Hi Geoff, just firing you off an update on progress from yesterday as I think there's a lot of good data from it.
I had a couple of intentions going into the match, some based on my observations on the day before the shoot and some which I'd intended beforehand.
The objectives were as follows:
-Consistent construction of position
-Confident releases on good sight pictures
-Shade strongly and break shots determinedly (This was determined on the day as conditions were switching very fast)
-Consistent, strong shot rhythm and good pace
The shot rhythm and pace was excellent. Finished in about 55 minutes, having fired thirty sighters on top of my match shots as conditions were very hard to get a proper handle on. Quite happy with this as I maintained focus throughout the match and finished comfortable, without strain or pain.
The position was good. It had the proper tensions and balances, the hold was good and while I only broke position twice, once in my sighters and once after twenty shots in the match, I was able to get down in exactly the same way each time and immediately begin shooting tens. My routine for establishing the position is good.
The second and third objectives I'd like to deal with together, as I think this is where the work needs to go in. I was focused on getting shots off quickly due to the switching conditions and to a certain extent, this compromised my delicacy on the trigger. It was remarked on by those watching that (Probably due to the extra pressure on my mind from the competition) I was neglecting the part of my shot routine where I sit on the first stage, and was going through the trigger in one movement, and not at a consistent pace, resulting in wider nines, typically but not exclusively low. I'll be using a camera to monitor my consistency of trigger release in training over the next while and will be focusing on the first stage in order to develop a more consistent, gentle release which doesn't compromise my ability to get shots off quickly where required by sitting on the first stage with some weight applied to it and relaxing, repeating to get a good feel for it and to add it to my muscle memory.
A note on conditions and how I managed them:
Conditions were tricky, with fast changing winds which regularly switched direction at an instant. This made me focus on shading and breaking shots quickly, and this was quite a success. While I got caught out several times where the condition would change as I'd break the shot, the shades themselves were always perfect, exactly where they needed to be, and I got a lot of them perfectly. The tube has been a big help in getting the clarity of sight picture to give me real confidence in that.
At one point, the wind changed magnitude without showing up on the flags and resulted in a group of five or six nines out at 3 o'clock. A spotting scope might have shown something in the mirage which wasn't visible on the flags. They were a limited resource yesterday with so many DURC shooters or I would have used one, but this is one possible explanation.
Subtle oscillations of light levels meant that on occasion the top or bottom edge of the bull would become indistinct and quite a lot of shots dropped low into the nine ring as this phenomenon occurred. Judicious use of the iris and filters allowed me to correct for this, but the effects were so subtle that typically the first indication I'd see would be a couple of uncalled nines low. In other words, I was responding to results rather than anticipating them. This is something I'd like to improve on, but I've no idea how to combat those switches in light levels. Personally I intend to focus on stronger shooting so that perhaps the warning shots are low tens at 6 o'clock rather than mid nines.
Extra focus will definitely win me more tens. When I spent more time focusing, I almost inevitably shot tens unless conditions changed quickly, so the extra focus and attention to shot routine will allow more good shots, but the compromise is to get those shots off without compromising attention to switching conditions on a day like yesterday. More shot routine drills focusing on the first stage of my trigger release, follow through and maintenance of good inner position form the basis for my technical training over the next while, coupled with as much time spent reading wind, light and mirage on the outdoor range as possible.
On a positive note, I was quite disciplined about taking good shots (compromised technique aside). There were only two shots which I over-held and was disappointed at having taken. I would hope that in future I could avoid these altogether, and it's a lot better than the half dozen or so which used to characterise my matches.
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