What I brought home from Camp Perry

I shot very well this year.  2607-104x Master Class win.  Fired 180 shots at the short line over three days and only dropped 16 points total.  Obviously I need to set some new training goals that will increase my slow fire scores.  

Here are some things I brought home this year typed out here as well as in my journal so that it may help some of you.  

1. Write down your shot process!  We all are guilty of putting together a piece of furniture or toy without the owners manual.  Sometimes it turns out good and sometimes it doesn't.  Your shot process is the assembly manual for how to build a perfect shot.  If you don't follow a written shot process, a shot might turn out good or it might not.  If you saw me on the line at Canton I actually had my written shot process out in front of me on the bench for CF.  I take notes on it and every so often re-write it incorporating the notes into the new document.  Then the note taking process starts again.  I am perfecting my assembly manual for my shot.

2. When you shoot a bad target.  Yes, we all have to make that "walk of shame" to that bad target and tell the scorer, "Yes, that's my 85 Timed Fire".  What steps do you take after that when you are walking back to the line for the next string?  On CF day at Perry I shot a 873 and dropped 23 points on the long line!  After I verified each score I took the target down and never looked at it again.  I faced it away from me and placed it under the bench so there was no way I could see it again.  I went to the short line having forgotten what had happened and only dropped four points on the short line.  At a local match where you use pasters I would suggest tearing strips off an old repair center and stapling them to the target.  From 25 or 50 yards I cannot see them with my naked eye as compared to a paster or piece of masking tape.  

3. The match is NOT over when you fire a bad string.  The match is not over until AFTER you fired your last round.  
At one point last week Patrick Franks shot a 95 Rapid Fire.  For him, that's pretty bad.  He still won the NRA Championship.  You won't know what the winning score for your classification will be until way after you are done firing.  So don't give up!
I have a spot in my shot process where I tell myself one sentence or word to help me.  It's not always the same.  Last week I said, "This match is not over!".  

4. Once you have scored the target to your left, your time is limited.  It took me two years of shooting at Perry to get this.  When you move from 50 to 25 do not go forward to score until your box and equipment are on the table where you want them.  I understand that time is a precious commodity at Perry.  No range officer last week singled me out for being too slow.  One of the biggest lies ever told is "We will give you time to adjust your equipment.".

5. The ideas of camaraderie and shooting to win or improve your score are NOT mutually exclusive.  Champions do both everyday.  Marksman and Sharpshooters can do it also.  I did it this year.  You can do it at your next match.

Dear six foot...


Is there any way you could post your current shot process down for us less accomplished shooters?

I particularly agree with your last comment! Some of the greatest people in the world I have found firing beside me on the shooting line.

Regards,
Cranky

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What is the sandbag for?

It is for resting my gun on during slow fire or between strings of sustained fire so I can keep the proper form for my arm.  Some shooters tape a couple ammo boxes together.

Thanks a million Six Foot!

good Idea and I appreciate the starting point.

I hope you have a great day.

Sincerely,
Crankster

Great stuff and excellent shooting! Thanks for sharing your lessons learned.

Process IS primary.

Way to execute your process this week!

Thank you for sharing your comments and shot process list. They are very helpful.

What is the reason for picking up a piece of brass towards the end of your shot process? Is that your physical marker(cue) to end one shot sequence and start another?

Jkvandal wrote:What is the reason for picking up a piece of brass towards the end of your shot process? Is that your physical marker(cue) to end one shot sequence and start another?

It's part of my abort process just to clear my head. Sometimes I walk away from the line and stretch.

Oh that's just for the abort process, got it.  So if you followed the shot process successfully you wouldn't be picking up the brass, makes sense. I like the idea of walking away after an abort, but would be terrified of having to re-find my NPA, although now that I think about it, my NPA might be off if I'm aborting the process so maybe not such a bad idea after all!
Thanks for clarifying and for offering up your process to us!
-John

Jkvandal wrote:What is the reason for picking up a piece of brass towards the end of your shot process? Is that your physical marker(cue) to end one shot sequence and start another?

For me: if a piece of my brass ends up somewhere I can see and reach it (without breaking my stance/foot placement), I'll police it right then and there -- I'll pick it up and throw it in my brass catcher. For me that piece of brass is a distraction, something to keep track of and a reminder of the previous shot (and generally, if my gun is well-tuned and the brass doesn't land in the brass catcher it indicates that something about my shot was off); when it goes in the brass catcher, it's out of sight and out of mind and I can focus on the next shot.