At what point do you abandon the shot?

My slow fire scores are stalled around 90. I've noticed that my best scores usually have a fair amount of start overs. So when to abort the shot?

People will say anything around the 7-10 second mark and some answers may vary on that detail. Some shooters hold much longer and do fine. Really my big "red flag" is if I'm thinking "almost there..." or if I'm fighting to get settled and stay there, like the shot was never there to begin with... put it down.

This is what I have in my notes;  it is from Keyholed

The dot's arc of movement isn't centered? Abort.
Dot moving too much? Abort.
Conscious effort on the trigger? Abort.
Starting/stopping the trigger? Abort.
Lost focus on my target? Abort.
Holding longer than 4 seconds? Abort.

Thinking about anything else other than this shot? Abort.

Amin minor distraction, any flaw with your shot process, or during the shot process, put it down.

Aprilian wrote:This is what I have in my notes;  it is from Keyholed

The dot's arc of movement isn't centered? Abort.
Dot moving too much? Abort.
Conscious effort on the trigger? Abort.
Starting/stopping the trigger? Abort.
Lost focus on my target? Abort.
Holding longer than 4 seconds? Abort.

Thinking about anything else other than this shot? Abort.

Conscious effort on the trigger is a MUST! Trigger trumps everything else. Early shots almost always better than late shots on SF. If it doesn't feel right, look right or any distraction, then abort.
Jon

My simple rule (which I too often have not followed), if you think you might need to abort, then you in fact do need to. I have occasionally succeeded on a forced shot, but not as often as I've cursed it. I'm getting better at following that rule.

I'm like weber, if the thought even enters my mind I'm lowering the pistol. Usually if I continue the shot process I regret it, I've never regretted lowering the pistol.

Yup, as soon as the thought even starts to enter your mind.

I try to tell myself that aborting a shot is just like shooting a 10: I picked the gun up, and when I set it back down again, I hadn't dropped a single point.

There's probably a more positive way to phrase that.

Aprilian wrote:
The dot's arc of movement isn't centered? Abort.
Dot moving too much? Abort.
Conscious effort on the trigger? Abort.
Starting/stopping the trigger? Abort.
Lost focus on my target? Abort.
Holding longer than 4 seconds? Abort.

If I followed these rules, I would never shoot a shot.  I try to always think trigger and I also try to focus on the dot, never the target.
I know there are different approaches, but this is the way it works for me.  When do I abort a shot?  When that little voice in my head says so.
Phil

PMcfall wrote:If I followed these rules, I would never shoot a shot...
Phil

Good statement!

Seek what you wish to find.  If you are searching for all the reasons to fail, how can you ever succeed.  Spend time learning, and then looking for, reasons to continue and if they are not recognized, abort.

RE, the original post:  If you are stalled, you might be at the pinnacle of your current shot plan.  You may have to change something in it to move past the block.  Sometimes we need to let go of something we dearly embrace and change our view of a solidly accepted aspect.

Ed Hall wrote:

PMcfall wrote:If I followed these rules, I would never shoot a shot...
Phil

Good statement!

Seek what you wish to find.  If you are searching for all the reasons to fail, how can you ever succeed.  Spend time learning, and then looking for, reasons to continue and if they are not recognized, abort.

RE, the original post:  If you are stalled, you might be at the pinnacle of your current shot plan.  You may have to change something in it to move past the block.  Sometimes we need to let go of something we dearly embrace and change our view of a solidly accepted aspect.

I think my "shot plan" probably is the issue. I don't have much of a plan other than point gun, shoot... other than my stance I couldnt really say I have a consistent process.

orpheoet wrote:

Ed Hall wrote:

PMcfall wrote:If I followed these rules, I would never shoot a shot...
Phil

Good statement!

Seek what you wish to find.  If you are searching for all the reasons to fail, how can you ever succeed.  Spend time learning, and then looking for, reasons to continue and if they are not recognized, abort.

RE, the original post:  If you are stalled, you might be at the pinnacle of your current shot plan.  You may have to change something in it to move past the block.  Sometimes we need to let go of something we dearly embrace and change our view of a solidly accepted aspect.

I think my "shot plan" probably is the issue. I don't have much of a plan other than point gun, shoot... other than my stance I couldnt really say I have a consistent process.

 I was thinking to myself the very words you wrote here David Re: my "shot plan"

Multiracer wrote:

orpheoet wrote:

Ed Hall wrote:

PMcfall wrote:If I followed these rules, I would never shoot a shot...
Phil

Good statement!

Seek what you wish to find.  If you are searching for all the reasons to fail, how can you ever succeed.  Spend time learning, and then looking for, reasons to continue and if they are not recognized, abort.

RE, the original post:  If you are stalled, you might be at the pinnacle of your current shot plan.  You may have to change something in it to move past the block.  Sometimes we need to let go of something we dearly embrace and change our view of a solidly accepted aspect.

I think my "shot plan" probably is the issue. I don't have much of a plan other than point gun, shoot... other than my stance I couldnt really say I have a consistent process.

 I was thinking to myself the very words you wrote here David Re: my "shot plan"

I'm thinking we may have arrived at the difference between Expert and Master/High Master....

weber1b wrote:My simple rule (which I too often have not followed), if you think you might need to abort, then you in fact do need to. I have occasionally succeeded on a forced shot, but not as often as I've cursed it. I'm getting better at following that rule.

This is excellent advice and is helping me.

thanks

I abort when the sight is no longer clear. I also abort when my normal movement isn't normal.

Jon Eulette wrote:

Aprilian wrote:This is what I have in my notes;  it is from Keyholed

The dot's arc of movement isn't centered? Abort.
Dot moving too much? Abort.
Conscious effort on the trigger? Abort.
Starting/stopping the trigger? Abort.
Lost focus on my target? Abort.
Holding longer than 4 seconds? Abort.

Thinking about anything else other than this shot? Abort.

Conscious effort on the trigger is a MUST! Trigger trumps everything else. Early shots almost always better than late shots on SF. If it doesn't feel right, look right or any distraction, then abort.
Jon

Let me clarify that. When I say "Conscious effort on the trigger", I'm referencing the feeling of having to squeeze harder.

I'm no great shakes, but I'm okay at ID SF. I'm happy with 10s, and I'll take 9s if they're to-call, anything else and I can tell I made an error. I'm fine with making errors When I'm shooting SF, I'm trying to not think about anything at all. I would say, by your lingo, I'm applying conscious effort, in that I'm deciding when to start squeezing. After that, I just let that thing squeeze itself and keep an eye on how it's going. Finger knows what he's s'posed to do.

When I speak of that conscious effort as a negative, I'm specifically thinking about that feeling of "needing to complete the shot" or--worse--"the trigger has stopped moving and I need to squeeze harder" (I shoot a roll). When that happens, I'll either catch myself consciously working the trigger, or I'll take a bad shot.

I think a lot of people have those sorts of feelings, for different things--e.g. "I better not break the shot right now, the dot isn't on the 10", leading to starting/stopping on the trigger.

Flipping back to OP: A 90 isn't necessarily good or bad. What's happening on that target?

If you've got 70-80% 9s and 10s, and you're calling every shot precisely, then it's time to figure out what's going on with your worst shots.

Conversely, if you've got a random smattering of shots across the black that just happens to add up to 90, then maybe it's time to go through your technique. Try out a different stance and grip. Study how the two affect your hold.

Yes do everything written here and keep it simple. It seems all or most of the stated methods are correct. Here is another, the gun doesn't change within it's known accuracy, we do. How little we change is the consistency we are after. If your method is a little different within convention, but is consistent then adjust for and do that. Brian Zins the most winningest champion focuses on the target ( per his writings) This is against normal conventional procedure and undoable by some, but it obviously could be done. Should everyone? I don't think it is possible.
Know the fundamentals and practice and you will know more about when to move the trigger.

When do you abort in timed fire if at all?

orpheoet wrote:My slow fire scores are stalled around 90. I've noticed that my best scores usually have a fair amount of start overs. So when to abort the shot?

When you start thinking about IF you should shoot the shot.