What You Don’t See is What You Get
July
2008
Shooting
Tip
by: Dan Schindler
 Sporting
clays is the ultimate test, pitting ourselves against targets down gullies and
through trees at countless unknown speeds, angles and distances. We spend
thousands of dollars on equipment, books, videos and training all to master
basic, rudimentary skills. Some shooters do, and they have the skills to show
for it. But why is it that skills don’t always match scores?
Hmmmm. The answer is simple. Competition.
Breaking targets on a quiet practice field conveniently bypasses consequences.
Other than a brief moment of disappointment or consideration, the missed target
is quickly forgotten. But not when the 0 is put on a scoresheet. That’s a whole
lot more than just a consequence, it leads to expectations, what ifs and a host
of other distractions and disturbances.
Gun skills are not the same as “scoring” skills. To score well in competition
takes much more than just gun skills. Engage the mind, divert the attention, and
the shooting performance will suffer. Why? Not because the gun skills aren’t
present but because the performance is managed by the mind, which first
must be focused and still.
If higher scores and consistency are the goals, sooner or later a shooter must
attend to mental distractions and scoring skills. It’s the part of the game we
don’t see, hiding in plain sight, robbing us of targets, needing our attention.
At Paragon, The
Workshop takes a close look at these questions and delivers straight
answers.
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