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What do you think is the hardest?
- Thread starter IDPA Mike
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Rockrivr1
NES Member
This! Standing is hands down the most difficult. The least amount of support for your rifle.
another vote for standing.
that being said, matches are won @ 200, and lost @ 600
rapids are important....but lets face it...the target is HUGE for what it is. if you concentrate on your part...theres no reason you can't clean the rapids.
i usually drop as many points standing as I do the rest of the way back.
dont sweat it mike. Offhand is a game that takes time to learn to do well. its 95% mental. today was a good example...it was a TOUGH day to shoot offhand. lots of gusts that'd knock you off balance. I know I tightened up my hold quite a bit today, and was a LOT more deliberate on the trigger (and even then I still pooched a couple of 8's). the guys that shot well are the guys that kept their head in the game. You shot a decent score...especially considering that you haven't been shooting for all that long.
that being said, matches are won @ 200, and lost @ 600
rapids are important....but lets face it...the target is HUGE for what it is. if you concentrate on your part...theres no reason you can't clean the rapids.
i usually drop as many points standing as I do the rest of the way back.
dont sweat it mike. Offhand is a game that takes time to learn to do well. its 95% mental. today was a good example...it was a TOUGH day to shoot offhand. lots of gusts that'd knock you off balance. I know I tightened up my hold quite a bit today, and was a LOT more deliberate on the trigger (and even then I still pooched a couple of 8's). the guys that shot well are the guys that kept their head in the game. You shot a decent score...especially considering that you haven't been shooting for all that long.
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Thanks.
I started strong on my first 10 shots. I dropped more on my last. For my Marksman level I was happy with a 181. I think my new upper has definitely helped. with my 16" barrel and no jacket I shot around 160 for the off hand.
Thanks, Mike
A good way to get good at standing is to get a dedicated high quality .22lr upper and quality ammo, shoot at 50 yards at a dime sized target. Run through your regular 20 shot (Shot routine) as if you were shooting a match. It won't be long before all your shots are in that black dime or on the edge of it.
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This is great advice. I'm sure the pistol guys look at me and Jasper all weird when we line up indoors at Mystic with Creedmoor coats and all of the gear, but it definitely helps. The .22 will magnify your flaws and force you to hold strong and follow through.
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(we shoot at 50 feet on the reduced SR targets that you can download from Ray-vin.com)
http://ray-vin.com/tech/targets/sr50ft-22.pdf
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I agree with everything but the size of the target. A dime-size target at 50yds is pretty small; enough that I personally wouldn't be able to get a good sight picture. I shoot at a 2" circle at 30yds, which is pretty much dead on proportional reduction of a 200yd SR target (the black).
It definitely helps. Made me understand how essential follow-through is.
Mike, standing is hard only if you make it so. If you think it's hard, it will be hard. The more you shoot, the more you will realize that ther mental game is as, or more, important than the mechanics.
I used to HATE shooting offhand because I was so poor at it. I'm still not very good, but I enjoy it more because I look at it differently now. It's about small goals for me; not so much a score, but well executed shots. I'm sure you've shot an X, where the second you sqeezed the trigger, you knew it was a good shot. As George S. says "If you can shoot a called X once, you can do it over and over again". He's right.
Shoot for X's, take any and all 10's, accept 9's, and try to eliminate 8's.
I used to HATE shooting offhand because I was so poor at it. I'm still not very good, but I enjoy it more because I look at it differently now. It's about small goals for me; not so much a score, but well executed shots. I'm sure you've shot an X, where the second you sqeezed the trigger, you knew it was a good shot. As George S. says "If you can shoot a called X once, you can do it over and over again". He's right.
Shoot for X's, take any and all 10's, accept 9's, and try to eliminate 8's.
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This. You need to think of it as 20 individual single shot matches. Don't worry about the last shot or the next shot, just focus on breaking ~this~ shot perfectly. Rinse, repeat. I'm actually starting to enjoy offhand since I started thinking this way. If I toss an 8 (or worse) I spend about 5 seconds analyzing what I did wrong (usually I took too long to dress it up,) I file that away in the furthest corner of my mind for later, and then I just move on to the next one. Always visualize a perfect X sight picture as you bring the rifle up. If you're thinking about that 8 you just tossed your subconscious WILL make you do it again.
If you're interested, check out "With Winning in Mind" by former Olympic shooter Lanny Bassham. He shares the techniques that he used to control his mind. It's a little hippie / new-age, but it works. I've read it three times now and it's finally starting to soak in.
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
Offhand is the most challenging position but it's also the most rewarding. Like I said a 181 is a damn good score.
This. You need to think of it as 20 individual single shot matches. Don't worry about the last shot or the next shot, just focus on breaking ~this~ shot perfectly. Rinse, repeat. I'm actually starting to enjoy offhand since I started thinking this way. If I toss an 8 (or worse) I spend about 5 seconds analyzing what I did wrong (usually I took too long to dress it up,) I file that away in the furthest corner of my mind for later, and then I just move on to the next one. Always visualize a perfect X sight picture as you bring the rifle up. If you're thinking about that 8 you just tossed your subconscious WILL make you do it again.
If you're interested, check out "With Winning in Mind" by former Olympic shooter Lanny Bassham. He shares the techniques that he used to control his mind. It's a little hippie / new-age, but it works. I've read it three times now and it's finally starting to soak in.
Offhand is the most challenging position but it's also the most rewarding. Like I said a 181 is a damn good score.
I hope I didn't give the wrong impression with my question, I was just curious what you guys thought.
On the other hand I appreciate all the support you guys give.Jason, you have a good point with having a bad shot not ruining the rest of the string. I often do it with golf,I have a bad hole and it psyches me out for the rest of the day. I see what you mean by mental toughness. drop one shot and let it go.
Thanks, Mike
You need to be completely relaxed to shoot good scores offhand.
If you're interested, check out "With Winning in Mind" by former Olympic shooter Lanny Bassham. He shares the techniques that he used to control his mind. It's a little hippie / new-age, but it works. I've read it three times now and it's finally starting to soak in.
Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery is an excellent compliment to Basham's book and you will discover many similar veins of thought. I would think you could read it in an afternoon.
Terry Orlick is a credentialed sport psychologist and his book In Pursuit of Excellence is a great resource. It is not shooting centric but the best of them IMO.
I vote for 600 yards being the hardest with a service rifle.
B
![[grin]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/041.gif "Grin [grin]")
Hi Mike,
I would say offhand is the hardest cuz that's where I (most all of us) drop the most points.
Probably 600 is the hardest to learn after offhand.
I learned to score well in 300 prone rapid the fastest but it was by no means easy for me..
I still feel I let too many points go in offhand and sitting so that is where I spend the majority of my practice time.
(when I can find the time to practice)
Many say sitting is easy but I have always struggled with it. I'm a slow learner but I'm finally starting to get sitting figured out some...
Learning to consistently score well in all the positions takes alot of work and practice for most as they climb the classification ladder.
And then once you start to get many of the details figured out getting them to all come together at the same time is the next hardest thing to do.
I've been doing this a long time and I'm not bored with it yet cuz I still keep feeling like I have plenty of room for improvement.
Enjoy the journey
Thanks, George. See you on the 28th. Are you one of the coaches for the clinic?
Yep,
I won't be doing any of the lecture part but I will be one of crew getting the range/ rifle and pits ready while the morning classroom session is goin on. And and then I will also be one of the coaches on the line.
Glad to see you'll be there. We have 2 other clinics this year.
I hope you can make those too...
George
