Tips on Pistol Shooting

[airgun_novice]

Dear Atul, Welcome and congratulations. With your score of 345+ at Chandigadh state last year, you have already qualified for GVM. The score of 345 has been applicable from this year - till last year it was 335 for NR which means you are fairly head above water. Hope to look forward to more comprehensive contribution from you to the forum/ thread. Good Luck.

Hi AGN,

Are you trying to say that I would have been able to participate in GVM this year, based on my last year's score, even if I had not managed to achieve MQS this year? Do I read that correctly?

Yes - since last two year's scores are considered. In any case with 345+ there is no prospect of any doubt now. That's qualifier for NR pre-national (GFG/ GVM). In a worst case scenario, say one does not qualify for latest MQS 2 yr in a row then (having once obtained the requisite MQS) one would still become eligible for the "PLAYING FOR MQS" category of GVM - no medals there but helps one to move on. dev, tirpassion, guruji - please correct if I am wrong.

[atulgupta1]

Okay. Thanks. So my next milestone is 363/400 in the next 2 months. It will be quite a jump but I guess practice will help me reach there. I'll get down to preparations outlined by HVJ sir this week itself - Shooting Diary, Box Drills, SA, Exercises, Dry Fire Practice, Trigger Control, Follow Through etc. etc. and I'll keep posting my challenges and progress here. Hope HVJ sir will help me all along.

[tirpassion]

Dear Atul,

So far as age is concerned, there is one physical age and there is one mental age. For your information
i am reaching 40 in 2 months time, AGN is 42, jitu is 43 and dev is somewhere around. Off course that is the physical age. But the mental age does not reflect the same. What difference does it make? All of us are young shooters since we have started in the last few years and as young shooters our enthusiasm is high, very high. Do not you think so???

My humble advise to you will be to go slow. You have certainly read the 82 pages but you should know where to start. If you mix up everything, you will end up being confused. Most of us are still on the 7/8th page in reality. Start with
- The SA cut-out
- The verification of the natural alignment of your weapon
- The verification of your stance (position of head)
- Regular dedicated work on gripping.
- Figure 8 exercise
- Box drill on the SA hold
- Trigger control
The diary is one of the most important tools. Keep a track of all your activities, I repeat, all your actions and activities in your diary, pointwise.
The physical back-up should be optimal also. So please give some time daily to physical training.

Please keep us posted.

Best regards
tirpassion

[atulgupta1]

So far as age is concerned, there is one physical age and there is one mental age. For your information
i am reaching 40 in 2 months time, AGN is 42, jitu is 43 and dev is somewhere around. Off course that is the physical age. But the mental age does not reflect the same. What difference does it make? All of us are young shooters since we have started in the last few years and as young shooters our enthusiasm is high, very high. Do not you think so???

Thanks. This is reassuring. Mentally, I feel like I'm in early 40s

My humble advise to you will be to go slow. You have certainly read the 82 pages but you should know where to start. If you mix up everything, you will end up being confused. Most of us are still on the 7/8th page in reality.

Yes. I'm generally a very organized person and want full clarity in my mind before I delve too deep into anything.

Start with
- The SA cut-out
- The verification of the natural alignment of your weapon
- The verification of your stance (position of head)
- Regular dedicated work on gripping.
- Figure 8 exercise
- Box drill on the SA hold
- Trigger control

Surely. This is what I had in mind as per the guidance I gathered here.

The diary is one of the most important tools. Keep a track of all your activities, I repeat, all your actions and activities in your diary, pointwise.
The physical back-up should be optimal also. So please give some time daily to physical training.

I agree. The diary is a must. I'm also taking out neatly formatted Excel printouts to manage my training well.

Please keep us posted.

Will surely do.

Beat regards,

Atul

[jitu sati]

hey atul welcome to IFG. also welcome to the 40+ club of learners. we are all learners here and keen learners too. so join the fun and ask as many questions as possible , many a times we all have these doubts and they get clarified when guruji or upacharya answers somebody's query. so ask away. one thing is a must, enjoy the learning as we are doing and i am sure you will do great. hope to see you at gvm or north zone.
regards
jitu

[atulgupta1]

Thanks Jitu, yes, look forward to meeting many of you in GVM in Delhi.

What are the details of NZ event? How do I qualify for it? When is it? Where?

[jitu sati]

hi atul
i think the the NZ is from 9-14 OCT at Delhi. the qualification is the same as GVM. you may like to chk if last years qualification for GVM holds for this years NZ

[jitu sati]

hey tir i managed to do the 40 holds again with 100%. somehow i have not been able to push myself to go for the 60 holds. but i will do that tomorrow. have been regularly writing the diary and it is helping.

[atulgupta1]

Hi HVJ,

I was designing my shooting diary and on page 1, I wanted to list down the Box Drill Practice Items. I have the following list. Should I edit/add/delete anything from this list? -

1. Stance - NPA, Feet, Head, Firing Arm, Non-Firing Arm, Body Alignment
2. Pistol Grip, Wrist Lock, Trigger Finger Position
3. Raising the Pistol, Breathing, Arm & Pistol Alignment
4. Sight Picture Capturing
5. Sight Alignment (SA), Front-Sight Focus
6. Aiming Area Hold
7. Trigger Squeeze - Pressure
8. Trigger Squeeze - Shot Timing
9. Follow-through
10. 3-Shot Cycle / Sequence of Action (SOA)
11. Calling the Shot
12. Figure of "8"
13. Dry Firing
14. Live Firing

Thanks, Atul

[airgun_novice]

Visited the range after a month (last visit was on Aug 7th which followed Jul 30th visit. Of course I had done some SA-DF at home on August 26th and 31st. Plus something in between - but totally undisciplined approach.What an eye-opener this visit has been !!!

Did about 8 SOA-DF and was quite "comfortable" with 6/8 i.e. 75% BD. So decided to go for a full match of 40 shots. It lasted 45 min with breaks et al. Did a BD on SOA - TERRIBLE !!! Just achieved 62.5% (25/40) and obviously the scores fell down too. 334. This was unacceptable since MQS has already been achieved and there's no going back. The desired shots (#9 and #10) were only 19/40 i.e. <50%. All through the shoot, many thoughts were clouding within - I tried to resort to the zero; took an off-break etc. nothing worked. Dunno why !

So shocked was I, that the emotions took over and rather than getting frustrated, I got very angry at myself. So I walked to the window and looked over the Mayor's bungalow and started giving self a chiding; that type we give the kids when they lose marks in maths for silly errors. I also gave self an ultimatum - Shoot one more card and 10 shots on it and if < 90 then do not even bother to go to GFG. I then took 8 minutes to get SOA-> 8/10 = 80% and the card read #8 = 2; #9 = 1 and #10 = 7. In the first 5 shots had 4 #10s and 1 #8.

May be all the "changes" changed the BD values earlier but that's no excuse. Grip feels better - no hurting or bleeding of web or Mound of Venus. Getting sorta adjusted to the progressives - have to cant my head back to get rid of diplopia but that wastes 2-3 seconds and caused misfiring a few times.

[tirpassion]

agn bhai,
So you agree to the fact that 'All is in the mind'
Our shooting abilities can be resumed as a knife in a humid climate. It has to be regularly oiled, used and kept sharp for optimal use. You keep it aside for some time and the whole thing will get rusted. Once rusted, you will have to put in extra efforts to remove that and get back the desired shape.
We need to discuss again over phone. The rigour has slackened.

best regards
tirpassion

[airgun_novice]

Dear upacharyaji,
You are right. Rigor, discipline, dedication all had gone for toss. Will fire each shot as new and only one tomorrow and revert and report. Must make every shot count. Practicing against wall and in range environs is so different. And yet this is what happened on the "home range" in stress-free atmosphere. Mantra - || "Word Hard" ||.

[atulgupta1]

I have been putting together my Sequence of Actions (SOA). The following is what I have:

Part - 1 - Preparation Time - (Practice Sessions)
1. Set up equipment - 180 Sec
2. Stance - NPA, feet, body balance, head, firing arm, body alignment - 60 Sec
3. Pick up AP with LH & adjust grip in RH, settling in the web of the hand - 10 Sec
4. Take stance and check SA against target. Once in the sub six zone, close eyes for 3 to 4 secs and open them again. See if I have moved from my sub-six zone - 60 Sec
5. If yes, correct the stance by moving a bit to left or right as necessary - 30 Sec
6. Check again. I should have the perfect SA image in the sub six zone after I open my eyes - 60 Sec
7. Dry-Fire practice - 4 shots - 200 Sec
Total - 600 Seconds (10 Minutes)

Part - 2 Shooting Time - (Practice Sessions)
1. Fix target paper - send it forward - 13 Sec
2. AP grip, wrist lock, trigger finger position - 7 Sec
3. Cock AP & load the pellet - 7 Sec
4. Ready position - Rest pistol at 45 degrees on the table - 4 Sec
5. Shut eyes, take 2 deep slow breaths, release tension in body, eyes, forehead, neck and right hand - 5 Sec
6. Visualize sight alignment, front sight focus and slow trigger squeeze - 5 Sec
7. Open eyes, check grip, finger position on trigger and turn head - 3 Sec
8. Raise the AP slowly to 6" above aiming area while breathing, focus on arm & pistol alignment - 6 Sec
9. Bring down the AP slowly towards aiming area while breathing out. Start the first trigger pull - 3 Sec
10. Capture sight picture, start second trigger pull, settle in aiming area - 3 Sec
11. Focus on sight alignment & front sight and continue the trigger squeeze until the shot breaks - 2 Sec
12. Follow-through - continue the aiming area hold, sight alignment & trigger squeeze - 3 Sec
13. Mentally absorb the shot timing / trigger rhythm - shot break - 3
14. Call my shot - 3 Sec
15. Lower AP and bring back the target - 7 Sec
16. Analyze the shot - 6 Sec
18. Rest, relax, breathe, self-talk - 10 Sec
Total - 90 Seconds per shot (1 min - 30 Sec per shot) - with 10 Sec break after every 3 shots.

I'm trying to reduce the time in Part-2 to about 75 seconds. Can't figure how to do it.

Please advise if I'm on the right track.

Regards,

Atul

[airgun_novice]

Came across an old book which was stacked way behind my others books. "The popular practice of yoga for the beginner" by K.V. Mulbagala. 1989 reprint from Taraporevala. Quoting from the second chapter - "Mind and its functions" pp9 -

Ancient thinkers of India recognize 5 stages of mental development:

a. The restless or the toss-about state of mind; the childmind
b. The blinded state of mind having excess of ignorance
c. The distracted state of mind, the instability of it being due to natural defects or accidental troubles
d. The single-pointed state of mind, that is devoted entirely to one subject
e. The recollected state wherein further developments are fully controlled

Yogic practice patiently leads from one state to the other. Through progressive stilling of mind into complete mental repose, the spectator and the spectacle finally become one.

Time for contemplation. Gurujvaryas, please feel free to carry forth the exposition ad treatment of subject matter.

[jitu sati]

hey tir
i have done it again. i could do 60 holds with 100%SA. so please tell me how to proceed from here on. you were to advise on trigger control. i am all ears, so please do tell what routine i should follow from here on.
hey atul
you seem to be very well organised as far as planning is concerned. but what i have noticed is whenever i have concentrated on being over technical with focus on timings of each step i seem to be to loose focus on shooting per se. of course i think it is a personal trait as to how tech conscious one should be and how natural the SOA should be, tir your comments please