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Hartmann’s Hints #84: Apprehension

Apprehension

The thesaurus has several words that, for me, define apprehension, among them being worry, concern and anxiety. These pretty much state its meaning as well as being some of its synonyms.

When we are competing, it is natural for us to have confidence in our skill, but along with that confidence, we may also have some level of apprehension.

About 25 years ago, my wife Saundra and I occasionally shot with Brian Holt, a gentleman and a world class skeet shooter. Brian is now deceased, but while he was shooting, he had many four-by-fours and some five-by-fives. You can see his records in the Skeet Records Annual.

At a shoot at the old Miramar Shotgun Shooting Range, we were discussing skeet and the various targets when Brian made a statement that I found profound. He stated that no matter how many 100, 400 or 500 straights he had shot, he was always apprehensive about high 2.

He was not afraid when he shot that target but he was concerned about it because that was the target that he had to work hardest at, to make sure he hit it. If you watch the greats of skeet shooting as they execute their shots, they exhibit little or no concern, but like the rest of us, they may be anxious about one target or another.

Personally, while I’m not a great (or even a good) skeet shooter, I know that I am apprehensive as I call for and shoot the low house on the double at station six,  the target that I have to work at the hardest.

Apprehension is not a bad thing if you can control it, along with your other emotions, and execute your shots as you have practiced them. Practice is the key to minimizing apprehension, as well as increasing your confidence and skill level.

 

Stay safe,

Barry Hartmann

Barry Hartmann is an NSSA Master Level and NRA Certified shotgun instructor who teaches American skeet and wingshooting. You can contact Barry at threeat8@aol.com or 918-803-2393.

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Ask the Instructor: The Mental Game

The Mental Game

 

The biggest obstacle I face in trying to improve my shooting performance is between my ears. My mental and visual focus seem to come and go throughout the round. Any suggestions?

 

As we gain experience and practice regularly, we feel we have earned the right to see our scores rise and proficiency improve. But technical proficiency alone isn’t sufficient to land us at the top of the scoreboard. A pre-shot process is also a critical element. This pre-shot process has two essential components in sporting clays: a pre-shot planning process and a pre-shot routine.

In the pre-shot planning process, you must observe the targets, devise a target engagement plan and test your plan. Once you’ve developed a plan, you are ready to begin the pre-shot routine phase of your process. Here is where you must transition your mind from the heavily analytical planning process, where the conscious mind is hyperactive, to the heavily subconscious process of executing the shot. Since you can’t put the conscious mind to sleep or render it inactive, you must occupy your conscious mind with thoughts that promote mental and visual focus. These thoughts must be consistent from one pair to the next.

Pre-shot routines have three critical components:

1) Visualization or “out of body rehearsal” — imagining what it will look and feel like to move the gun to your break points and break the shot pair.
2) Deep breathing — to preempt the oxygen deprivation which often occurs as we start to breathe more shallowly in reaction to nervous anticipation.
3) A visual cue — a verbal trigger that we say to ourselves just prior to calling for the targets, which prompts us to focus acutely on the targets. Devising and executing a pre-shot sequence is easier said than done, but recognizing the need for a pre-shot process is half the battle.

Don Currie is NSCA’s Chief Instructor, an Orvis Wingshooting School instructor, and Master Class competitor. To get free shooting tips and videos, sign up for his monthly newsletter.  You can also see more tips from Currie at www.doncurrie.com.