Tips on Pistol Shooting

[amarinder]

In the result publish at nrai site of Purach competetion, my competitor no. is wrong. It is showing 153 instead of 154. Rest everything is Ok.

I sent the mail to NRAI for correction but got no such reply. Would this cause me any problem in the future competetion?

[tirpassion]

Please answer this query. I am not able to get that shaking arm view out of my mind ....

* I was not feeling the butter flies in my stomach kind of pressure. Though I was subconsciously aware what every shot in the match meant. And sometimes, my SA was so shaky I could not even believe it. Was this the subconscious mind doing it work of pressure or due to some other reason like grip???

I dont want to see that shaking SA ever again...

Hello Amarinder,

I can not explain exactly what happened with you since you are telling that you did not feel the butterflies in your stomach...
For me, if I have shaky hands during shooting it is surely out of stress/tension/match pressure etc. Usually it is in the beginning for me and then it disappears with time and mental work. What usually happens is that your hand is a bit shaky, only a bit but the pressure circumstances make you feel and see it trembling vigorously; then you grip the weapon more tightly to stabilize the hand which creates an adverse effect of over muscular tension and you tend to shake even more.
Remedy:
- You need to grow confidence in yourself that even the hand is unstable due to match pressure, it does not shake to the extent that you can not get 9's at least if your sight picture is perfect.
- You need to work to get your heart beat rate lower and moreover to have control on it. Pranayam helps a lot and also the shavasan exercise taught by Guruji.
- A lot of work has to be done to master the optimal grip pressure.
- During a match, it will occur again because it is normal and at a later stage it will fade away with more and more matches, when you get used to matches. However, if it happens, develop the habit to sit down and let the tension release with deep breathing/Pranayam.

best regards
tirpassion

[brihacharan]

Hi Amarinder / Tirpassion,

After going through your posts - I came across this piece - Take a look....

QUESTION
How to keep my hands steady when shooting? I shake quite a bit when shooting my handgun. It's not that I'm nervous or anything, I just have a hard time keeping my hand really steady when shooting. Any tips to help with this?

ANSWER
There are a number of reasons, why this keeps happening.
1.You need to know whether your hands shake when you are NOT shooting. Some people have a tremor in their hands for no reason whatsoever. It's IDEOPATHIC. It essentially is excess nerve signals coming from your brain when you are trying to hold your hand steady that make it hard to do. If this is your problem, then the best thing to do here is simply to practice some kind of relaxation exercises and control drills to steady your hands.
2.Shooting mechanics –
The "push - pull" grip and stance can be done with an ICOSCELES stance as well which for some is more comfortable and equally effective as the Weaver if done correctly.
3.Target panic.
Essentially, what happens here is that as you try and control the movement of the gun to a smaller and smaller degree to get the sight right where you want it, your brain is sending too much signal to your muscles and you over compensate. This happens most often where your sight crosses over being the same size as your target so you can't see the target you are locked on. The way to tell if this is what is happening to you is aim at a blank piece of paper with nothing printed on it. Just try and get the gun still. If you can, then target panic might be your problem.

How to fix this?
The answer is just practice, as the target gets really small start looking for larger reference points to help you to be comfortable with the sight picture.

This link could perhaps help you understand your predicament better.
answers.yahoo.com/question/index%3Fqid%3D20090224112425.
Briha

[airgun_novice]

[SNIP]
This link could perhaps help you understand your predicament better.
answers.yahoo.com/question/index%3Fqid%3D20090224112425.
Briha

Dear Brihji, Could not open the link. Could you please check and resubmit ? Dhanyawad. regs, A.

[airgun_novice]

In the result publish at nrai site of Purach competetion, my competitor no. is wrong. It is showing 153 instead of 154. Rest everything is Ok.

I sent the mail to NRAI for correction but got no such reply. Would this cause me any problem in the future competetion?

I do not expect any problem - you might just have to quote the competition with the date and the score achieved (keep a printout from the site handy) at the time of filling the entry for zonals/ gvm. You can always email NRAI and seek their help in case of any doubts. Good luck.

[brihacharan]

Dear Brihji, Could not open the link. Could you please check and resubmit ? Dhanyawad. regs, A.

Hi AGN,
> Yes! There is some problem with the link I suggested... However this one given below is a "Treasure Trove of Info"
> Hope it enlightens you & all those aspiring AP shooters...

www.australiancynic.com/NYGORD.htm
So, start out gripping the Pistol with about the same pressure you would exert during a handshake ... The principal expressed in “don't think about your score while shooting … ..... relaxation, visualization and imagery can overcome these negative aspects .
Briha

[amarinder]

Any approx. idea of when is the North Zone competition is held?? And what is SIGNIFICANCE OF gun for glory competetion?

Are these matches of 40 shots or 60? And how much score is required in these comps. Date for GVM is out and is on NOVEMBER 2nd week.


After I train for 50-60 shots apprx. with my right hand, I do gun raises for 30 seconds-6 times with left hand. 2 sets of crunches, 2 sets of push ups, 2 sets of core hold. Are these enough to prevent any back injury in future or I need more exercises??

[dev]

Are you jogging a bit? That or skipping rope for a while will help. By holding exercises do you mean the figures of 8? I have found doing dry fire to be very helpful. Rest I guess Tir can fill in.
Your score is more than enough for the GVM, if it is applicable. A score of 360/400 in the GVM or North Zone should qualify you for the nationals. Till you have participated in the Nationals all matches will be as per national rules i.e. 40 shot matches.

Regards,

Dev

[airgun_novice]

Any approx. idea of when is the North Zone competition is held?? And what is SIGNIFICANCE OF gun for glory competetion?

Are these matches of 40 shots or 60? And how much score is required in these comps. Date for GVM is out and is on NOVEMBER 2nd week.


After I train for 50-60 shots apprx. with my right hand, I do gun raises for 30 seconds-6 times with left hand. 2 sets of crunches, 2 sets of push ups, 2 sets of core hold. Are these enough to prevent any back injury in future or I need more exercises??

Bro, you let us know when NZ gets announced. I am thinking of taking apart in NZ/ WZ so I can skip the Asansol meet of GVM. Like your quote BTW. regs, A

[tirpassion]

Bro, you let us know when NZ gets announced. I am thinking of taking apart in NZ/ WZ so I can skip the Asansol meet of GVM. Like your quote BTW. regs, A

The GVM will be held in Asansol (about 130km from my place) just around the time I will be in India. I am supposed to be back in Paris by 11th Nov... HMMMM!!!! It is tempting!!!!

My plans in India may get changed. who knows??? Now, I need to know when will be the WB state championships held.

best regards
tirpassion

[tirpassion]

After I train for 50-60 shots apprx. with my right hand, I do gun raises for 30 seconds-6 times with left hand. 2 sets of crunches, 2 sets of push ups, 2 sets of core hold. Are these enough to prevent any back injury in future or I need more exercises??

Amarinder,

You should do stretching exercises after the shooting session to relieve the muscles of tension/strain. Push-ups are not part of stretching. It is physical training. I do not know what is a crunch except for abdominal crunches. I would not suggest that either after the shooting session. It stays also as a part of physical training programme.
After shooting, do stretching only which includes touching your toes with your finger tips and trying to touch your nose to the knees without bending your legs. You will feel that your contracted back muscles will get relieved of strain.

Why do shooters have always a common physical problem of back ache? It is because we shooters practice a non symmetrical sport which is not good for health at all. We carry a certain weight (900g to 1kg on average for AP x 70 times minimum for a match of 60 shots for 10 to 20 secs each time) on the shooting side of the body and hardly compensate the non shooting side creating a considerable imbalance with time. And the body takes revenge on us with severe back problems. So, to be very simple, we need to compensate the non shooting side adequately to keep the back pain at bay.

Do you do the figure 8 exercise? It has to be done with both hands and as a result it compensates your non shooting hand immensely. It is physically very demanding and is a part of the technical training programme. So,it helps you both physically and technically.

The core muscle strengthening is an important part of physical training. if your core muscles are strong, you will be less prone to injuries.

Lastly, DO NOT EVER FORGET TO WARM-UP BEFORE LIFTING THE GUN be it for live shooting or dry technical training. You should also do warm-up exercises before your physical training session.

best regards
tirpassion

[brihacharan]

Lastly, DO NOT EVER FORGET TO WARM-UP BEFORE LIFTING THE GUN be it for live shooting or dry technical training. You should also do warm-up exercises before your physical training session.
best regards
tirpassion

A Cardinal Rule which should become every shooters in-built habit
Briha

[amarinder]

Bro, you let us know when NZ gets announced. I am thinking of taking apart in NZ/ WZ so I can skip the Asansol meet of GVM. Like your quote BTW. regs, A

The GVM will be held in Asansol (about 130km from my place)

best regards
tirpassion

though I know its too early but I may forget by the time comes that you are from WB. So, would be glad if you tell me how to get there from chandigarh or delhi AND where to put up at asansol? Regards

[bodhijobs]

I don't really have an idea where to put up in Asansol, must be some decent hotels/motels.

To reach there, reach Kolkata either via flight or Rajdhani/Duranto Express. Then from Kolkata, either take a cab on rent or take a VOLVO bus from Esplanade Area or take the Double Decker Express/Black Diamond from Howrah Railway Station.

[amarinder]

at gun for glory, can i qualify for nationals?

and wats the difference bw NR comp. and ISSF comp. except the no of shots?