Shooting in the Indian Context - As a sport and a career

[luckycute]

@Tenx

Thanx for your info . .. . .
I hd visited the ARSA Club at Kahilipara, Guwahati . . .
and got the various info, gone through the ranges 10m, 25m n 50 m too .. . . needed , N will join very soon.. jst looking for a partner .

[kaipu]

Beautifully written article..
It was a joy to read it.. Olympic Gold seems like a reality now..

[JoyjitGhosh]

Hi Tenx,

Is there a number I could reach you at? Since you are a pioneer in Bangalore and of great valuable information, I would really like to have a few conversations with you. I am Joyjit Ghosh, living in NJ, US and now am in Bangalore for sometime. Would appreciate your response brother.

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Regards,
Joyjit Ghosh

[chefafzal]

Hi.
Glad to hear about your confidence in yourself. Seriously wish you the very best

From what I read about you, the fact that you are open to new tips and learning should itself be your biggest strength. Here is what I can start you off with:
1. Import a good gun, if at all you want to get serious about it. These will surely cost a good bundle, ranging from 1 to 2 lakhs. If this is immediately not affordable, I suggest you stick to competition guns, and definitely the peep sight ones.
2. An option for you could be the IHP peep sight compressed air. See if you can order one directly from IHP, or even procure an used one. Once you get a good hang of the peep sight accuracy, trigger control, rhythm and position, you should go in for good clothing.
3. A good shooting kit of trouser, jacket and shoes should cost you about 30K from Capapie (Mumbai) or from Calcutta. Both of these are good enough for a long trip into your new career. Once you have clothing on, sports shooting becomes a different ball game.
4. As you get a good hang on peep sight shooting with proper clothing, you could consider import of a good PCP like Walther or Feiniwerkbau. You dont need a gun license but definitely need a cllub license to import. As you practice with match grade guns, the weight, recoil, trigger, balance etc., should have prepared you to handle these imported ones well. This meet a certain boom in your scores.
5. Match this with a Mavlankar and Nationals, so that you have atleast 1-2 months of good usage of your new imported gun. This will help achieve best scores in the matches by getting you adapted to the gun, as well as testing the gun well before hand. (never go into a competition with a brand new gun, or one that you have not got used to)
6. TopGun training at 12550 is fine, but also think if you have better usage for that money... like maybe a new jacket. You can always find good shooters to observe you, and practice alongwith.
7. As a plan B, you can also start off with guns in a club, and slowly amass enough balance to purchase the right gun. But dont bother with wrong investments on jackets and pants. These are custom made and once you order them, you cannot find buyers. But in the case of guns, you will always find someone looking out for second hand guns.
8. Plan C, which most love to do, is settle for an imported cheaper versions, like a Daisy Powerline, which is a springer and comes with peep sight. All said and done, the combination of springer, its recoil, harder trigger, etc, will never develop a proper rhythm fit enough for competitions. But owing to affordability, you can still begin with importing a Powerline or an TechArms peep sight.
9. Peep sight rifles also require some more adaptations like gloves, inserts, etc. It is best to just observe some one who is already knee deep into this line, to ask questions and see what all is required. This sums up to a 'Shooting Kit', and is quintessential for great shooting. Plan and slowly accumulate a good shooting kit. Have the right stuff, which will unfailingly support you on the long run. Think anywhere from 1 to 4 years. I dont know you personally to give a better gauge of your sports timelines, but if after 4 years, you are not learning, then its time you tried something else.
10. Last and most important tip is to develop a proper training and shooting rhythm. This requires dedicated time sense, despite whatever mood you have at that time. Make a schedule, with very small achievable goals, and even if it means having to let go of a sudden date with that hot chick, make the schedule most important. This will greatly help in preparing the mind and body, create a competition environment, etc. Every training session, plan to achieve or observe something. Be hungry for new information and dare to try out changes. One day you sleep well and shoot, while other days, you have a little warm up and shoot. Sometimes you sip water while shooting, and sometimes you observe how long you go on without drinking water thru practice. Sometimes you change fore sight inserts, and sometimes you shoot on a blank piece of target. Keep checking, training, learning, training, sacrificing, training, discussing, training, researching, training, and more training. Aim to improve yesterday's score, or last week's grouping (forgetting score). One fine day, you will see regular 98s and 99s.... thinking about what made you miss out the last series 100.
All the best and ping me if I can help more.

TenX

Dear Tenx,
Hi, I hope you still remember me. I'm now finally back to my hometown Hyderabad all set to give 10m air rifle shooting a shot. Now as I went about following your advice and seriously take up shooting, I came across a few hurdles need your advice.
I took membership at the Hyderabad Shooting Range at Gachibowli (1000/- Joining fees and 1000/- monthly and application fee 10/- this info might be usefull for some) and told the coach I was interested in 10m rifle shooting, Any way Problem number

2. The only guns they have in working condition are Break Barrel indian guns. the coach however said he will let me practice with the peep sight competion guns for holding practise only and not even dry shooting.
3. Since I work , I visit the range 3-4 times a week, but with no guns I really don't know what to do. Coach made me practice with pistol the other day, then after practise I had to remind him that I'm a rifle guy. And he said the same thing " we don't have rifles".
4. What do I do, do I purchase my own gun if yes then I'm not sure whether I can invest 1.5 - 2 lacs without being a little sure that I have it in me. If I'm one bit sure that I have the potential I'm willing to go ALL IN without any hesitation. Because I'm dead serious and I don't think the coach unserstands that. ( I haven't even held a competition rifle yet , I don't even know the view from inside a peepsight)
5. I could may be invest upto say about 80 k intially , like may be a FBW for about 79 k , But is that a good gun and how long can I use it. Or should i straight way go for a walther lg 400 or something, or import a daisy avanti single stroke pneumatic pls advice. Like you had mentined in your previous mails practising on a break barrel isn't helping much in terms of developing a rhythm.
6. As far as practising along side other shooters is corncerend I saw only one other rifle shooter who shoots for the police. Everybody else shoots pistol.

8. I might be able to create a provision of practising 10m at my house, pls suggest ?
9. ALSO IF ITS OKAY with you could you pls ping or send me your phone number.
Pls advice i don't know what to do.
My main reason for changing jobs was to come back to hyderabad as we had a range here.
thanks,
Afzal Ali.

[chefafzal]

Dear Tenx,
By FBW I meant FBW 500 .
thanks,
Afzal

[Ak2014]

Thank you for posting everything in such a details..
Few words are stuck in my mind.. and heart.. and had been reading this posts since jan..
"600 is not enough you must be able to shoot 600/600 ten times in a row!.." This is what gonna change life of all those who wish to pursue this sport..

[chetan4shooting]

Can't thank you enough for taking the effort to show the real scenario in our (mera) BHARAT (mahan) It's quite amazing, even after all these hurdles we produce so many world class sportspersons

[ParekSachin91]

Can one learn small bore shooting directly, or will he/she have to practice with air rifle first? Also can 10 m air rifle competition certificates be of any value for getting arms license i.e. .22lr, for small bore target practice?

[vineet5023]

Hi Tenx,

Congratulations to you on this post,
It's been of great help. I am from Kanpur& would like to understand which shooting style(Sasta aur tikau) should I select and from where do I start. Also want to understand how much money do I need to invest in the beginning ?

Thanks
Vineet

[satyam]

Thank you so much 10X.

[TenX]

Hello all,
Forgive my delay in response. My previous employee firewall banned all websites having 'gun' in it. I will do my best to stay in touch.
Some quick answers

@Afzal Ali - Very unfortunately, ranges in our country demand growth in open sight before experiencing peep. From a personal perspective, I would consider this as a great hurdle, given that a lot of unlearning is required to better in peep, as well as zero growth in competition shooting, and complete loss of gun customization. I would immediately suggest the following - (a) Try to develop a circle of co-shooters who are all interested in peep sight air rifle. If 2-4 of yu can pitch in and buy one gun, you can start to share and use it. (b) NO point in not giving pistol a try. Do try that for a few days and see. You never know where your best chances are. (c) Pls PM me. I will share my contact number.

@ParekSachin91 - Of course you can start firearms directly. However, doing a lot of air-gun shooting can greatly help in understanding oneself, developing a rhythm, and keeping costs down. Plus the added advantage of anytime/anywhere practice. All the best.

@vineet5023 - Kanpur has a couple of shooting ranges. I suggest you try as many variants of the sport before deciding to invest. And frankly speaking, there is very little 'Sastha' in shooting sports, although you may be able to cut some edges. And in the end, and many times, a lot is dependent on the quality of your gun, ammo, clothing. As much as possible, learn with the shooting fraternity, request and use others' stuff, and understand what exactly you need before investing. Any wrong investment which you may further not be able to use much, will fetch you a loss. Also be wary of second hand stuff, without being assured of what you buy. Have a great shooting career

[satyam]

This question might sound silly but...
Does masturbation affect shooting?
If yes then what are the impacts?

[TenX]

@ Satyam
Of course an effect is guaranteed
However, it would be in an individual basis.
Fur example, I knew a shooter who would score above average soon after a verbal argument with someone. And I also knew another, whose shooting would get ruined even with the slightest exchange of words.
That said, masturbation, as an exertion can relax the muscles, induce sleep, lower heartbeat, tire muscles, clear thoughts, etc.
Now, which if there and at which degree will work for/against your scores is something you should judge yourself. But do note interval duration, what all you did after, etc., if you must note best analysis of effects.
Cheers!

[satyam]

thanks

[satyam]

I have been practicing with my precihole nx 100 scorpius for the past 9 months almost 40 minutes everyday.I have also fixed a peep sight on it now.I can shoot on an average 8-9 shots out of 10 in the black portion of 10 m issf target but now I want to upgrade my performance and become more consistent.What should I do to attain maximum stability and minimum hand movement?
Will a break of few days help to perform better?