10 m Air Rifle - how to hold steady under competition pressure?

[BigDuncs]

There I was last night, all confident, starting to practise for the new ‘league season’ and hoping to improve after an indifferent summer.

First 5 shots/sighters were 4x10s and 1x9. A great start and although I hadn’t intended to shoot my first set of cards last night, I thought that it would be foolish not to start after a better than expected result on the ‘practice’ card. All that home practice has been worth it.

Disaster. Dropped 18 on my first competition card, with one shot only scoring a 3! My worst card ever, and although I managed to pull the (4 card) total back to last season’s average – the thought remains just what it could have been if I hadn’t messed up that first card.

So, I have identified something that I had suspected for sometime. That trying too hard can mess things up.

I am not a particularly ‘serious’ 10m target shooter, but it’s a jolly difficult challenge and I do like how you can see/quantify your progress. It is also enormously helpful for improving my 'standing shots' in the field.

Any advice on how to replicate my good sighter card performance to my competition cards?!! Or, put another way, how to shoot straight under competition pressure?
Thanks in advance!

[big_phil555]

hi mate

have a look at post 12 here

http://www.airgunbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=479710

that should help

[jpayne]

I know what you mean, I am shooting around 520 in practise (10m pistol)), but on Sunday went along to my first ever competition and shot 492. What was really annoying was that my sighters were all 10s and 9s, with a couple of 8s, as soon as I started the actual competition I started shooting too many 6s and 7s.

I think I was definitely trying too hard/tensing up, so I am going to have to work on that when the stickers come through......

[another_dom]

The curse of the good sighter - I cringe whenever I form a nice group in the 10, as it isn't unknown for my first scoring shot to be an 8.

I now try to get into a rhythm and then make the transition to scoring shots as smoothly as possible - easier on electronic targetry I've found.

Dom.

[jpayne]

I think the electronic targets were part of the problem, my followthrough went out the window because I could not resist looking at the monitor to see what the score was..

[20series]

It's called "Stickeritus", a common malady amongst all who shoot competetively trust me I know.

The only way to get over it is to treat every card the same, not this is practice and this is a match card, the sub concious is a fickled beast.

Alan