Tips on Pistol Shooting

[kshitij]

Hello all,
Have spent a considerable time going through this thread.
Thank you hvj1 for putting in your time and effort in sharing all the advice that you have posted in this thread.
I am just starting off with my 10m air pistol shooting and your pointers have been immensely helpful in understanding and learning the proper techniques and finer deatils of the sport.
Thanks to all the fellow members too for contributing and sharing their experiences.
Cheers!

Hope to see you in the pistol shooting league soon. Since you are in MH, start off by completing a safety course (with a bond completed) at MRA after your basic safety course at Lakshya or SVS or some such club and get yourself registered at MRA. Retain a photocopy of the bond that you shall submit to the MRA just in case you have to show while filling in the form for your first MAWC or Capt EZ. Target the May-June (2015) period of these competitions, so now you have quite some time to get in action and then get rolling, bro ! Good Luck.

Hi Airgun_novice,
Thank you for the great guide lines. Have completed my basic safety brief/training at lakshya. All my shooting experience till now has been in informal plinking only. Keen to now take up shooting as a sport.
Thanks for the show of support.
Cheers!

[hvj1]

Hello Kshitij
Thank you for your kind words, wish you all the very Best in your future shooting career.
Regards

[hvj1]

Hello Friends,
Its been a fairly long time since I or for that matter anybody has posted anything here, so I thought this is a very good time to share some of my recent experiences;
Most of you know that I have been trying to get hold of a free pistol since last year, in order to qualify. Well, I finally got hold of one, kind courtesy Mr. Ashok Pandit, who has very kindly obliged with a beautiful TOZ. This event occurred on 9th September and since then I have been doing some dry practice with the same.

Today was the second day I practised shooting live on the Balewadi Range and here are the takeaways;

1. No amount of dry practise can ever substitute live firing.

2. The free Pistol event is truly a marathon event, I last shot a match in 1998 and after a gap of SIXTEEN years, Boy! Am I realising how bloody tough it is.

3. I now realize that I should have started shooting with the Air Pistol FIRST and then moved on to the Free Pistol. WHY? -

In the free pistol, every time the shot goes off, one HAS to FOLLOW THROUGH - specifically the trigger and the Focus. One should be able to call one's shots in the Free Pistol, if at all one has to attain a decent enough score.
It is much easier to do so in the air pistol and most importantly, one develops the good habit of follow through, which can then be carried forward to a certain extent to the Free Pistol.
Now because of the recoil of the shot and sudden sharp sight movement, one tends to lost sight of the focus follow through. Hence shooting with air pistol is extremely important BEFORE starting with the F.Pistol.

4. Now that I am committed to shooting the Nationals, there is precious little that I can do about it but bite the bullet (literally ). I think I can only shoot another couple of 100 shots and then gracefully accept the result and start preparing for next year. But 'giving up' is not on the menu. I will be taking all the positives from this experience for next year's qualifying.

5. The other notable takeaways are:
My SOA is excellent, I can follow it for every shot. And there is NO MENTAL pressure of any kind.
I can shoot 120 shots at a stretch and that speaks volumes of my physical fitness, which I have worked very very hard on.

Finally, the greatest positive is: That I am extremely positive in my mind and I am ENJOYING my shooting, regardless where the shot lands on the target. I know I need to shoot a couple of thousand shots, since there is no time now, there is always a TOMORROW!

[dev]

Welcome to the land of the struggling shooter . Though this poor shot act won't fool the janta for long. We know that you will soon be shooting your old scores.

Thank you for posting about the real struggle.

Regards,

Dev

[hvj1]

Hello Friends,
It has been FIVE years since we have embarked on our wonderful journey with TOPS - Tips on Pistol Shooting, during this period, we have made a lot of friends and shared our collective experiences.
In order to take this at a higher level, I have the following idea/concept in my mind, I am putting forth the basic principles and I invite all shooters to actively provide meaningful inputs to it;

1. I will be providing active coaching - Class room training in all aspects of competitive Pistol Shooting - Specifically Air Pistol and Free Pistol to begin with.

2. Initially the classes will be held at the Balewadi Shooting Range so that we can avail of world class facilities.

3. Now for those who cannot come to Pune, it is proposed to set up a website, which will have all the 20 lessons on shooting, right from grip, stance, breathing , to follow through, DEMONSTRATED ON VIDEO.

4. Besides the above lessons, written downloadable lectures will also be supplemented.

5. Shooters joining this forum can obtain answers to their problems via emails and on IFG TIPS.

6. Personal coaching will be provided on PAN INDIA basis, to begin with, I intend holding lectures and personal training programmes in Mumbai, Kolhapur,Delhi, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Jaipur/Jodhpur and Bangalore. This is besides Pune and Satara.

6.a Obviously, to conduct training in above mentioned cities, I will need a certain minimum number of students and ALSO - One IFG member who will be the organiser for each of the above cities. I have already been approached by some IFGians from some of the above cities since the last two years.

So, this is the basic idea and we ALL need to streamline it to begin a new and advanced phase of our journey with TOPS.

Looking forward to your valuable insights, contributions and suggestions.

[hvj1]

WANTED.
Friends, I need somebody who can help me develop a good website, basic to begin with so that we can start uploading the shooting lesson demos on the web.
AGN has very kindly volunteered,if there are others out there who could chip in then kindly do let me know.
Thank you.

[hvj1]

Lotus Shooting Academy

Basic Course- Air Pistol Shooting Fundamentals

1. Introduction to the sport of Air Pistol Shooting;
a. Technical, Mental and Physical aspects.
b. How to shoot a 10.
c. Elements of the technique.

2. Pistol Elements;
a. Fore sight
b. Back sight
c. Trigger
d. Grip – Palm rest.
e. Compressed air cylinder
f. Loading.
g. Setting the Pistol

3. Gripping the Pistol;
a. Thumb and forefinger ‘V’
b. Placement of the last three fingers
c. Trigger finger and placement of the trigger finger on the horse shoe.
d. Grip pressure.

4. Stance (Body position)
a. Zeroing.
b. Position of the feet in relation to the line of the target’
c. Position of the left hand or non shooting hand.
d. Body balance
e. Head position
f. Getting the correct Platform for executing the elements of shooting.

5. The Shooting eye
a. LED or RED
b. Shooting with both eyes
c. Using the blinder
d. Head position re-visited.

6. Breathing

7. Lifting the Pistol
a. First pull
b. Second Pull
8. Aiming area operation

9. Sight Alignment

10. Focus

11. Trigger Operation

12. Follow through.

Basic Support:

All the above fundamentals are viewable on Videos.

Intermediate Training Course:
• Demonstrated on Video
• Online Support for answering all queries regarding shooting
• Regular Clinics.

1. This course is open to shooters who have complete at least six months of active shooting and taken part in at least one competition at the District or state level.
2. The shooter has access to all the basic fundamentals on the academy website.
3. The shooter will now have access to the following;

Training Methodology:
1. Technical Training - Exercises in the following Pistol Fundamentals;
a. Sight Alignment
b. Trigger Operation
c. Focus
d. Combining Focus with Sight Alignment
e. Combining Focus with Sight Alignment and Trigger Operation.
f. Developing the Shooting Cycle.

2. Physical Fitness:
a. Breathing exercises
b. Specific exercises for the arms, legs, back and torso.
c. Cardio Training.
d. Strength Training and Flexibility training.

Note: Technical as well Physical Fitness Exercises are demonstrated on Video along with downloadable notes accompanying each video.

3. Mental Training:
a. Shooting Diary.
b. Attitude towards shooting
c. Discipline
d. Handling Match Pressure.
e. Shooting Cycle – The Mantra

Note: These are demonstrated personally along with notes which may be downloaded.

PREMIUM SHOOTER’S PROGRAMME;

All of the above –Technical, Physical, Mental plus the following crucial areas which GUARANTEE high performance.

4. Shooting Management:
a. Time Management for Shooting
b. Shooting Diary.
c. Shooting Plans – Off Season/ Between Competitions/ Pre Competition/ During the Competition.
- Shooting Schedule
- Session Planning
- Daily Planning
- Weekly Planning
- Monthly Planning
- Annual Planning
- Bi- Annual Planning
- Tri Annual Planning

d. Training Methodology;
- Interval Training
- Intensity Training
e. Shooter Injuries
f. Injury Rehabilitation
g. Regular Medical Checkups
h. Nutrition and Diet

5. Advanced Mental Training:
a. Relaxation Exercises
b. Visualization Exercise
c. Neuro-Lingual Exercises
d. Converting Match Pressure into High Performance shooting.


ROLE OF COUNSELORS:

Inspired by the shooting success which India has achieved, many youngsters aspire to try their hand at the sport. Unfortunately, for every successful, shooter there are many who go astray due to lack of proper guidance. It is here that the Counselor plays a crucial role in directing the aspiring shooter, towards an affordable shooting guidance program, like those offered by Lotus Shooting Academy. Counselors thus perform a yeoman service to the younger generation and the shooting sport. Anybody can be a counselor, shooters as well as non-shooters.

[hvj1]

Dear Friends
Mr. Atul Gupta Founder Pugmarks, a pioneering web site company has volunteered graciously to develop the site for the proposed Lotus Shooting Academy. He has come up with the suggestion that we should invite our IFG members to like and or suggest a suitable name for the academy, some of his suggestions are as follows;
I was also wondering about the academy name. I had a few suggestions below. which you might want to consider -

1. Perfect-10 Shooting Academy

2. Gold-Shot Shooting Academy

3. All-In-Center Shooting Academy

4. Fine Target Shooting Academy

I find the Lotus name symbolic and the reasons which I have googled for are as follows;

The lotus flower grows in muddy water, and it is this environment that gives forth the flower’s first and most literal meaning: rising and blooming above the murk to achieve enlightenment.

The second meaning, which is related to the first is purification. It resembles the purifying of the spirit which is born into murkiness.

The third meaning refers to faithfulness. Those who are working to rise above the muddy waters will need to be faithful followers.

The mud represents an importance in the meaning of the lotus flower in Buddhism. All humans are born in a world where there is suffering. This suffering is a vital part of the human experience; it makes us stronger and teaches us to resist the temptation of evil. When we banish evil thoughts from our mind we are able to break free of the muddy water and become one with the Buddha. The mud shows us who we are and teaches us to choose the right path over the easy one.

[Moin.]

Hemantji, hope people don't associate the lotus symbol with BJP

[Moin.]

Drishti as in Sanskrit for focussed gaze

Drona Shooting Academy

Bulls Eye

[pistolero]

Rekindle Old Memories:

"Champion Shooting School"

[hvj1]

Hemantji, hope people don't associate the lotus symbol with BJP

Moin,
Your insight runs very much parallel to my doubts on exactly what you have voiced. I DEFINITELY am APOLITICAL. Secondly, no entity has a worldwide copyright on the Lotus. Thirdly, even before political outfits were born, The Lotus symbol has been revered by ancient Egyptians and in India by none other than Lord Buddha. The pink lotus is associated with the Buddha, it means enlightenment and freeing oneself from our limitations.
It is from this view point that I have opted for the Lotus- which is purely a symbol of what I have discussed above.

My following discussion expands the theme. After reading it, do give me your feedback. Drishti is good, But Drona is not, because it's interpretation mabe that I am trying to emulate Drona. And in all humility I am NOT. Though I do strive to be a Buddha.
Many thanks for your feedback and look forward to your continous and active participation here.
Best Regards

[hvj1]

Rekindle Old Memories:

"Champion Shooting School"

The name has already been taken by none other than my shooting Guru, Shri Ashok J Pandit, he and Sheilaji have done exactly that over the years, -produced champions. No, I am not running afoul of those whom I respect highly. But nevertheless, thank you for your suggestion and please do stay with us and participate often.
Regards

[airgun_novice]

Dear hvj1 guruji et al,

Forgive my "Bird in Buttermilk" ("goose-taqui") - yet here's my 2 cents worth -

Drishti - means sight or vision. The later part though inspiring, fizzles rather than sizzles. "Tratak" means concentrated gaze. That scares. (Ramayan, anyone ?)
Dronacharya - hard luck guruji, think Major Gawand has already taken up that one.
Arjun(a) - Taken up (not sure who but methinks our Doc plays on that name)
Eklavya - Also taken up (think in NCR)
Lakshya - Taken up by Suma Shirur

How about "SHOOTING" for SHivam Online & Onsite Training INstitute in Guns
1. Name it after your son
2. You plan to make your course online and onsite (Balewadi) anyway
3. You hold on to the flexibility of introducing Rifle coaching too, at a later date without any modification to the name/ logo etc.
4. Name it after the primal 'kirit' archer who's defeated and humbled even the great Arjun. (MOIN-> Nothing to do with Kirit Somaiyya of BJP )
5. Bonus: In 4. What it would symbolize (work the logo likewise <= "SA") 2 eyes focusing with the third eye in the center, all aligned in a perfect Sight Picture. Yet the center (front sight in a pistol) is of immense importance in shooting and also in enlightenment (adnya chakra) - that which you seek O Exalted One - without becoming a Budh.

regs
A.

[airgun_novice]

Guruji's "Lotus" reminded me of a story from a textbook way back from school days. There's some shooting involved, so ought to be OK here.

Once Shivaji Maharaj was troubled; his mother Jijamata, had asked him to get some lotus flowers from a pond for her special Puja. But the condition was that the stalks should be of equal length and they should not be touched by anyone but her. A Mavla (soldier) named Dalvi, from his archery company volunteered. Shivaji was curious to see how Dalvi would achieve the seemingly impossible task and accompanied him to the pond. Dalvi obtained requisite number of arrows and shot them one by one at the lotus flowers in the pond. When he was all done, Dalvi rowed into the pond and scooped up all the flowers inside a basket using a small net attached to a wooden rod without touching any. He gave the basket to Jijamata after he rowed back to the shore. Both Shivaji and his mother were amazed that the stalks were of equal length. Such was the archer's concentration. Dalvi was given the royal honors after a public felicitation.

regs
A.