Realistic Expectations

[jgb133]

I just started air pistol recently. I'm using a 45 year old Walther. I plan on shooting in a match at the end of February. What is a realisitic goal for the match? My goal is 510. I think I can do it. My major concern is nervousness for my first match ever in an unknown environment. I'm not concerned about not shooting astronomically high, I just don't want to embarrass myself around people who have $2,000 guns and eagle eyes.

[Rutty]

Impossible to say as you have given no indication of your progress so far, your previous experience and the amount of training that you can put in between now and the event. The one thing I will say is that what you should be concentrating on as a goal for your first match (and every match) is Performance Delivery, not Performance Outcome. You must arrive at the match focused on reproducing the technique that you have developed in training; stance, grip, sighting, trigger technique, rhythm; not the score that you hope to achieve. Scores are the results of technique and only increase as it develops and improves.

The best general advice is to go to the match intent upon enjoying it and learning from the experience. No one is watching you, they are all too busy shooting.

ATB
Rutty

[edbear2]

Although I don't shoot paper, I do shoot in a bell target league, so sympathise with your feelings somewhat. The answer Rutty gave is pretty much spot on as I have found no matter how much I practise technique etc. the match environment is the thing which defeats me. Bear in mind that in venues where I shoot the light is always different, and you may be in a noisy rural pub in say the lounge with 20-30 people crammed in, and the noisy locals at he next bar with dogs and all!

This is my second season, and although at home I can reel off possible after possible score, I struggle at match nights with my best being 24 x 25, but my average just over 21 this year

From all I have read, and I consume books as avidly as I can about all aspects of the sport, the secret is undoubtedly your mental approach, and this can be trained / worked on. The ideal is to be totally oblivious to your surrounds, and totally relaxed as if you were at home, but of course everything conspires against this in actuality, with this compounded in a team situation where you "don't want to let the side down".

If you shoot really well in practise, you know you are capable of the actual "job", it is when you are in a "performing" situation, where in your mind's eye at least you feel you are under close observation, that things go awry ....This is perfectly normal, and my best score was on an evening when I was helping with the scores and was at the front of the venue and realised that on looking round most people were just chatting away over a drink and not taking much notice of the shooting point...all of a sudden it was my turn, and I did well!

One book I can highly recommend, which goes into great detail about mental preparation for events, and explains things far better than I can is;

"Air Rifle Shooting" ...It is not cheap, but maybe the library could order it, or you could get a loan of a copy and scan some relevant pages which would give you some ideas...Good luck in any case, just relax and have fun and the scores will come!

[RobinC]

Rutty is spot on, each shoot be it practice or match, the focus is performance delivery, but the problem is delivering what you know you can and should do!
The key is concentration, concentration does not come naturaly, and some people find it very difficult, so you should practice it. There are concentration exercises which I can send to people if they email me, but you need to build concentration in your own club environment, then you can relate to it in a match. We have top level shooters in our club and we have a history of national team members, we long ago set club rules along the lines of "if you want silence provide it yourself, earplugs or defenders". Clearly deliberate noise is unsporting, but noise happens, live with it, people still talk on the firing point in our club, learn to concentrate through it.
Distractions and adverse conditions such as a different level of light, or anything diferent to what you are used to you can use to your advantage. Many (30!) years ago I sat and listened in awe as one of the top coaches in the world (an American) coached the GB squad, I have remembered one thing he stressed which I have taken through shooting and also used very successfuly in another sport, he said, to look at what ever you could consider to be a disadvantage, poor light, wind, noise, etc, etc, and to smile and say I like it like that!
Then convince yourself that you really do like it, look for things that others will not like and like them, and say openly I like this, then you will have an advantage! What happens phsycologically is that you do actually like them! If it can put off those made of weaker stuff then you like it. Ever wondered why some motor racers are good in the wet? Its often more the fact that the rest arn't so good!
Its also helpful to understand some aspects of what happens with nerves, the flow of adrenalin heightens muscle control and sharpens eyesight, its a body defence system its not bad, its good, you like it! Understand and accept that your sight picture will look a bit twitchier, thats generaly because you are seeing more, relax don't chase movement that is probably there in your own club but you are'nt seeing it, use it to refine a better aim, think relaxation and the muscles will do what they should by motored responses, twitches come from tension.
Practice relaxation techniques and concentrate to use them during a shoot, all shoots, practices, matches, what ever.
I know shooters who don't shoot well in practice but get focused in a match!
Have fun and Good shooting,
Robin

[derekm]

Don't worry about the $2000 guns.

If you can keep a cool head, you may well beat some of them.

As long as you have a "proper" target pistol, rather than a sport/plinking pistol it's the mutt behind the butt that counts.

[jgb133]

Thank you all for your replies, very good advice indeed. I really appreciate it.

[markwarren]

Reading RobinC's thread above has brought home what happened to me this weekend.

It was my very first competition, British Pistol Club Open, and it was held at Bisley.

Already quite nervous I went to my firing point and started to set up. The first thing I noticed was how bright the range was. Our club is quite dim in comparision and so this really did put a mental distraction in my head. If only I had used the 'I like it like this ...' technique. No, it stuck in there for the whole of my first day's shooting. I managed to sort out a filter for the following day.

The other mental block that installed itself was due to using the electronic targets. I have been shooting since May of last year and have only ever shot at our club, where we have target changers. I always rest my gun on the target changer control between shots. So, again for my first day, I was using a technique I was not used to i.e. having to hold the pistol between ths shots. Hind sight is great and perhaps I should have just put the pistol down between shots but I felt that would feel even more 'alien' to my usual setup.

All in all I think it demonstrates Robin's point that it is a very mental game. Turn everything into a positive - easier said than done though !!

I faired OK for my first comp. My usual average is 538 and I shot 524 on my first day and 530 on my second day, so although diappointed I suppose not too bad. Here's to next month and the Airgun Championships, again at Bisley, where the mental blocks will have been taken care of

Cheers and good shooting

Mark

PS Robin, I wouldn't mind a copy of the concentration exercises you mentioned in your reply.