropped either the last pair or the last bird. Trying too hard and hanging on as a result. Totally stuffed the sim pair on 6 missed 7. 17 away on the first 6 stands, managed to regroup a bit and only drop 7 on the 2nd half. Finished on 76, but if I'd been less nervy definitely an 80+ available with those targets. No idea why I get like that and I need to work out how to stop myself doing it.
Will Hewland
Well-known member
My study of a human mind in turmoil continues. Unfortunately it’s my own. It’s been a year of swapping guns (as some poor unfortunates who’ve listened to me will know). I now have a new Beretta 694, which was a move designed to clear my head and move on. A good ordinary gun. I do like it and a journey to normality is on, but still with bumps in the road.
A reasonable 88 at Hornet last week on a good course. Then at Westfield on Sunday, after 9 stands I was so annoyed with being messy I was swearing to take 2 months off. Then I straighted the last three stands and regained a bit of inspiration.
Went to Coleys on Wednesday feeling more bullish and despite a couple of daft misses (which is normal for me) I managed a 90. So went to EJC yesterday feeling like all was good and was messy as heck again. Only missed two targets on first pairs throughout, but couldn’t focus well enough after that and hit 81. I never found the first target in the grouse!
So up and down now. Let’s see what Honesberie holds on Sunday.
A reasonable 88 at Hornet last week on a good course. Then at Westfield on Sunday, after 9 stands I was so annoyed with being messy I was swearing to take 2 months off. Then I straighted the last three stands and regained a bit of inspiration.
Went to Coleys on Wednesday feeling more bullish and despite a couple of daft misses (which is normal for me) I managed a 90. So went to EJC yesterday feeling like all was good and was messy as heck again. Only missed two targets on first pairs throughout, but couldn’t focus well enough after that and hit 81. I never found the first target in the grouse!
So up and down now. Let’s see what Honesberie holds on Sunday.
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chippy
Well-known member
Will Hewland
Well-known member
If its going to be 20 shoots to sort me out, I wanna get it over with quicklyYour problem is that your not shooting enough
Bebo
Well-known member
Kibworth today and more of the same. Started off fine, then started hanging on and flinched four times, through the middle stands. Last four stands I only dropped two targets. 76 again and I made massively hard work of getting to that.
I need to stop thinking about not missing and turn it around to thinking about what to do to hit them. I've had a good run recently and I've gone into average protection mode. Have to give myself a firm kick up the backside to get out of it.
I need to stop thinking about not missing and turn it around to thinking about what to do to hit them. I've had a good run recently and I've gone into average protection mode. Have to give myself a firm kick up the backside to get out of it.
Average protection mode is fatal and putting that pressure on yourself leads to hanging on which according to my theory is a primary cause of flinching. But you probably already know that.
As Jim, the ex manager at Ian Coley's used to say: "Stop thinking and just shoot the bloody thing".
Jonny English
Well-known member
Sounds like there are a few people here struggling with consistency and mind control.
I would strongly recommend giving Lesley Goddards, Shooting Secrets book a read. It's a trap based book but can be converted to sporting with a few tweaks. All about controlling the mind and the perfect one shot routine. She talks about routine and how every shot or pair of shots has to be identical, and how to control your mind in-between targets. It can take a bit of adapting to sporting but the key elements are there.
I would strongly recommend giving Lesley Goddards, Shooting Secrets book a read. It's a trap based book but can be converted to sporting with a few tweaks. All about controlling the mind and the perfect one shot routine. She talks about routine and how every shot or pair of shots has to be identical, and how to control your mind in-between targets. It can take a bit of adapting to sporting but the key elements are there.
Funny that, it's exactly what Mrs Jasper said once when I was reffing at Longridge.I feel lucky that thinking is not in my skill set.
Jasper.
Bebo
Well-known member
Went back this morning. Couldn't find the first bird (a lr crosser) on a sim pair over the pond yesterday. Shot it on it's own, two hits. Then shot 8 sim pairs and straighted it. Sim pair of lr in the valley where I dropped two pairs yesterday. Shot a pair on report, then 7 sim pairs, dropped one clay on the second pair. Definitely all in my head.
Will Hewland
Well-known member
Yeah I did that with a long target at EJC, which was on a month ago in the reg. Never hit it on the day. Mashed it immediately practicing something two weeks later. Groundsman swore it was same target. Looked 10 yards closer and a bucket of easier when I wasn’t thinking about it.
Bebo
Well-known member
Barrow for me. Mental battle continues. Not quite as bad as Friday, but still had a couple of flinches. Two stands in particular I mucked up. A rl rabbit and lr crosser, nothing difficult, but I flinched on the first target and then had that in my mind so was holding on to everything for the rest of the stand costing me 5 on a stand that I'd expect to fill in. Sim pair with a floppy teal, couldn't stop myself rushing the teal and shooting over it until the last pair. Finished on 75, better than my last visit to Barrow, so shouldn't kick myself too much I suppose.
