Worst scores in at least 5 years today

Not sure what happened I went to the range today and shot the usual amount of rounds of ammunition and I shot the worst set of targets that I have shot in at least 5 years by at least a 5% drop in my scores.  I have been fighting some tennis elbow for the last month but my elbow is feeling better and I shot better last week than this week.  Not sure if it is the 6 inches between the ears or have I suddenly started jerking the trigger or what.  I came home and cleaned the guns and will try again next week.  Any thoughts are welcome

You don't show any Classification....what is your normal or average score?
Maybe just a bad day, don't dwell on it or think about it at all, just move on and focus on the fundamentals. One bad day does not a problem make! Days like that happen to everyone, especially me!

Scores are variable based on your body, your mind, weather (or ventilation if inside), the inherent variation of statistic, etc.

The key is to ask yourself, "Did I observe with confidence anything changing in my process?" and "Can I find anything specifically wrong with my pistol?"  If so then the low score taught you something.   If neither is "Yes" then look at it as "these scores are lower than my average, but not indicating any problem".

Remember, 50% of your scores will be above your average and 50% will below average, but don't think of that as a start of a decline in your shooting.

It sounds like the first bad scores were an invitation to you to pay attention to your process.   However, your mind concentrated on the low scores which continued.   If I were coaching you from afar, I'd say to you "Your response to the bad shots was to dwell on the bad shots and their negative impact to your score.  Instead, you should have taken a small mental break and then focused hard on your shot process."

Best of luck for next week.

Forget about it, it never happened.  Follow your shot process shoot 10's&X's.

Seriously the worst thing you could do is dwell on it!
- Dave

Thank you for the support, I don't have a classification but I usually shoot 30 shot strings at a B-8 target at 25 yards and my scores have averaged about 280-285 for the last year.  I was as high as a 285-295 average in the past and yesterday my average for 3 30 shot strings was 265.  I think after the first string I started thinking and that really made the problem worse.  This was with the 22.  I will try again and pretend it did not happen.  I do need to work on dry fire exercises.  Thanks

I think your anomaly highlights the mental focus needed in this game to consistently shoot high scores. This is why you see all the top shooters talk about the importance of ingraining a process to follow on every shot. This way you can also begin to troubleshoot why a bad day occurs, which part of the process seemed to not work.  Did your hold seem worse?

Anxiety over a bad score will usually worsen the hold or trigger control without a solid process to focus on. We all have days that as I say "leave a little room for improvement". With a 290 average you could tell most of us how it's done, i'm just highlighting how hard it is to do that everytime.

The top shooters are there because they have fewer or theirs are less of an anomaly and they still are at the top. Some of them have forgotten how to shoot an 8.

Robert that 290 average is on a B-8 target so not that great but to see it drop to a 265 was a bit of an annoyance that's for sure.  My hold did not seem that bad but I think it was the trigger.  Hopefully just an outlier day so I think everybody who has responded is right, I need to focus on the process and my fundamentals.  I refuse to think it can have anything to do with getting older:)