yankytrash
New member
Well, got IPSC match #2 under my belt today. Had the little safety routine down like a champ today. Had more compliments than criticism today.
Not sure why the compliments. I still sucked, but with good excuses today. Had to switch guns to one I just built a week ago (basically untested, only 2 mags have been run through it), cuz my front sight on my primary gun took a vacation 3 rounds into the match. Never did find it after it flew off.
The new gun was way off my normal sight in, and, unfortunately, for the past two weeks I've been trying to get away from "feeling" the gun, and using the sights more. "Feel" works fine for felon-sized groups at 25m, but I found out, last time, it has no place in competitions. New gun shot high and to the left. I'm normally a low 6 o'clock shooter. Also has a little trouble with FTF. Hand to hand feed it once or twice per mag. Ugh.
Anyway, lame equipment excuses out of the way, my major problem. Nerves.
Ever see when Barney Fife had to really pull his gun on a dangerous suspect? Remember that funny way he would shake like a leaf, almost shaking his hat off his head? Well, that's me for about the first 3 or 4 rounds. Maybe not quite as bad, but close enough. It's visible shaking.
Actually, over time, I've found the shakiness also happens when shooting with people I don't know. I guess that's the problem with shooting by yourself back in the woods. You can hit all the A's and 10's you want by yourself, but it doesn't make a rat's butt of a difference when you have the nerves of a lizard that's trapped in a schoolyard. Sometime, you have to show up in public.
As the day progresses, I can get rid of the shakes, but I still have the tell-tale signs of nervousness. Death grip, sweatin for no good reason, running (even after practicing, over and over, walking the stages), and just generally "blanking out" during the course of fire. I sometimes only remember the command, "Load and make ready", and the next thing I know, my gun's re-holstered and people are putting pasties on the targets. RO's pattin me on the back telling me what great job I did, and I'm wonderin, "Huh? What just happened?"
Next time, I gotta video tape me shootin. They say that they can see the muscles in my forearms flexed all the way from the back.
So what's the trick? I've got high metabolism, and a high heart rate, but I know I can do this. I practice back at my range almost every weekend, and dryfire about 20 minutes a night after work. Hell, 2 weeks before this match, I lived, ate, and breathed today's match. I was hittin A/C's all day long by myself, but have this choking problem when it gets out in public.
Is it the public? Maybe it's game day jitters? A little (or a LOT!) of both? These nerves worked great carrying me through highschool, landing me top spots in football and wrestling, and work great at my construction job, but tense muscles have no place in shootin sports.
I've sworn off coffee, and avoid any soda products with caffeine. My only indulgence is an occasional cup of green tea, and my smokin a pack, to a pack and a half, a day. But hey, a man's gotta have a vice, right?
So, what next? Drug me silly before a match? Maybe a shot of scotch before a match? Jus kiddin, but you know what I mean.
Anybody else that had this problem? How do you overcome a normal resting heart-rate of 92 beats a minute? Am I some sorta freak, doomed to be the one that makes "D" shooters look good? Can this be trained out?
Not sure why the compliments. I still sucked, but with good excuses today. Had to switch guns to one I just built a week ago (basically untested, only 2 mags have been run through it), cuz my front sight on my primary gun took a vacation 3 rounds into the match. Never did find it after it flew off.
The new gun was way off my normal sight in, and, unfortunately, for the past two weeks I've been trying to get away from "feeling" the gun, and using the sights more. "Feel" works fine for felon-sized groups at 25m, but I found out, last time, it has no place in competitions. New gun shot high and to the left. I'm normally a low 6 o'clock shooter. Also has a little trouble with FTF. Hand to hand feed it once or twice per mag. Ugh.
Anyway, lame equipment excuses out of the way, my major problem. Nerves.
Ever see when Barney Fife had to really pull his gun on a dangerous suspect? Remember that funny way he would shake like a leaf, almost shaking his hat off his head? Well, that's me for about the first 3 or 4 rounds. Maybe not quite as bad, but close enough. It's visible shaking.
Actually, over time, I've found the shakiness also happens when shooting with people I don't know. I guess that's the problem with shooting by yourself back in the woods. You can hit all the A's and 10's you want by yourself, but it doesn't make a rat's butt of a difference when you have the nerves of a lizard that's trapped in a schoolyard. Sometime, you have to show up in public.
As the day progresses, I can get rid of the shakes, but I still have the tell-tale signs of nervousness. Death grip, sweatin for no good reason, running (even after practicing, over and over, walking the stages), and just generally "blanking out" during the course of fire. I sometimes only remember the command, "Load and make ready", and the next thing I know, my gun's re-holstered and people are putting pasties on the targets. RO's pattin me on the back telling me what great job I did, and I'm wonderin, "Huh? What just happened?"
Next time, I gotta video tape me shootin. They say that they can see the muscles in my forearms flexed all the way from the back.
So what's the trick? I've got high metabolism, and a high heart rate, but I know I can do this. I practice back at my range almost every weekend, and dryfire about 20 minutes a night after work. Hell, 2 weeks before this match, I lived, ate, and breathed today's match. I was hittin A/C's all day long by myself, but have this choking problem when it gets out in public.
Is it the public? Maybe it's game day jitters? A little (or a LOT!) of both? These nerves worked great carrying me through highschool, landing me top spots in football and wrestling, and work great at my construction job, but tense muscles have no place in shootin sports.
I've sworn off coffee, and avoid any soda products with caffeine. My only indulgence is an occasional cup of green tea, and my smokin a pack, to a pack and a half, a day. But hey, a man's gotta have a vice, right?
So, what next? Drug me silly before a match? Maybe a shot of scotch before a match? Jus kiddin, but you know what I mean.
Anybody else that had this problem? How do you overcome a normal resting heart-rate of 92 beats a minute? Am I some sorta freak, doomed to be the one that makes "D" shooters look good? Can this be trained out?