Getting ready for shooting mentally.

[Will Poon]

What are people's opinions on getting mentally ready for shooting?

[Old farrier]

Defiantly

 

You have to be in the zone

 

Never shoot a decent score if your minds else wear

 

Advise meditation relaxation total abstanance and defiantly no red wine

 

All the best

Of

[figgy]

Deffinately don't have a session on the drink the night before. I've done this a few times to many and my scores suffer greatly.

 

I was looking at my CPSA scores some howlers. If you can't concentrate your goosed. It's a balance of being relaxed but switched on, hard to try and do at will for me.

 

If it's a long day of competition in hot weather I will lose concentration for the last few stands most times.

 

Top shots have ways of getting in the zone.

Edited January 14, 2016 by figgy

[timps]

If I am late, which I invariably am, jump on my squad and shoot straight away my scores suffer.

If I am early get a brew, sit down and relax from the journey my scores are less rubbish.

 

I wouldn't say I get in the zone but rushing around does me no favours at all but neither does long queues and standing around.

 

A nice relaxed day seems to help my scores so I do whatever I can to help that.

I remember beretta off this forum telling me I looked like a bodybuilder all tensed up for a pose when I was really concentrating and to relax more but still keep the concentration.

 

I had no idea I was doing it I was concentrating that hard, I loosened up and it helped loads.

[FreeShot]

Building up Mental Stamina - google it up and you will find interesting things like:

 

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/mental-stamina

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Increase-Mental-Stamina

[Breastman]

I've got some of my best scores when i've been in a rush to get finished or chatting/joking around before going on the stand, presumably because i just shoot instincitively, rather than 'over thinking' the targets or second guessing myself. I suppose it comes down to the individual.

[Dunkield]

Interesting question.

I shot a round of clays over the Christmas break, a very easy caddied round, more of a social than anything else.

I hit one pair twice and then missed the next.

The caddy said 'stop thinking' so I did, and went back to hitting them

Not the same a preparing I know, but sometimes over thinking during can be an issue, that may of course only apply to routine shots as well?

[Jega]

I tend to get there nice and early .

Have a look at the guys in front ,just to get a rough idea of the general flight ,wind etc .

Once on the stand , a practice mount and swing at an imaginary clay , all the time visualising the clay breaking .

Then stop thinking and just go on instinct ,using the technique of ,mounting to the kill zone ,winding back to about 1/4 -1/3 of the flight path before picking it up visually then get in front of it and shoot .

After a while it just becomes habit and feels very natural .

I personally find that mental discipline is as much about practice and routine as much as anything .

[Hamster]

What are people's opinions on getting mentally ready for shooting?

 

This is very much a double edged sword, there is no question that mental preparedness and resilience is what separates the top layer from the also rans but in my umble view the vast majority of misses by ordinary folk is boring old organic, lack of knowledge/poor technique/poor execution/poor lots of other things before you can start blaming the mental side.

 

What I'm saying is that the majority will hit a lot more clays if they brushed up on their technical and application side, mental zen won't help if you don't know the tempo or lead needed in the first place. I personally will take the right method over Bruce Lee concentration all day long.

 

You see this happening every single day just watching average to good competitors tackle different stands, a B/A class shot can step up and straight a fairly tricky stand because he/she knows the method to suit those particular targets, five minutes later (and presumably floating on confidence) he'll step up and miss stuff that prior form would have presumed in the bag - not because he lacks mental ability but simply because of lack of technical ability, often you can very easily get them to connect by correcting a minor point or two (proof that the issue isn't mental) I believe GD has said as much in his articles.

 

Once you get to the very top though the mental side is hugely significant, I believe Mark Winser often talks about starting to get mentally into shape for important competitions a week before ! Clearly someone like him isn't going to easily trip up by method or technique, rather he appears to start to mentally shoot and win the comp repeatedly in his head in order to reinforce a positive outcome for the real thing.

[Smokersmith]

The zone is a beautiful place where you lose consciousness of what you're doing, and everything happens naturally.

 

When I drop a target at trap, there is normally a reason why before I ever call for the target.

 

Mind vs Target by Bob Palmer was a decent read ..... has anyone any other suggestions on books that can help you get in the zone?

 

I think folks can really increase their scores if they apply thinking to learn if it's technique, or other areas that cause the misses, rather than just turn up every week, do the same things, and then get surprised when they shoot similar scores.

[Scully]

One or two of my mates could certainly be considered mental; they're definitely ready for shooting.

I once read 'Positive Shooting' by him who shall not be named. Regardless of what others may think of him it isn't a bad book, but more biased towards good technique ( which in it's own way gets you in the zone ) than mental techniques. I learned quite a lot.

Interesting subject; I look forward to learning from those trap shooters on here.

[Mr_G]

I once read 'Positive Shooting' by him who shall not be named.

Apologies for my lack of knowledge here, but I've just Googled the author of Positive Shooting through curiosity of your post. Why shall he not be named?

[James1983]

I find if the Mrs is texting me nagging me to get home she really throws me off and I shoot ****!

When I go and can just relax and enjoy my shooting is when I am at my best I feel.

[ElvisThePelvis]

It's not sport specific really but there are some good golf focused books written by Bob Rotella that talk about mental imagery and 'getting out of your own way' and I believe that there is something in this, but you need to have the competence in the first place..

[Scully]

Apologies for my lack of knowledge here, but I've just Googled the author of Positive Shooting through curiosity of your post. Why shall he not be named?

Your guess is as good as mine, but try typing his name into your next post and see what happens. Hopefully I wont get into trouble for this, and my apologies for straying off topic.

Speaking of which, I once shot alongside Kevin Mayor a lot of years ago, and to watch him was superb. He never asked to see a pair, though he had obviously watched others shoot that same stand before him, and on getting into the stand he would mount the gun and trace the flightpath of each bird with his muzzles before dropping the gun from his shoulder and then calling for the bird. Obviously his mental preparation was invisible but his technique was so polished and slick and unbelievably unhurried that it was almost automated.

It was then that I realised what was going on, and it was the very same lesson learned from my many years in martial arts, and that is that speed and fluency is achieved by repetitive practise of good technique, to the extent that ultimately speed is all down to economy of movement. Get the technique right, time after time, and everything else follows.

Eventually, we hopefully get to the point where correct technique becomes instinctive, but that doesn't mean we can stop practising.

I was also once told by an instructor that once you have good technique, 110% concentration should be on the bird and your natural instinct will tell you when to pull the trigger, just like your natural instinct tells you when to close your hands round that cricket ball heading towards you.

I would have thought that concentration took care of the mental side of things, but as I don't compete at that level I couldn't really say. There must be many distractions even at top level.

[shaun4860]

 

This is very much a double edged sword, there is no question that mental preparedness and resilience is what separates the top layer from the also rans but in my umble view the vast majority of misses by ordinary folk is boring old organic, lack of knowledge/poor technique/poor execution/poor lots of other things before you can start blaming the mental side.

 

What I'm saying is that the majority will hit a lot more clays if they brushed up on their technical and application side, mental zen won't help if you don't know the tempo or lead needed in the first place. I personally will take the right method over Bruce Lee concentration all day long.

 

You see this happening every single day just watching average to good competitors tackle different stands, a B/A class shot can step up and straight a fairly tricky stand because he/she knows the method to suit those particular targets, five minutes later (and presumably floating on confidence) he'll step up and miss stuff that prior form would have presumed in the bag - not because he lacks mental ability but simply because of lack of technical ability, often you can very easily get them to connect by correcting a minor point or two (proof that the issue isn't mental) I believe GD has said as much in his articles.

 

 

I think a lot also depends on why you are shooting,

 

If you are out for a round with your mates and the banter is flowing then missing doesn't mean as much,

 

If however you are in a competition then missing means everything.

 

Hamster speaks a lot of sense.....look at some of the targets we shot at last years Essex......simple little incoming quartering birds, the size of dinner plates......everyone should have cleared that stand, I didn't because I didn't read the target properly...anything just floating is my bogie target if it's close in, give me a good fast crosser/looper than I can at least put on a good show.

 

Also shooting with people who are better than you can help if you follow them and watch what they are doing,

 

But at the end of the day, I shoot for fun and the craic and I enjoy it.......I'm not good enough to be worrying the top shots because I don't shoot enough (even i I did shoot enough I'm not good enough to worry them...lol)

 

Lessons with the likes of Ed Solomons would help most people, all depends what you want out of it.

 

I shoot with some people to whom winning means everything, my bro in law could come off a stand and tell you his score, and everyone on his squads score just so he would know if he was winning or not, that to me isn't enjoying it, it's just more pressure

 

[kingo15]

I do try this bit it doesn't always work. I do find find that some of my best results have come from shooting competitions with friends.

[Kermit the frog]

Slightly off the subject,

but I eating an quantity before I shoot has an adverse affect, it has got worse as I have got older.

Always seem to shoot better hungry!

 

kermit

[pull2007]

try this book trap shooting secrets james russel all the answers in there amazing tips

[100milesaway]

Your guess is as good as mine, but try typing his name into your next post and see what happens. Hopefully I wont get into trouble for this, and my apologies for straying off topic.

Speaking of which, I once shot alongside Kevin Mayor a lot of years ago, and to watch him was superb. He never asked to see a pair, though he had obviously watched others shoot that same stand before him, and on getting into the stand he would mount the gun and trace the flightpath of each bird with his muzzles before dropping the gun from his shoulder and then calling for the bird. Obviously his mental preparation was invisible but his technique was so polished and slick and unbelievably unhurried that it was almost automated.

It was then that I realised what was going on, and it was the very same lesson learned from my many years in martial arts, and that is that speed and fluency is achieved by repetitive practise of good technique, to the extent that ultimately speed is all down to economy of movement. Get the technique right, time after time, and everything else follows.

Eventually, we hopefully get to the point where correct technique becomes instinctive, but that doesn't mean we can stop practising.

I was also once told by an instructor that once you have good technique, 110% concentration should be on the bird and your natural instinct will tell you when to pull the trigger, just like your natural instinct tells you when to close your hands round that cricket ball heading towards you.

I would have thought that concentration took care of the mental side of things, but as I don't compete at that level I couldn't really say. There must be many distractions even at top level.

I was shooting with Kevin once at Catton Hall, We were on a stand with a couple of trailing pair left to right. The second bird was a lot slower than the first and slightly incoming.Kevin was in the stand and I was in next, standing about 4 foot back to the left, everytime he hit the second clay a small piece came off the clay and hit me on my hand.Talk about measureing he had it down to a thou. Talented or what... from Auntie.

[dougall]

I use the pigeonwatch in depth technique whereby i get up 30 minutes before shoot starts,have a coffee/smoke/turn out grab 100 ish mixed shells(usually of the right gauge) drive like a looney,run to registration and wake up properly by about stand 5.......is that not normal?

[figgy]

No you don't mention being hung over as well. That would be more normal for a Sunday morning comp.

[E27N_JD]

I use the pigeonwatch in depth technique whereby i get up 30 minutes before shoot starts,have a coffee/smoke/turn out grab 100 ish mixed shells(usually of the right gauge) drive like a looney,run to registration and wake up properly by about stand 5.......is that not normal?

that is basically where its at mate .

[kingo15]

No you don't mention being hung over as well. That would be more normal for a Sunday morning comp.

I think that will be the Essex's this year as there is 6 of us staying in a pub

[WinchesterDave]

Apologies for my lack of knowledge here, but I've just Googled the author of Positive Shooting through curiosity of your post. Why shall he not be named?

+1 on this haha... I've seen his YouTube videos? What's wrong with him lol...

Apologies for my lack of knowledge here, but I've just Googled the author of Positive Shooting through curiosity of your post. Why shall he not be named?

+1 on this haha... I've seen his YouTube videos? What's wrong with him lol...