Tips on Pistol Shooting

[brihacharan]

Thanks Brihaji,
Major, I hope to meet you someday on some shooting range. Keep it up buddy, lets all write our daily inputs here.

Hi hvj1,
> You are most welcome
> In fact some of the exercises shown in the link really do help in strengthening the muscles of the fore-arm, upper-arm, shoulders, wrist and lower back that play an important part in Pistol Shooting.
> I used to do these regularly earlier on, but now confine myself to....
1. 40 push-ups - sets of 10 / 15 / 15 reps
2. Free hand curling 2 sets of 20 reps each
3. Bicep curls with 5kg dumbells - 2 sets of 10 reps each
4. Half stomach crunches - 2 sets of 15 reps each
5. Deep breathing - alternate inhaling / exhaling through right & left nostrils - 15 minutes
6. Neck rotations - 3 sets of 15 reps each
7. Tai-Chi type movements - slow & rhythmic for 10 minutes
> The end result being - I digest what I eat & sleep the moment I hit the pillow
> Wish You & Family "A Happy Gudi Padva"
Briha

[airgun_novice]

Just got home and jumped straight to TOPS Yes - quite inspiring, Brihji. I am now down to 108 again and with what I have in mind - inshallah - my return from Kelwe should see me a lot fitter.

Visited SVS after a long time and shot 9 cards with 13-15 shots each.

Happy that every card had only one #7 and all -> NONE (edited) in whites
Sad that could not eliminate #7 totally yet.

A few #8s, but then I shot with MS (Y) and (EDT+H&N (FM)) mixture. Nothing to complain except the obnoxious traffic on the way back everywhere in Mumbai.

BTW, a very Happy New Year to y'all - have a great 1935

Planning to start my NY with shaking hands with ...

RAHI SARNOBAT - the WORLD CHAMP IN 25m AND INDIA's FIRST PISTOL CHAMP IN ANY DISCIPLINE.

Thanks to efforts of VS - She shall be at Savarkar tomorrrow (April 11th) at 0930.

[tirpassion]

Experts explained later on to me that during the match the Sun appeared brightly from behind the clouds and lit the targets very brightly which in turn got the impacts higher up.

Dear agn bhai and friends,

With more light on the target, the light reflected back is also more from the white surface while the black circle absorbs the light. When more light is reflected back, we perceive the black circle to be smaller (one perceives blurred contours of the black circle) and when the focus is on the sight picture, the already blurred black circle in the backdrop appears even smaller. Hence to compensate the sub six zone of our aim (adequate usual margin of white part just beneath the black circle), we lift the sight picture up, naturally to fit in the normal aiming area. This puts the impacts higher up in reality. The same thing holds true if the sunlight is hitting the target from the left side (impacts will go right) or from the right side (impacts will go to the left). If the Sun is in the backdrop, the impacts are likely to go down. The adjustment to light conditions in an outdoor range is a big challenge for a shooter. I am just trying to learn (I am used to indoor ranges only ).

The phenomenon is accentuated when the sights are smaller in size in the weapon which is the case with the replica MLs. Another problem with the Black powder revolvers and the matchlock pistols is that the sights are not adjustable. So one has to compensate the zone.

That is what I have understood. I sincerely hope that Guruji will put his views also.

best regards
tirpassion

[airgun_novice]

Aha ! Got it, tirpassion !! Dhanyawad !!!

BTW, Just when I was all set to sing a new song - "Hum hai Rahi Sarnobat ke"; reverted to singing the old. Event Cancelled.

[fantumfan2003]

M.

Aha ! Got it, tirpassion !! Dhanyawad !!!

BTW, Just when I was all set to sing a new song - "Hum hai Rahi Sarnobat ke"; reverted to singing the old. Event Cancelled.

[hvj1]

Tirpassion and AGN,
Regarding this business of light affecting the aiming area. While the theory advocated by Tirpassion may hold water. I personally have had an entirely different approach.

1. I have always shot in the bloody worst of conditions, while practicing with the FP at home, outdoors. Those days, there were no covered ranges in my hometown. So I shot right out in the open! Sometimes just stamping the ground to make a fairly stable platform, or pawing away the small stones and grit like a dog, who has done his poo to its satisfaction.
Shooting outdoors, I had to cater for sudden crosswinds, sudden appearance of clouds, with the sun playing hide and seek. Mind you I was not trying to be macho, but circumstances forced me to ...

2. Having described the situation above, I now turn to the mental aspect. First and foremost, i told myself, 'If i can shoot here, then I can shoot much better in a decent covered range anywhere.

3. The next thing I told myself, was to shoot only when the conditions were right, otherwise cancel. This was drilled in to my subconscious till I cancelled automatically, no sweat.

4. Now regarding the play of light on the target, I simply IGNORED the bloody thing, since I had no choice. I NEVER EVER BOTHERED ABOUT MY AIMING AREA, TRUSTING MY MIND AND SUBCONSCIOUS to take care of it. AND mind you, that is the holy truth till today, i dont bother about my aiming area, nor do i consciouly THINK about it. I JUST SHOOT. The Aiming area takes care of itself.

Now friends, how much of what i have written is digestible ? I know not. The moral of the story is Trust the BLOODY MULE! Keep the Monk aside!
Regards

[brihacharan]

Wise Words from a Champion Shooter

I usually read the newspaper beginning with the Sports Page…. An old habit from my childhood days!
This morning I did as usual and what do I see….

The Picture of a chubby faced Rahi Sarnobat who created history by winning the 25mtrs Pistol Shooting Gold at the ISSF World Cup Championship Tournament held in Changwon – Korea last week.

What captured my attention was her quote “A Shooter needs to work on Mental Toughness”

Wise words indeed from a 25 year old! She goes on to add that while Physical Fitness is important (In my considered opinion for most champion shooters this is basic & a must) what separates a good shooter from a Champion Shooter is the “Focus & Mental Toughness”.

While one can do exercises to strengthen the body muscles – Staying focused to be mentally tough calls for far greater involvement, perseverance and practice.

Finally Rahi says “I prefer to train with my coach (Ukrainian – Anatoly Poddubny) because her chemistry with him seems to work for her.

In other words “The Guru’s wisdom & the Pupils faith in Him” can work wonders.

Briha

[tirpassion]

Now friends, how much of what i have written is digestible ? I know not. The moral of the story is Trust the BLOODY MULE! Keep the Monk aside!
Regards

You are right SIR!!! Thanks for the reminder.
As you said, I do not bother about light or wind while shooting the FP as long as I perceive the perfect sight picture (which corresponds to the SA image cutout pasted at home ). And to do that, I do not hesitate to adjust the rear sight notch (width and depth) according to the range since my FP has this feature .

best regards
tirpassion

[airgun_novice]

Dear guruji/ upacharyaji et al,

An interesting phenomenon the other day -

1. On my first card, two distinct groups were formed 6 shots around #10 and 4 around #8 just south of #9.
2. On my second card, 10 shots grouped around #8 but shifted to 3 o'clock.
Used same pellets (MS (Y)) and was shooting with full cylinder.

3. Cards 5th and 6th had tight groupings of 5 #10s and 6 #9s resp. #9s were vertically displaced south.
4. Now card #9 was magnificent 10 shots on #10 (neat hole cut out).
Used same pellets (Mixture of H&N EDT and H&N (FM)) and was shooting with same cylinder.

5. Card #10 probably showed my happiness (and anticipation) - 4 each on # 9 and #8 followed by 2 on #7. Used MS(Y). No grouping whatsoever. Stopped.

Why I stopped ? I realised that
1. Mind was running hither-tither with "OK now it will be #10".
2. Noise decibel was going up from kids of safety course who were getting restless as VS had not arrived.
3. I suddenly felt tired and arm ached and some shots started "jerking" after trigger release.
4. I realized that I had a rather late and heavy lunch of lots of bread and chicken masala at Mom's.
5. My eyes were wandering off to the wall clock right from the start of Card #10 since I had to pick up the kids from Mom's and then the wife from her work and then go back home beating the rush.

While I can analyze what happened for Card #10, a few Qs still elude me -

1. Why do I keep hitting 1 shot at #7 for every card (averaged - two cards with 2 #7 and one card with nil) ? What takes to eliminate #7 totally ?
2. I had around 66 shots in #9 and #10 but also 46 shots in #8. Now that's a huge number of #8 shots. Though many of them were close to the #9 ring - nonetheless, I still have to accept them at #8.
3. Cards # 2, 4, 7 showed 6+ shots at #8 - fatigue can be ruled out. Breaks were being taken.
4. What is the mystery of the second card ? 10 shots in a tight group 0.5" hole on #8 but shifted east. 2 landed on #7 but around 6 o' clock.

Shot 12-15 per card.

regs
A.

[airgun_novice]

[SNIP]
While one can do exercises to strengthen the body muscles – Staying focused to be mentally tough calls for far greater involvement, perseverance and practice.

Briha

Dear Brihji,

As you know we have a different thread on mental toughness. Please contribute more on the topic there for everybody's benefit. Plus that thread will remain active as well. You are no less a guru than Anatoly P.

I currently have started shooting more than 40-60 pellets with each shot considered as "somewhere in the mid-range". So I do not have the notions of "just started" or "about to finish" or "how much more". Of course, I make every shot account for the SOA. Plus a few basic flaws corrected by tirpassion when we met last, has improved my performance and helped me boost my confidence.

regs
A.

[tirpassion]

Dear Sir, friends,

The cold humid weather of the last weekend has finally taken it's toll on me. I am down with cough & cold and fever and out of action since yesterday evening. But that was after my return from the 50m range, an hour's journey from home . I skipped the physical exercises yesterday (the body was not responding properly) but could not resist an outing for the FP.

For the last few days, I have been tuning the grip of my FP and working on the hold (below the black bindi) at home. So it was necessary to test the feelings.
- The palm is no more paining (it was due to some gaps between the palm and the grip). I can lightly feel the contact of the palm surface on the grip and this support has taken the strain away. So feeling better .
- Working on the gripping to have the uniform regular gripping everytime. Found the sweet spot of gripping after 50 odd shots (SOA box drill 85%) SK Pistol Match ammo.
- Worked on to adjust the weapon to zero in so to say with SK Pistol Match ammunition at the same time.
- Satisfied with the adjustments, changed to SK standard ammo (practice ammo). Shot 15 shots (12 ticks in drill). The impacts were much higher up compared to Pistol Match.
- The ego needed to be fed with satisfaction . So took up the SK Pistol Match ammo again and finally shot 15 shots without any verification of the impacts in between. I ticked 13 times out of 15 (box drill on satisfaction of the execution of shot). Needless to say, I was satisfied but the 13 ticks seem to be a bit exaggerated.

On the way home, I felt that I was walking zigzag, as if drunk , the extremities of the limbs were cold... I knew what was waiting for me . Anyway, a few days of rest will not do any bad, I hope.

Here is the card for your judgement, Guruji.

best regards
tirpassion

[brihacharan]

[SNIP]
While one can do exercises to strengthen the body muscles – Staying focused to be mentally tough calls for far greater involvement, perseverance and practice.
Briha

Dear Brihji,
As you know we have a different thread on mental toughness. Please contribute more on the topic there for everybody's benefit. Plus that thread will remain active as well. You are no less a guru than Anatoly P.
I currently have started shooting more than 40-60 pellets with each shot considered as "somewhere in the mid-range". So I do not have the notions of "just started" or "about to finish" or "how much more". Of course, I make every shot account for the SOA. Plus a few basic flaws corrected by tirpassion when we met last, has improved my performance and helped me boost my confidence.
Regs
A.

AGN,
> Agree - A new thread on Mental Toughness is worth initiating
> Anatoly P is an acknowledged Guru - I'm no where within miles of him
> All I do is share a few nuggets I've picked up in my journey spanning h a l f - a - c e n t u r y with the fond hope that it may serve to benefit someone, somewhere, sometime
> Experience the Greatest Teacher of All has taught me that "A Teacher's influence affects eternity - No one knows where it stops"
> Happy to note that your performance keeps improving & keeps building your confidence!
> Remember - Success / Achievement is not a destination to arrive at - It's an Ongoing Journey
Best wishes!
Briha

[hvj1]

AGN,
I will be visiting Bombay to collect my FP sometime in May, i will meet you on the range.

TiRpassion,
1. How are your fig. 8 exercises coming along.
2. Get the grips sorted out to your comfort.
3.3-1 dry practice/live, get that trigger timing going correctly.

Diary:
1. Pain resurfaced in right forearm, and elbow joint.
2. Cut out the windmilling reps.
3. Carried on with the stretching exercises.
4. Did the 10 push ups.
5. Body felt very sluggish yesterday evening, so took a short walk, roughly 1 km, with wife, son and dissaproving personal trainer.

Mental Training:
1. Did my Biofeedback training, shav asan, visualised my self with a powerful set of forearms, shooting 150 shots.
2. Affirmed almost 5-6 times a day, that my hand will improve and become strong enough to shot a 100 shots.

Medical Treatment:
1. Applied Ayurvedic oil liberally on affected area (mahanarayani oil).

Result, today, a combination of affirmation, BF and oil, the pain has reduced considerably.

Best Regards

[brihacharan]

[quote="hvj1"]AGN,
I will be visiting Bombay to collect my FP sometime in May, i will meet you on the range.

> May I look forward to the pleasure of meeting you hvj1?
> Will be in touch with AGN & coordinate.
Rgds
Briha

[tirpassion]

Titpassion,
1. How are your fig. 8 exercises coming along.
2. Get the grips sorted out to your comfort.
3.3-1 dry practice/live, get that trigger timing going correctly.

Guruji definitely loves to call me titpassion .

Dear Sir,
- the Fig. 8s have disappeared from the routine to make way to the hold under the bindi. Big mistake!!! I am getting back again to it.
- the grip/gripping is definitely better.
- The trigger timing is very sweet in the majority of the shots. It is like the shot breaks without any effort, almost automatically, as soon as the perfect sight picture settles down in the zone, hardly within 2 secs. This gives an exquisite feeling of satisfaction which I look for at every shot. If that happens, I put a tick (box drill of satisfaction of the execution of shot). If it gets longer, I abandon.
As of now, Dry training = hold beneath the black bindi; dry shots on white wall. I remember the SA box drill with dry firing you had asked me to do on 100 holds and achieve 100% in it. Can I do this particular exercise of dry firing part on a reduced target? like at 10m or 25m?
I can go to the 50m range only once a week where I plan to do the live shooting part only. I planned 60 live shots at every outing. What do you suggest?

my sincere regards
tirpassion