Angry outbursts - no place in shooting!

Recently, while practicing at 25 yds. with my 1911, I was able to shoot one of the my best groups ever.  I'm guessing it was about 1" but a little to the left.  Everything seemed like it was falling in place.  After that string, feeling excited and probably a little cocky, I decided to adjust my sight one click to the right to see if I could duplicate the previous string but closer to the X ring.  That's when the wheels fell off and my shots barely hit the paper and were far to the left.  Feeling frustrated and angry I emptied what was left in my magazines in rapid fire toward the back berm.  And that's when it hit me that this type of emotion and behavior had no place in shooting a firearm.  I've had similar bouts of displaying anger while playing golf, tennis, etc. when I was younger but learned to control my temper but I never thought it was inappropriate and downright dangerous as the situation described above.  So, I can assure you this will never happen again and if my blood begins to boil everything will stop, guns will be calmly put away and I will go home.  Another lesson I've learned about gun safety, only calm focused attention should be given in using a firearm.

Ive witnessed it at matches, and I agree it has no place in shooting.

Blankenship wrote once that bullseye was about self-discipline and control.

You never saw it as inappropriate our dangerous, but think of this way -- at the end of the day, it's having a tantrum, and we should expect more from ourselves than we expect from children.  I'm glad you see it as inappropriate and dangerous now because anything that prevents you from behaving that way is a good thing, and respect for others and your surroundings is important, but all the drive you really need to avoid it is the desire to respect yourself.  

Be disciplined.  Be focused.  No shot is as important as your next one.

I used to get frustrated during practice.  Made things worse.  Over the last year, I've changed my approach.  When I am having a bad day at practice, that I will back away from the shooting table, sit down, think a little about what is going on, change the string sequence, switch guns, whatever, to break the pattern.  After a few successful targets, I come back to what I was doing when I got frustrated and try it again while calm and confident.  Usually I shoot much better.  Then I toss the frustration targets and mentally toss them as well, and remember and log the good ones.  I dwell on the good targets, driving my shooting buddies nuts, I suppose, but I don't dwell on the bad ones after noting briefly what I think was the problem in the logbook and moving on to analyzing why the good targets were good.  I control my emotions much better since adopting this sequence.  I never leave the range frustrated.  To me, this is key.

I forgot to note the lady author of this quote. It helps when I keep it in mind when shooting.

"…. An ideal shooter, focused on the center of the bull, observing but not forcing, accepting the random movement of the sights and noting the outcome of the shot with detachment."

Negative emotions are bad for results, yes they can also be dangerous.

I practice "Feast or Forget" (Lanny Bassham) Feast on every good shot Forget those that aren't, because what you give your attention too is what your sub-conscious will try and repeat. The key that most people miss is the "shot" is really the process - not the result.

A small group says you had a consistent shot process. Focusing on your "potential" results and allowing your emotions to take over after moving your sights and not getting the result you wanted is what caused your downfall. Process is primary.

- Dave

There is a fellow in my club who looses it once in a while and slams his gun down on the bench and has an outburst. He puts a lot of effort into the game and is a bachelor, with no children, so he has been able to put a lot of time and money into the sport. He peaked a while back and was just not able to advance above "pretty good". His loss of self-control always held him back. IMHO, if he would have recognized this and worked on this limitation, he'd have made master and probably high master. I admire the shooters who, after a shot, show no emotion. After all, it is just holes in a piece of paper.

Ive gotten disappointed, and frustrated at times for sure. Normally at that time I back away. Put the target guns away, toss up some fun targets, and brake out the 357 or one of my other pistols and just do some plinking. It always levels the mind, and I still get a little range time with no stress.

If you cannot control your anger/frustration with a pistol, putter, or racket, all safe sports, how can you control your anger while driving, a much more dangerous activity?

AllAces wrote:If you cannot control your anger/frustration with a pistol, putter, or racket, all safe sports, how can you control your anger while driving, a much more dangerous activity?

There is a big difference in getting angry at oneself and getting angry at another person. This is especially true when the other person commits a (perceived) intentional act that endangers one and possibly one's loved ones, then makes an obscene gesture, showing total disrespect and disregard for the law and the person who perceives the slight.

BE Mike wrote:

AllAces wrote:If you cannot control your anger/frustration with a pistol, putter, or racket, all safe sports, how can you control your anger while driving, a much more dangerous activity?

There is a big difference in getting angry at oneself and getting angry at another person. This is especially true when the other person commits a (perceived) intentional act that endangers one and possibly one's loved ones, then makes an obscene gesture, showing total disrespect and disregard for the law and the person who perceives the slight.

IMHO not really.

There is a big difference between getting mad at yourself (we have all done that) and getting mad at yourself and throwing a tantrum because of it . Shooting the remaining rounds rapid fire into a berm because one is mad at ones self is a tantrum and a dangerous one at that. Nobody else wants to say it but I will. I want no part of a person that cannot control themselves when they have a gun it their hand. Practice or not it's a dangerous combination and a person that will do that will go ballistic when there is another person pushing their buttons (aka driving and road rage).

We have to learn to control ourselves in one way or another (hopefully). If this shooting rapid fire was an outburst of being mad at ones self then so be it and let it be the last one. If it's not controllable and it happens again then perhaps shooting sports are not for the OP.

 YMMV


Virgil

Poor word choice using anger and frustration together.

I am often frustrated in my shooting.  But I do not get angry.

Which one of these two guys in the video would be a better shooter based on temperament only?

Wow, does that bring back memories... Radar assignments..

"would you like your license and registration back, Sir"?

Beezer,
Your honesty helps everyone. Sometimes an outburst has a counterpoint. I saw an 'august' member of our pistol club (and shooting coach) slam his rather nice firearm on the bench, off which it promptly bounced, landing in the dirt beyond the firing line. Shooters had to make their firearms safe and step back so he could walk around us and the benches to pick up his gun. God am I glad that wasn't me. Cheers, dipnet