On Target

[Chris J]

Morning,

First time posting on the forum and could do with a little advice: I have started to practice 10m pistol shooting with a view to moving on next year to joining a club and getting into competitions.
I the past I have shot prone rifle as a junior and the last few years spent shooting skeet which I did quite well at, so I realise practice and dedication are paramount to success.

Currently using a FWB 65 on my 10m range in the garden which I managed to shoot a 540/600 last year and on a couple of separate occasion hit a pb of 96/100. I did promise myself if I could break 540 I would splash out and buy a new pcp, but unfortunately I lacked the funds at the time and lost motivation because of this.

However I started up again over the last couple of months, but only plugging in 86-88 as an av at the moment – but my ability to group shots has got much better. Concentrating on shooting 25 shots at a 10m target and trying to keep as many in the within the 9 ring as poss 14 is av, 18 the best so far.

So this year I will defiantly be upgrading to a pcp within the next couple of months once I have achieved 540 again even if I have to put it on a credit card!!

So if anyone has any feedback on clubs within my area I would be interested – Bedford and Sywell seem to be the most local.
Does Northamptonshire have a pistol team?
I have it in my mind that to do any good in this sport I must start hitting the 540 mark (or at least be comfortable that decent shots will be released within the 9 ring) before I try to upgrade my kit or enter any comps – are the parameters I have outlined for myself reasonable to ensure some success at club level?
Tending to look towards either a Styer LP10 or FWB P44 for the next step as they both seem to offer a high level of adjustability and their performance is without question.

Oh, and if anyone knows a good pistol coach to turn to in the future please let me know.

[McTrucky]

Hi Chris and welcome,
Sounds like you are doing just fine. Keep practising the grouping and the scores will come; funny how when you chase scores they don't come... The secret is to accept that every shot will not be a 10.9, that if you do the process correctly, the shot will land inside whatever group you are capable of. Hold the 9 ring and you'll be shooting 560s - so if you work on grouping as you are doing you sail past 540 and need to buy yourself a new gun :-)

Sorry I can't help with clubs or coaches in your area, but I'll PM you a draft document that might be of interest.

Cheers
McT

[Rutty]

Chris,

Northants. Leics & Rutland (it's a combined county) does not run a county team although there is a county air pistol league that runs summer and winter. There is little 10m pistol shooting in Northants, but quite a lot in Leics. NTSC at Sywell does have facilities for 10m pistol but as far as I am aware do little competitive shooting in this discipline. The active pistol clubs in the counties are Holwell at Melton Mowbray and Leicester & District at Groby. If you live south of Northampton then you might well be better to consider joining Bedford Rifle Club.

There is a regional pistol squad that trains throughout the year and through this you can gain access to higher level coaching. However to join the squad you must be a member of a NSRA affiliated club or an Annual Member of the NSRA. I can provide details of the regional squad if you require them.

ATB
Rutty

[Chris J]

Hi,

Thanks for the feed back, very helpful. First time posting anything like this, so I really had no idea what response (if any) I would get.
I received the pm whilst shooting the fwb on a nice still evening, well timed. After feeling like I'd "cracked it" putting 5 in the 10 ring in a nice group I proceeded to throw them anywhere but thereafter! Trying too hard prehaps...So I'll read the info and start putting the relevant changes in place.

If you wouldn't mind send me the info please on the regional pistol squad that would be great. My plan is to hopefully be more compitant/ consistent by the early part of next year, join the nsra and find a club. I deffinatly rate the value of good coaching, it has undoubtedly helped me in my previous sports.Would the regional squad accept me at a novice leve or do I need to be hitting certain scores to be considered?

Not sure quite how good I'll get at all this, but for sure: if I don't try I'll never know!

Thanks again

[bulls_hitter]

There is a club in kettering that has a healthy air gun section.
Kettering and district rifle club. You can find them with a search on the web
Hope this is of some help
Steve

[colin57]

The most important thing is to enjoy your shooting. If you enjoy what you are doing the scores will come.

So good shooting and enjoy it.

Colin.