
Elizabeth and I got to enjoy a rare practice round of clays yesterday, along with a long time student, top competitor and friend. We so rarely get a chance to visit the local club and 'be a regular shooter', and with the frigid temps, our lessons had cancelled for the day, so off to Rocky Creek Sporting Clays we went! I swear, every round of clays ends up being a learning experience.
As much as we teach that the shooter should be more concerned with 'why' they miss a target, than 'where' they miss, it is sooo very easy to fall into that trap. Fairly early in the round we ran into a tough presentation, and I couldn't reliably break the second bird. The discussion immediately turned to where I was place the shot......I was thinking about it, as were the others around me....it infected us all! After a short break, and mental 're-organization' I realized I was not allowing myself to connect with the second bird visually before delivering the shot, and it was GETTING WORSE because I was obsessing with where I was shooting, which makes it even harder to focus on the bird! I ran my routine, emphasizing the part of the bird that I had to have in focus on each target, and everything started working just fine. XX-XX-XX-XX.
Just remember folks, its much more important to know WHY than WHERE.
Best,
Will
As much as we teach that the shooter should be more concerned with 'why' they miss a target, than 'where' they miss, it is sooo very easy to fall into that trap. Fairly early in the round we ran into a tough presentation, and I couldn't reliably break the second bird. The discussion immediately turned to where I was place the shot......I was thinking about it, as were the others around me....it infected us all! After a short break, and mental 're-organization' I realized I was not allowing myself to connect with the second bird visually before delivering the shot, and it was GETTING WORSE because I was obsessing with where I was shooting, which makes it even harder to focus on the bird! I ran my routine, emphasizing the part of the bird that I had to have in focus on each target, and everything started working just fine. XX-XX-XX-XX.
Just remember folks, its much more important to know WHY than WHERE.
Best,
Will