Not shooting as much

ATA shooting is over and I haven't shot as much. Leaves more time for taking Cal and his friends rock wall climbing. I did shoot (poorly) some on Sunday before Cal's football game.

Last ATA shoot

St. Charles had their last ATA shoot on Sunday, 200 handicap targets. I didn't shoot very well, 87 and an 89. They got a good turnout and the shoot was well run. Weather was great. I did have a good time at the toga party the night before even though we left before the police and the fight. Mrs. Eberhart on the right.

WSJ on breaking out of a slump

The Wall Street Journal today had a good story on breaking out of slumps, both at work and in sports. Its too long to post in its entirety but here are the highlights.

Causes of Slumps in Sports and Work
• Fear of repeating past failures
• Dwelling on past mistakes
• Loss of confidence
• Overthinking the next move or play and choking or freezing
• Overtraining in sports, burnout on the job
• Forgetting your original purpose or attraction to your sport or job
• Constant destructive criticism by a coach, fans or a boss
• Resurfacing of past fears arising from psychological trauma or injury

Techniques to Change Negative Thinking
• After a mistake or failure, refocus immediately on a past success.
• Visualize yourself succeeding on the next sale, meeting, play or game.
• Record and refer to your past peak performances, on video or in writing.
• List your strengths and assets and refer to the list in stressful moments.
• Turn off your mind and focus on step-by-step processes.
• Use rest or relaxation techniques such as deep breathing.
• Surround yourself with encouraging people.
• Develop rituals to focus your mind in the present moment.
• Recall the original purpose or attraction that drew you to your sport or job.
• Work with a psychologist or therapist to identify causes of performance blocks.

I got some more good practice in last night, ran a round of singles, shot a 23 from 27 yards and then 25 yards. And left after shooting a 24 from 25 yards. My confidence is back, comfortable in new gun, shooting decent scores beyond my current handicap. Having fun again.

Smile Dad

Dad shot a second place sporting clays score in Delaware to win the trophy and a bag of dog food (?). Way to go Dad.

We had a terrific weekend in Illinois, 80s and crystal clear. You know these days won't be around long. I shot a lot of handicap between Saturday and Sunday. I shot them all with my MX 2005 and am starting to get my confidence back. Weekend scores were as good as I shot with my Guerini. My friend helped me set it up Thursday night, it feels pretty good. Last ATA shoot of the year next weekend at St. Charles, 200 caps.

Nothing to brag about but squeezed out a second place

DGSC had their Grundy County Handicap today, it was windy and made for tough shooting. In the first 100 handicaps, I shot 24, 22, 18, 24 to finish with an 88. Surprise, that was good enough for a second in my yardage category and I won this buckle. I was happy. It clouded up for the second event and I didn't shoot much better with an 86. That was good for nothing but a hasty exit. The scores overall seemed low, tough day, but the winner of the first event was a 27 yard shooter. That's some good shooting.

Last year, I won the first event and got my first punch to 21 yards.

Still having problems

St Charles had their shoot yesterday, I shot a 94 at singles which wasn't great but the conditions were poor. Still, there was a 100 straight and my friend and squadmate Randy won A class with a 99.

The handicap was a trainwreck for me. I shot 20, 15, 22, 20 for a 77, low for the year. Really not sure what I am doing wrong. Maybe I underestimated how long it takes to get used to a new gun, I have 1000 rounds thru the MX2005 versus 29,000 thru the Guerini. I might switch back to the Guerini for the balance of this year and then commit to the MX2005 next year.

Frustrating way to go into the end of the year but I created my own problems changing the way I shoot in August and then changing guns two weeks ago, a double whammy.

Better Shooting and a New Gun

I drove down to Indiana Friday night and picked up a used Perazzi MX2005 combo. I have been looking for one and one came up at the right price and right features. I shot it at the patterning board Saturday and raised the comb/adjusted the rib to get it to shoot where my current gun is. I shot it a little on Saturday and like the way it feels. I broke a 22 from 27 yards with it which is good for me from that yardage.

Sunday, McHenry Sportsman's Club had their ATA shoot. I decided to shoot the new gun. I muddled my way thru the singles for a below average score. In the handicap, I shot 21, 24, 24, 23 for a 92. That is much better than I have been shooting and it was with an unfamiliar gun so I was happy. There was another 92 at my yardage so there was a shoot-off which I lost, I dropped three, he ran them. Thats a tough competitor. Runner-up felt good after not placing since the Grand.

Regardless, getting my confidence back. The targets I missed I had a hard time seeing as the all orange targets transitioned from the tree line to sky. In the past month, I have been missing targets that I could see clearly so going back to the high hold point is working.

The trigger in the MX had a release in it that I took out and the pull is way, way too heavy. So that has to be adjusted. Overall, I really like the new gun, the recoil seems less, it opens and closes like a bank vault, and I was only 1 or 2 handicap targets away from shooting an above average (for me) score. It was fun again to shoot after a disappointing run.