Well, the wheels have completely come off!

Need some help/direction
Things were going very well I was shooting HM scores in sustained fire and was progressing in SF.  I was working on getting my SF scores to over 90 and was on track to get my master card this fall, but just before Perry I had a bad match and it's been getting worse ever since.

I thought I had worked out a couple of things while practicing this last couple of weeks but the match this last weekend was a total mess.  My SF was completely out of control, only maybe 4 shots per target were on call and sustained fire scores I'd shoot 7-8 in the center and a the rest would be 7 or worse.  Over all I'm shooting almost 150-200 points below where I was.  So it's not a little setback it's a train wreck.

I video'd myself after the match yesterday and discovered I have developed a flinch or maybe I'm trying to snatch the shot (how's that Jim LOL), I'm not quite sure but it definitely isn't smooth looking (even in 22), it's very subtle, not always there.  When I dry fire I feel rock solid with a smooth release, even my SCATT traces are always near 100% which means a very smooth trigger release and there is no snatching going on.

I'm sure this is all either trigger control or anticipation but I'm thinking about starting from scratch with stance, grip, the whole works, just to get my head back into it.

Also I shoot a long roll, I was thinking about shortening it up, but I don't think I should do this before I get things back on track. 

Thoughts??
1) Ball and dummy
2) 1 and 2 shot live fire and follow trough/hold drills
3)


- Dave
One after thought my trigger finger is very sore after a match, this never use to happen.

Put the guns down for a while and rest. If your getting pain then this could be the beginning stages of trigger finger syndrome.

The long roll trigger gets me every time, feels so good dry firing but in matches I find I'm concentrating on making the trigger move and loose focus on the dot so some shots are good many are not. In a match it just seems so different than at home, almost like it gets harder to get it moving. I had the same type of match yesterday, shot a 822 CF then a 775 in 45 same gun ammo everything but I couldn't keep my focus off trying to get the long roll moving . I'm retooling back to very short roll that's almost a crisp where about as soon as I feel it moving it fires less time to loose focus I hope.

"I video'd myself after the match yesterday and discovered I have developed a flinch or maybe it's a snatch,..."

can you some how re-phrase that, Caitlyn???

Something else changed in your life?  New medication?  More caffeine? Troubles at work? I had to admit to myself that my diet sometimes interferes with my shooting.

rfmiller wrote:Something else changed in your life?  New medication?  More caffeine? Troubles at work? I had to admit to myself that my diet sometimes interferes with my shooting.

Ok I think you may have hit on something that I never thought of, my sister in law was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer just before my scores started to drop.  I didn't shoot well at either Canton or Perry, and very few of us shot well at Perry.  I had hernia surgery the day after I got back from Perry and Sunday was the 1st match I've shot since Perry.  I'm not taking any meds.

I would say my sleep has decreased and my coffee intake has probably increased.

So maybe I'm a just little stressed?

- Dave

Stopping coffee & caffeine.

I waited way too long to have my hernia repair, for several reasons.  My shooting really tanked!!  Hard to concentrate when you are in pain the whole time.  Eating pain killers just doesn't make it right.  Lots of stress makes lots of stuff go haywire.  Hope things start going better for all.

dronning take some time off of shooting get some rest spend more time with your family. My shooting tanked two years ago with some of the same things . Then come back when things get better and you can concentrate on the tasks at hand . Remember this sport is more mental than physical .
                                                                                                  Keith

Take some time off from live fire.  But dry fire 30 shots and only 30 per night.mm

The common factor is see in this thread is AGE.  Of course Phillip Hemphill and others have proven age is NOT an excuse but...  The facts are at almost 64  I'm seeing the same things.  I'm dry firing more and shooting that danged air pistol.  Shooting a 38 Super in Centerfire to save wear and tear on my joints too.  When you guys figure it out please share the cure!

Thinking back to what produced the hi master scores in my 20s and 30s and considering drifting back in that direction...

Well,your higher up on the ladder than I am  but the first thing that came to mind after reading your first post was you might be trying to hard at a match to get that HM score.
But you also have a lot going on now so I think you have to give things some time.

Dave, sorry to hear of your frustration.  

Is there a way you can make practicing fun again?  Ideas like shooting bowling pins while working on trigger control come to mind.   Another thought is to dig into the safe and find the most inappropriate BE gun and go shoot that at the range so you aren't worried about score and can just have fun (perhaps something like that 50 yr old FN I was shooting at the same match? ).

Best of luck.

My thoughts benefit of others' advice and your additional answers...

1.  Take some time off from bullseye shooting... its only making you more frustrated and stressed.
2.  Yes, spend time with family, friends, or other things you've neglected.  Accomplish some "when
     I get around to it" project for your own mental health.  Is there anything you can do to reduce
     your current stress?  Maybe not...
3.  You body is used to caffeine and you'll be worse off (for a while) by quitting cold turkey.
     I try to reduce the amount of caffeine I consume on shooting days, but I don't cut it out entirely.
4.  Make shooting fun again:  Go to the range with your other "fun" guns that you never shoot
     because you are training for bullseye.  Go to the range with a buddy.  Try a different shooting
     sport (I took up Sporting Clays... I didn't expect to do well, the pressure was off, and I just
     enjoyed being out there with fellow shooters).

Good luck,
Doug

Focus on your shot process not your scores. You talked about many things and many things could be a distraction or reasons. Ultimately in everything you said the critical problem was scores. I know when ever I focus on process without regard to scores I get great scores. 

If my practice sessions equaled my match scores I would be a High Master already. Why? because in practice on an empty range I can really focus on process. I drop 30 to 50 point at matches. 

Just an opinion from someone that is not that great.

james r chapman wrote:"I video'd myself after the match yesterday and discovered I have developed a flinch or maybe it's a snatch,..."

can you some how re-phrase that, Caitlyn???

This made me cry......  x 10,000

I bet that video is worth enough to buy a decent Wad Gun...............

dronning wrote:Ok I think you may have hit on something that I never thought of, my sister in law was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer just before my scores started to drop.  I didn't shoot well at either Canton or Perry, and very few of us shot well at Perry.  I had hernia surgery the day after I got back from Perry and Sunday was the 1st match I've shot since Perry.  I'm not taking any meds.

I would say my sleep has decreased and my coffee intake has probably increased.

So maybe I'm a just little stressed?

- Dave

Stopping coffee & caffeine.

Sounds like you have a lot going on.  I agree one of the previous suggestions to take some time off.  Personally, I shot at Perry, then 3 weeks later, my wife and I welcomed our second son to our family.  Needless to say, there has been some adjustment and a slightly disrupted sleep schedule.  I intentionally took about two months off after Perry.  I just started shooting again with two local, low key 900 matches.  Only shot the 22 and each match I set a PR by roughly 10-12 points each time.  Having taken some time off to make sure my home life is in order has helped me feel really calm and improved my ability to focus when I am behind the trigger.  Next week, I'll finally pick up my 45 again in preparation for a Leg match in Sep. 

Consider Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. I think shooting (especially shooting HM scores) is going to be near the top of the pyramid at Self-Esteem or Self-Actualization. Your family concern is probably in the middle at Love & Belonging (which includes Family, Friends and Intimacy). Your surgery may go as far down the pyramid as Safety or even Physiological Needs (all the way at the base of the pyramid). Make sure to tend to the lower level needs first before moving up the pyramid.

I definitely recommend taking some time for you and your family, even if just a couple weeks.