New this year to bullseye

This is my first year joining 50 ft indoor at my club (at 49) But i shoot great scores in practice but i seem to become a joke when the buzzer sounds in a match. 270's in practice ,and in a match my high is 238 i never make top 5 any help?

Welcome.  It is just nerves.  Some people get a dry mouth, some get excited and heart speeds up.  Concentrate on breathing and trigger control.  If the shot is not there in slow fire set the gun down, take a few breaths and start over.  You know you will shoot Xs.  Do not let anything into your mind except you know you will shoot an X.
I started when I was 58 so you are 9 years ahead of me:-).  Make sure you dry fire a LOT.  Travel to some matches, you meet a great group of shooters.
Ask a lot of questions on this forum.

CHIP

Buggman, one thing that has helped me that others on here speak about frequently is Lanny Bassham's book "With Winning in Mind". I never bought into mental management until recently, but it has helped. If you can shoot a 270 in practice, the mental game is the only thing holding you back in the match. You are fully capable of shooting the same when it counts.

I've never been one to get buck fever or have much issue with nerves, but like Chip mentioned above the deep breaths seem to help quite a bit.

Thank you both and I'm going to look for that book now

When you practice, do you practice all three stages or just slow fire? Download the range commands and practice time.

Download the bullseye timer app, write down your shot process, do 2 second drills with the app using your process.

Use the search function to find threads about all of those topics

Regular_Guy wrote:Buggman, one thing that has helped me that others on here speak about frequently is Lanny Bassham's book "With Winning in Mind". I never bought into mental management until recently, but it has helped. If you can shoot a 270 in practice, the mental game is the only thing holding you back in the match. You are fully capable of shooting the same when it counts.

I've never been one to get buck fever or have much issue with nerves, but like Chip mentioned above the deep breaths seem to help quite a bit.

I resemble that remark.  And based on the great advice from Ed Hall and others after some previous frustration with my performance ordered the book.  It helps to uncover some areas where you have an opportunity to make significant improvements and achieve healthy goals and is an easy read.   Definitely worth the investment.  On an even more positive note, I think its a great tool from a leadership perspective.  Money well spent.

Cheers,
Derek

First off, welcome to the wonderful, rewarding, frustrating sport of indoor bullseye.

Now--270 is pretty damn good for a first-year shooter. I wish I'd shot that my first year of indoor--I remember being very impressed with myself for breaking 265 once. A 238 shows a hell of a lot of promise, too. Don't think in terms of good or bad scores, or where you think you should place. There's always somebody better than you, and in your case, there are a hell of a lot of people that are worse.

Instead--did you shoot well, regardless of the score? I've shot some pretty bad 280s ("My slow fire was well-executed, but my trigger control in timed was awful"). And I've shot some good 268s ("My hold was really bad today, but I stuck to my techniques and performed well under the circumstances"). And if you didn't shoot well, were you able to analyze your shooting and learn anything? There's no such thing as a bad string if it taught you something useful. Getting frustrated and focusing on a number gets you nowhere.

Jwhelan939 wrote:When you practice, do you practice all three stages or just slow fire? Download the range commands and practice time.

This, for starters. Where are you losing your points? Is your slow fire about average, but your sustained fire scores are off? Or vise versa?

Some tricks I've worked up for dealing with all the sources of match pressure:

(1) The match doesn't matter. Whether you shoot a 300 or a 100 or put thirty rounds into the backstop, you will wake up tomorrow and your life will not be any different.

(2) The other shooters don't matter. Let me tell you a secret about a lot of league shooters--those guys that are always at the top of the score sheet are just as worried as you. Don't worry about where you place for awhile, you've got nothing to prove. Once you get your head in the right place, you'll quickly realize they're worried about you.

(3) Nobody really cares what you shoot. At most league shoots, nobody likes or respects a shooter just for their score. People respect people that are friendly and sportsmanlike, people that help out with the work of running a league. The guy that's always first to sweep up brass after a shoot, for instance. I know a lot of talented shooters that get a lot of eyes rolled behind their backs, because they're jerks that think a 275 average makes them Bill Blankenship.

(4) Focus on your target. Don't even look at anyone else's. All that matters is you, your pistol, your target, and the shot you're about to make.

(5) Don't score your target until after you've finished shooting. Try not to even look at it. Tuck it under something so you can't see it while you're shooting. Nothing is more sure to give you a terrible timed fire score than a great slow fire score.

(6) When you practice, are there other shooters present? If you're shooting alone in practice, the next time you're at a match, make a point of focusing on the sound of gunfire from the relays ahead of you. Really listen to it. The more you get used to it, the less you'll notice it at a match, and the more shooting in a match will seem like just shooting by yourself. Which you are.

(7) Be prepared, and be organized. Not being able to find a critical tool, or not having something you need, is a pretty sure way to a racing heartbeat and a shaky, wobbly hold.

I see a lot of good advice here including the book. I have been shooting a long time and still occasionally get match jitters. Okay quite often especially during timed and rapid after a good slow fire. Practice is all well and good but what helps me shoot better in matches is to shoot more matches. I see your location is Cape Cod. Do you shoot on Mondays in the Cape Cod league ? I shoot for Acushnet.

Yes Dan for Falmouth in Cape league.
And thank you all for the great advise, I intend on using all

Dan I shot a 200 first match this season at your club

Many years ago, I went to an informal match with some of my buddies. We shot bench rest rifle, shotgun and action pistol. A shooter could practice and then when he was ready to shoot for score, he had to pay a dollar (I told you that this was a long time ago) and he could shoot for record. One of my buddies was shooting exceptional groups with the rifle. When he shot for record his groups opened up substantially. I asked him what happened. He said, "I paid my dollar!" That remains an inside joke for a few friends.

Now to the crux of the problem. I think match nerves are tempered by, among other things, developing and using a written shot plan. This gives you something to focus upon before and during matches. Shooting a lot of matches also helps. Training in the proper fundamentals helps give you confidence in the fundamentals and confidence relieves the jitters. There are also a lot of good books and programs besides what has been mentioned. They don't necessarily focus upon shooting. Some things that come to mind are articles in Gil Hebard's "The Pistol Shooter's Treasury", Matthew Maltz's "Psyco-Cybernetics, "The Inner Game of Tennis", and "The Relaxation Response".

Dear Buggman;

Lotsa great advice here, good recommendations, but the bottom line is that shooting is a completely mental game.  Physical advice will help, but you need to get in the correct frame of mind to shoot outstanding scores.  My correct frame of mind may work for you, or it may not. 

Personally, If I can get into the I do not give  a darn frame of mind, I start out shooting awesome until I recognize how good my scores are.  As such, I try not to look at my targets with a lassieze fare attitude which may or may not work for you. 

What is important is for you to find your mental attitude which will allow you to perform at the best of your ability.  And to practice constructively as well. 

Wish there were some shortcuts but if there are, I have not found them.

Regards,
Cranky

Hey I resemble this thread   I'm shooting low 280's in practice and low 260's in matches. Thanks for the tips.

I always found it was more useful to be able to honestly self-analyze than to directly address match pressure. For instance, in matches or practices where I feel pressured, I have a tendency to do two things: over-hold and hesitate in slow fire, and hesitate on trigger pulls and rush my shots in sustained (yes, you can do both at the same time, it makes for some marvelously poor shooting). So when I feel those things coming on, I can focus on dealing with them and forget the match pressure.

Then again, most of my best scores have been in matches. My two best NGCs were shot in matches (one a do-or-die traveling league match). My best timed and rapid fire scores were in matches. My best slow fire score wasn't, but that score was mostly dumb luck and my best match slow is only a point behind. So maybe what I'm really doing is channeling my match pressure into preparation, and not taking that same degree of focus and preparation into my practice.

Shot Process 
Match Pressure 

240 thats pretty good and will advance over time.

Do you guys only shoot NMCs for league? We shoot a 900 2x per month.

In our league we shoot 900x2 also (same day). One 900 against each team. I usually shoot better on the second 900 after getting over the match jitters on the 1st one. Or maybe its the coffee and doughnuts finally kicking in.

Len

If I have coffee and doughnuts (or even a cookie and water), and I get a really good look at what it is like when a dot moves ALOT. :-)

jmdavis wrote:Do you guys only shoot NMCs for league? We shoot a 900 2x per month.

Yes. Just one NMC per night. Top 5 scores "make the team".

well Dan monday i only shot a 198 but i feel like something clicked in rapid I knew my slow was horrible and timed ok so i just said " screw it" and pulled a 82 in rapid you guys at acushnet i am impressed by wish club was closer to me

An 82 rapid in your 4th match is pretty good. Keep shooting and have fun.

look forward to talking to you monday night Dan.

Ok book ordered," don't give a darn" attitude in place. downloaded and practice with "bullseye app". I will post progress.
I am really lucky to find this forum it is like the people I have met in this league all top notch like minded people and thank you all.
Now on lighter side, I was practicing this morning with my long time friend Roly (who got me into this) we use to shoot competitive trap(i was very good at)i had an ok slow than a horrible timed and Roly said i would be better off with a tighter choke lol just thought i would share a chuckle.

thanks again for all advise.
Tim (Buggman)

Huh. I didn't even know there was a separate Cape Cod league. I used to shoot in the Greater Boston Pistol League, once upon a time (about a decade ago).

Y'all have impressive participation in your pistol leagues out there in the Bay State. I wish I knew how you did it. I live in a metropolitan area with a population of 7 million, and we're happy to get 15-20 people in our twice-monthly league.