Re: Odessa FV 200yd F-Class match Aug. 7th
I say it often, but each and every shot needs to be treated like a separate match, the <span style="font-style: italic">whole</span> match. The preceding shot is history and cannot be changed. The shot after the current is conjecture and isn't real, can't be real, until you're actually taking it. The current shot is the only one you can actually do anything about.
The hardest thing to do is to see your scores evaporate, and still keep the concentration up. I have seen people ready to give up, talked them into getting their act back together, and watched them go on to win the match. Attitude is <span style="font-style: italic">that</span> important. If you believe you can't win, well, fact is, you probably can't (you just talked yourself out of it). If you believe you can, you just might go ahead and do it after all.
Meanwhile, success breeds its own brand of gremlins. Gettin' stoked is just another form of distraction. Give it rein and it'll stampede you every time.
I suggest something different from a practice day, per se. I suggest .22 rimfire off to the side, concurrent with the main match. Shoot one relay C/F, the next R/F. I have 1/2 size targets, and intend to try them this W/E at 80yd (why 80yd? Same time of flight as a C/F at 200yd.).
That's the 'something different' I had mentioned for myself, to get the equipment out of the equation, and work with a known value. I need to find out if it's me or the gear that's going awry.
I wasn't going to mention it until I'd had a chance to try it out, and I suggest we keep it that way this time around. If it works out, we can chat it up here, after the match, and decide if it's an idea whose time has arrived.
The point here is that we don't have to make a choice, 'either/or', about shooting a match or shooting a practice day. The two functions can coexist this way, and it doesn't have to detract from or disrupt the main event.
Greg