How did I get there (my story)

Slowing down...
Do you remember I had a shooting burnout after the 2023 Worlds, and I decided to slow down?

Yes, indeed I slowed down, but with any type of passion, slowing down only show you the beauty and kindness of life. That great gift given to each of us during this walk on the round planet.
Shooting passion is still on me, but now I see things differently. It's the same as ageing. We start looking at life in a different, unfortunately not always better, way. Me? Oh my, life has been so good to me, including shooting, so let's continue enjoying until I can.

Of course I now dedicate more time to family, still waiting for the 1st grandson/daughter..., to my fishing and flying my F5J gliders. But, my trusty rifles always have a special call... and I always return to them.

Yeas, I slowed down, mainly in practice time (more on that later), but still attending all the matches I can.
So 2025 had on my calendar the 6 National Matches (2x each category), the 2 Portuguese Cup matches, the Triple Crown and the European Champs and World Cup in Finland. That's for shooting, then 6 glider competitions, and still going to the beach to my surfcasting fishing love.

As you can see not a really short agenda. But not went as planned...

Every time life gives with one hand it takes with the other... no different this year, as I lost another dear family member, the fourth year in a row happening. Man, that's not easy, but it's life.

Also a sad shooting event happened...
I, we, as we were three shooting mates, had with our plane tickets heading to the US, to take part in the so anticipated Triple Crown. Finally, I thought, can I meet in person some of my US friends, in particular my mentor, Tony Harper. Paperwork done, hotel and car booked, firearms flying paid, and all the needed logistics in place. So, all was ready for that epic trip, when our airplane company sent a very disturbing message... "we regret, but can't no longer transport firearms to the US". What? "But we have all needed permits, including yours"... "can you do an exception, because you approved our trip?" ... No need to go longer, you know the ending, we stayed in Lisbon, with a huge disappointment, to say the least.
Once I warned Tony, he immediately prompted to find a solution, sharing guns with us from him, and other friends.
We were flattered with such an offer, but, you have to understand, we can't go for such a long journey, with such an anticipated match without our rifles.
Resilience is key in life, don't ask in shooting...
Ok, there's only one thing in life without solution!
So, we are already preparing our 2026 Triple Crown, and we have (on an US company) an agreement to carry firearms to your Country.

Again, we, and I in particular apologize for all the mess this might have cause.

Passing along...

At the beginning of this writing I said I cut practice time. I did, but every time I was/am practicing I do it with even more focus. Remember, it's not quantity it's all about quality. And shooting is no different. One thing I noticed was my comfort zone didn't decrease, meaning I continue to shoot perfect scores without too much difficulty. This meant my subconscious was/is still linked to high scores. That perception is important, because, then, you just have to keep it alive, and your brain will do the rest. C'mon... it doesn't mean you can shoot blinded and still hitting the X, no, of course not, but keeping your confidence levels high, returns a very strong positive feedback, that in turn, allows you to continue to excel.
Mental preparation, mental work. Key, key, key... and always accept what the targets gave you. Never give excuses. Always be humble, no matter what.

And the Nationals started... (to be continued)
 
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During my International Sporter practice sessions, I became less and less impressed with my scores, because it seems at least one or two shots are way off of what they should be. As I have a no excuses approach, realising not much could be done, I ditch my trusted Broughton barrel. It has served me well and goes to a well deserved rest.
I tend to have at least two barrels for each of my rifles, so no big deal, just changed those, gaining place the Shilen one. This has not been used often, as I never found a great ammo to it. But, things could have changed with those new lots arriving shortly after the year's beginning.
Then, armed with 8 different lots, none test center chosed to this particular barrel, but, I thought, "well, let's hope for the best..."

If you know me, or have read my story, you'll know by now, that for the same wind strength, I do prefer the slowest ammo possible. Go figure, year 2025 will show me that there's no rule on stone...
During my testing I did not found a great enough (to my standards) lot. Humm... back home and looked again to my ammo... maybe those three could be the ones. You are already asking, why didn't I brought them in 1s place to the testing? Because they were/are fast. X-Act they may be, but fast.
I know very well Lapua ammo, so I know what to expect in terms of consistency across the rimfire options, being X-Act the most consistent, period. Being consistent doesn't mean producing the smallest group. It means they are very, very, consistent across all lot boxes, being able to reproduce easily the group size. This is important.

So, went to the meteo site and predict a good testing day. A good testing day, is not a windless day, at least for me. It's a day that has a light to medium breeze, but with a constant profile or pattern (we can discuss this later). These days are not easy to find on winter's end, but spring times are very merciful for testing.

Bingo, wow, those are great groups and scores. That X-Act lot is shooting amazing. With fear I read the speed... 330m/s, ufff.... fast.
Happy as I might be, but still concerned how that speed will shoot on more "normal" days. So I pick a couple of random windy days, and the surprise arose again. How can this be? How can this ammo shoot so well with wind? It just contradicts all I have preached until now... In fact, just on despair I test such fast lots, normally not higher than 327m/s. But 330m/s? It reminds me the time when I shot RWS with even faster ammo, but those days are long gone, and barrels were different and longer. I'm always ready to modify my approach if it pays to me. I didn't/don't care anymore as long as the ammo shoots well in calm and windy days. So, shooting mates, maybe what I said before about slower vs faster lots is not so right... One thing for sure, if the ammo shoots well, keep it!

I knew, from the beginning that this year will be the toughest of all, as my competitors are very well prepared and equipped. I pioneered ammo testing in 2016, but now all the Portuguese top shooters, without exception, all test ammo. That's not strange, because Portugal became a rimfire benchrest reference. Not that we have many very high level shooters, but we have 4 or 5 that could be world champions, so, the battle will be fierce for the podium. Not so much in IS, but on LV and RV (jus remember that the world federation changed varmint name to rifle...)

Returning to my slowing down attitude...
In fact, I'm more relaxed facing the matches and having more fun each time I pull the trigger.

Even with climate changing, we continue to have, more or less, seasons, and being IS the 1st to be shot during February and March months, not a great weather is to be expected. In fact we have had the most rainy, and windy, winter for many years...

And the 1st International Sporter match arrived. Weather not great, windy, cold, some light rain, but above all, very twisty wind pattern. As we have 2 matches for each category, counting for National Champ the best of two, maybe some started to postpone their hopes. I don't have this approach, I always try to shoot my best whatever the conditions, never giving up.

In those conditions I lost 1 point per card, finalising with 747 49x clinching the 1st place. I was happy with my score, and above all with the ammo performance in such conditions. Remember with a 330m/s ammo...
The 2nd match I didn't attend because of one of my family members passing away.
But none improved my score, so when the dust settle down, I became the IS National Champ!

To be continued...
 
Practicing... with a plan.

If you know yourself and your shooting, maybe it's time to start thinking on a practice plan.
What that means?
It's all about putting on paper a couple of things:
1. Goals to be achieved
2. Strong points
3. Weak points

Well, some gurus say you should not deal with the "weak" word, because it could lead to negative feedback, using instead, points to enhance. I can agree with that, but, I do believe negative feedback is much more prone to be detrimental to your subconscious only when action is taken. Here, we are not dealing with any action, we are just writing down our ability picture. On the other hand, writing down points to be enhanced, in fact, doesn't show those points that are good or bad, just the ones that need to be enhanced. There's a huge difference between something we know it is not good, from a thing that needs to get better. In fact, all of us need to get better!

That said, I will keep the negative word "weak". This show in a glance what's hindering you to became a better shooter.

Ok, so let's plan to work a couple of weak points next time you'll go practicing. Even if it's the point, you'll miss another major goal... have you noticed? No? If you just plan to work on your weak points, sooner than later, they will became your strong ones, and those previously strong will return to weak points. To counteract this natural evolution and reaction, do a plan where you draw, needed actions to overcame, let's say, one or two weak points, as well one or two strong points, just to keep them alive. The rational behind it, is to achieve a balanced shooting performance, against an unbalanced one. I'll give you an exemple: a shooter that's scoring consistently 248s has a balanced performance, and a shooter that's oscillating between 247s and 249s has an unbalanced one. Sometimes, greatly unbalanced performance could mislead the diagnosis, either because you always shoot or practice at the same range, or you just got lucky matching the shooting conditions to your particular abilities.

Couple of weeks before, I was talking to a shooter, that he should practice on different ranges to progress. He answered me... "you're wrong, because there I often achieve perfect scores. My problem is not having the needed luck on bench position here."
Let me frame it so you can better understand the conversation.
In Portugal, we have 3 main ranges where Nationals can be scheduled, one at Fervença (north), one in Lisbon (center) and, one in Tavira (south). As you might expect all are different, however, the north is the easiest one to shoot, being the Lisbon's the hardest. That particular shooter, only practices at the north range, so when he travel to the other ranges, he's already behind in capabilities. A planning for him, could be just having practicing, saying, once a month in Lisbon.

You have to know what's missing and what's you have as aces.

Don't slip slide away on your practice sections. Stick to the plan, and only left the range when all prepared points has been accomplished. In a practice session, don't run for score, run to became stronger. If you shoot badly red winds, go on practicing only red winds. But don't be trapped just on weak points. After 5~10 red wind targets, go shoot, the same number of green ones. That way you continue to maintain your green wind level, and at the same time, you're building confidence on the red ones. On competitions, knowing your weak points is a valid asset, because you could refrain shooting on those conditions and capitalize on the strong points.

The very same for mental training. Drawn a plan, being aware of to overcame a mental condition is much harder and takes longer than a physical/technical one.

Anxiety is the most dread condition to overcame. In fact, our mental reactions, can, let's simplify here, be almost dealt with the anxiety arousing. Control your anxiety and immediately you're becoming a strong mental shooter. Saying: "I don't care about scores", "I'm not nervous", "I'm not here to win", and so on, it is, already, knocking at anxiety's door. You are already giving excuses to your subconscious. Dealing with our mental is hard and, particular here, you should always talk positive. If we pick the above sentences...
  • I don't care about scores - change to - I'm here to achieve my plan
  • I'm not nervous - change to - I'm feeling well
  • I'm not here to win - change to - I'm here to excel
Have you notice the difference?
Any time you say a negative thing, your subconscious will try to avoid it next time, and each time you say positive, your subconscious will try to repeat it next time.

Of course, I'm simplifying, things are not so black and white, but I would like to show you some possible directions that could, and will, increase your shooting performance.

To be continued...
 
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Can we improve our mental stamina?
Can we succeed in hostil environment?
Can we control our emotions?
Can we became a better shooter through mental training?

Those, and other questions, surf most of our brains before, during and after a match. If we should order them by happening frequency, they should be:
  1. After
  2. Before
  3. During
Why this hierarchy? Because only after, we realize our mental stamina was not what it should be. We are only concerned about what we should have done after doing it, and unfortunately, not before. Because before we don't care, or just don't want or believe, that mental is important.

Before you embark on mental training, please do yourself a favour and answer with honesty the following question: "Do you believe in mental training?", "Do you? Because if not, don't waste your time doing it, better to spent it on other shooting activities. Don't take me wrong, not believing in mental training, doesn't mean anything other than not believing on it. But, if you do, you are already ahead of some. Take a breath, prepare yourself and expect nothing less than being able to excel.

Those are very powerful words, and sentences, I know, but in all sorts of sports who train the mental aspect, are stronger than the others. Shooting is no different.

I'm not going any further for today, giving you some time to think about this theme.
 
Thank you for your generous sharing of information. It is obvious you are really putting considerable time and consideration in these posts.

I hesitate to diminish the standard of content in this thread but how can you teach without feedback from your students. I answer yes to the four questions you posted above. When I discovered "With Winning in Mind" by Lanny Basham I read it cover to cover seven times in the course of a year. Over that time I slowly built a mental program according to his blueprint and followed it rigorously. I've slacked off a bit and am just re-entering and refreshing the process.

The most important difference it made to my shooting is that before I would tire under mounting pressure and lose confidence. Now I actually gain confidence and energy as I shoot because ' it is like me to shoot cleans'. It sounds egotistical but it really isn't, part of the mental program is to identify and acknowledge problems, I just don't dwell on the problems ... I follow through on the adjustments.

Thanks again Pedro.
 
Thank you so much for your kind words Williwaw!

In fact, feedback is key, either from the readers (students as you said), but also from us to us.
With winning in Mind is a great book about mental training. There are others too, and, as about any subject, we should read "everything" than digest and then apply.

You are feeling the benefits of mental training, and they can became in many ways.

But let me return to feedback from us to us...
This is one of the most important part, often neglected, of mental conditioning. Take a breath, think about it. There are days when your mind thinks about "good" things and you bring a smile in your face, and others, when clouds are all over the place, and your mood is down. I put this exemple on table, just to show you what a positive feedback, and a negative feedback can, and will, do to your mind, mainly subconscious.

How often you have said to yourself, or others, rubbish target (or even worse), I lost 1 point? Or, I just scored 248, when I should 250, and so on?

Every time you act like that, you are giving negative feedback to your subconscious. This "little" guy knows nothing about environment, so he doesn't know what's going on, we just learned that you are angry, and then, he reacts to your anger with bad mood. Bad mood doesn't help any action you want do, go figure to your shooting. Even worst, if the next target is the same or poorer, you risk entering a negative spiral, ending with a catastrophic result. Is this familiar? Don't need to answer...

Positive feedback does the opposite. Every time you express good mood and feeling, that "little guy" interpret that you are happy, so he prepare the road to an happy ending.

When someone start calling you a lunatic optimist, you are entering the positive feedback world. I always say a 249 is better than a 248, and a 248 better than a 247. I never count the lost points, only the ones I did.

Ok, enough for now, let's talk about the other fundamental feedback from us to us.
This is about feeling... yes, how did you feel after a shot (irrespective of score)? This felt good? Have you did all sequences well? Did you shot within the condition window?
This is totally different from a subconscious feedback, this is a needed feedback to progress in technique terms, as well as in practice planing.

How can you anticipate a shooting approach if you didn't understood what happened? You have to be in control (ah... all but the trigger, I have talked about it before), you have to understand what you have/are done/doing.

Be prepared for different type of questions that could mislead a bit in your process. Asking to yourself, "how did I felt my shot?", is not the same "how is my shooting?". The 1st is more important, to your progress than the 2nd. Because if you are not feeling well with a shot, but perfect in all others, the shooting feeling is ok. However, in the middle of the shooting, some shots need to be addressed.

I hope not bringing more complexity than needed, but I want to show you 3 working aspects that can put you higher in your game:

1. Mental training
2. Subconscious feedback
3. Feedbacking yourself

To be continued...
 
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Wow... that's a new post in a short time...

Eheheh, just a small teaser.

Benchrest shooters are, there's no doubt, gear minded ones. I bet, 99% or more, will answer that BR is 80% gear, 10% ability to tune it, and, 10% the shooter. So, why should I care about 10%, if I can control 90% of the total?

The answer is an easy one. Let's face it, at the top tier, and perhaps even on the 2nd tier, all shooters have top gear. So all of them have already 80% ability to produce a great score. As tuning is a fairly straightforward process, even if same knowledge and time is needed, the other 10% are also granted.

Now, if all can have, more or less the same 90% ability, the remaining 10% becomes even more important to spread people apart.

Just think about that.

Those remaining 10% is you! Let's work on those 10%!

To be continued...
 
Another not so covered topic... gear preparation!
We used to say, in my Karting days, "if you don't prepare your racing, you're racing to be unprepared."

The very same in any sport, including benchrest.

I have lean a lot this conversation about the shooter and his/her mental aspects. But, never neglect the other biggest part, the gear.

Let me tell you another mistake I did, just because I took certain things, for granted. Never, never, think anything is correct, without your checking.
Of course, I will return to the competition aspects, but this episode illustrates what can happen, and you will feel totally helpless.

How any times did you check your stock measurements, even when you receive them for a very known manufactures?
And if you do some finishing?
Did you?

I lent one of my Rolex stocks to a shooting mate, and, imagine what, it didn't went through the referees technical check, missing the measurements, at the front, by 2mm (5/64")... he was astonished, and I was thinking, "man, such a simple thing and I skip it...". "Now what can we do?". Without the needed tools and only armed with pocket knifes, we went shaving the front to the right measure. What a task it proved to be, as a Rolex is something but soft... after 20min working the referees agreed that it could be used, because we succeed, just in the front rest area, to reach the 76,2mm (3"). But still could be hit by someone's protest. It din't show, so the match could count to my shooting mate.

Day after, the stock went to my mill, was rectified and refinished with oil. Now it's ok.

If we took the previous post, we lost 80% of the potential success, just because of we did not consider necessary to measure the stock. A very easy task...

Let's take a look at the maths...
I said, 80% gear, 10% tuning and 10% shooter, but, never skip any step. Only after you are 100% sure about your gear, go tuning it, and only after you feel the tuning is ok, go train yourself and your mental.

Lessons for the learner...

To be continued...
 
PedroS said:
Another not so covered topic... gear preparation!
We used to say, in my Karting days, "if you don't prepare your racing, you're racing to be unprepared."

The very same in any sport, including benchrest.

I have lean a lot this conversation about the shooter and his/her mental aspects. But, never neglect the other biggest part, the gear.

Let me tell you another mistake I did, just because I took certain things, for granted. Never, never, think anything is correct, without your checking.
Of course, I will return to the competition aspects, but this episode illustrates what can happen, and you will feel totally helpless.

How any times did you check your stock measurements, even when you receive them for a very known manufactures?
And if you do some finishing?
Did you?

I lent one of my Rolex stocks to a shooting mate, and, imagine what, it didn't went through the referees technical check, missing the measurements, at the front, by 2mm (5/64")... he was astonished, and I was thinking, "man, such a simple thing and I skip it...". "Now what can we do?". Without the needed tools and only armed with pocket knifes, we went shaving the front to the right measure. What a task it proved to be, as a Rolex is something but soft... after 20min working the referees agreed that it could be used, because we succeed, just in the front rest area, to reach the 76,2mm (3"). But still could be hit by someone's protest. It din't show, so the match could count to my shooting mate.

Day after, the stock went to my mill, was rectified and refinished with oil. Now it's ok.

If we took the previous post, we lost 80% of the potential success, just because of we did not consider necessary to measure the stock. A very easy task...

Let's take a look at the maths...
I said, 80% gear, 10% tuning and 10% shooter, but, never skip any step. Only after you are 100% sure about your gear, go tuning it, and only after you feel the tuning is ok, go train yourself and your mental.

Lessons for the learner...

To be continued...
Click to expand...
Pedro, I can imagine that just packing for a trip to a match can be similar to the example provided above. I had a friend who kept his bolts in a separate storage cabinet. He has several rifles. When he packed to go to a match, got there and he had the wrong bolt, could not shoot the match.

I try to keep all the essentials (tools, spare parts, etc.) in a gear box, also carry my ammo in an ammo box, with other incidentals, rifle (with bolt in the rifle case), flag tops in a separate box and flag stands in a storage bag. One additional item is my cleaning rod. I try my best to put everything back in the same spot and same container when done with a match, so I know it's ready for the next match. The only thing that is a variable, is the ammo box. Based on my last match and testing of ammo lots, I will pack the ammo can the night before with the selected lots, with one box per target in the match to make sure I have enough ammo for the match. I also bring at least one backup lot to use if needed.

There are a lot of logistics to get to and from the range on match day!

Larry
 
Bassham's mental management model has three parts ... conscious, subconscious, and self-image. I believe he would say that much of the gear prep phase of competition falls to the conscious mind. The other two could play a small part but it is primarily our conscious minds that do all the data gathering, analysis and planning. In a sense good preparation is the foundation of a good performance. Properly prepared we can settle in and send the conscious mind away in order to let the subconscious and self image go to work.
 
Pedro, Larry and Williwaw, I agree with everything you say regarding the mental aspect of the game, something I haven't been able to perfect on a consistent basis. I think I have the gear aspect perfected with the platform that I'm shooting. However, the ammo that I'm using leaves me wondering sometimes which doesn't help my mental game. It's Cracker Jack ammo which is all I can find available. I won't elaborate any further. Probably don't need to. After shooting two unimpressive scores on the ABRA target during a club match yesterday I drove off leaving my cased rifle at the range. I was ten miles down the road before I noticed it was missing. Luckily it was still there when I returned. Needless to say my mind was in a different place, and it's hard to be mentally focused when you are shooting suspect ammo. I have 6 more lots of this ammo to test when weather permits. I'm hoping not for the best, good luck on that, but something decent without fliers.
 
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Larry, we all have been there...
Like you, I have developed a visual memory, even how I put my gear on the bench, so in a glitch, I know if all is correctly setup to begin.

Williwaw, nothing better than having like a flying pilot check list... and we are all ageing.

Cootrp3, ammo, the devil is on the details... right?

Ammo, ammo, ammo...
We have to face it, ammo is scarce (not because production is shrinking, but because demanding is increasing exponentially) and quality is not always there. No, I'm sorry, that's not correct. When we say quality is not there, we need to put other things on the equation.
If I'll give you 3 lots to test, and none is good for your rifle, I can bet what your comments will be...
If I'll give you 30 lots to test, and none is good, I have to agree with your comments...

However, we all know if we can have 30 lots to choose from, either the testing barrel is not what it should be, or we'll get at least a couple lots to choose from. So quality is linked to quantity, at least in rimfire ammo. I don't know if you know, how long does a rimfire machine to be put in place and fine tuning it? Months, it takes months to be ready. And then, if lead, brass, powder or primer changes outside certain thresholds, either it's rejected, meaning no production, or the machine has to be setup again. I didn't knew...
On top of that, as ammo, I'm talking about Lapua, is made in Europe, to expand the production, the amount of paperwork and permits is beyond our imagination. All together, can postpone a production increment by 3~5 years.

So, we have to live with what we have.
Going to a test center is, from my point of view, the most valid option, problem is, and will be for some time, the number of lots available to test.
And shooters complain, because they want the miracle 9~10mm group sizes. Be aware that, from time to time, they appear, but you'll need to be on the right place in the right time.

Ammo selection is the worst, and most demanding part, of benchrest shooting. And not under our control. We have what we have, so no need to get anxious. Sooner than later you'll find a good lot, just be persistent.

I think you should see ammo selection in a different perspective. Remember, I clinch the 2018 world tittle with an ammo that made 17,5mm groups... such a big group will never be a choice for the majority of us, and hopefully I was so "green" I took it home! Today, I ditch all groups over 14mm, funny isn't it? 14mm groups are too big? I can certainly live with them, better to than having nothing to shoot.

If you'll do your part, things will come together. Of course, if you'll have a 10mm group ammo things might be easier.
Please look at consistent groups and not the smallest possible, two exemples:
  1. Ammo A (10,4mm; 12,8mm; 11,1mm) together - 13,2mm
  2. Ammo B (11,4mm; 11,8mm; 12mm) together - 13,8mm
Even if ammo A, groups together produce a smaller global group, I'll pick ammo B, because those 10 shots groups are all more consistent. All other variables the same, group height and width. Speed, is another tricky variable, as this year has proved me...
Better too, pick both if you can, because later on the range you'll pick the one and either sell the remaining or use it to practice.

What's my issue with smaller, but non consistent lot groups? I tend to miss short of my holding aiming point! Simple as that.

Build an ammo inventory, keep track of it and use ammo as needed. I keep my empty boxes until back home where I can update the inventory. This way, I always know what I have for different conditions. For instance, if I have 20 fantastic boxes, and, as I tend to use 2 boxes for 3 targets, I know I have good ammo for 30 targets. Having an inventory is an invaluable tool, that you should not miss.

To be continued...
 
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Thanks Pedro for the comments. I have tested 10 lots of the ammo I have and found nothing that didn't have flyers in it or would group. This was 2024 production ammo. I have 6 lots of 2025 production ammo that I will test tomorrow, wind permitting. Hopefully an improvement has beem made but I'm not holding my breath.The shooters shooting Lapua OSP and Pistol King are putting up better scores than those of us shooting the Cracker Jack ammo. Can't find any of that either.
 
I am not a bona fide BR shooter ... my flavor is F Class. Thus the margin for error is greater and the ammo requirements less stringent. That said my rifle is a factory Anschutz 1913 so I'm at least one rung down the ladder there. The net result is a bit more forgiving than Pedro's requirements but nevertheless sometimes ammo is my weak link. With good ammo the weak link is likely my wind reading skills.

To maximize the training value of sub-optimal ammo I keep records of the conditions, scores and statistics as generated by OnTarget. The capability of a particular case of ammo is usually well defined somewhere in the second brick. After that my goal is at least maintain that standard and often, with increasing familiarity with that lots propensities I can eke out a little more.

My impression is that Lapua is quite consistent with maybe 15 percent of lots being detectably better than most and about the same 15 percent being a small step down. The bulk of the lots in the middle are harder to distinguish with my equipment shooting outdoors. I should say I'm speaking of Cx and Pistol King only.

The vagaries of ammo are one of the potential pitfalls in developing a strong mental game. We want good reps to reinforce our skills and self image and then the ammo defeats our efforts. Yet making an excuse ... it's the ammo, does us no good. AND is it really the ammo. This is the main advantage of using OnTarget to see if I'm getting all I ever have out of that lot. I have to hold my own feet to the fire ... no one else will or can. Yet I have to do it without beating up on myself.

If this was easy most of us wouldn't be doing it.

Edit to add: I just saw my result from 10 days ago from the best lot I've shot in the last month ...Lapua Cx 14.8 mm 40 shot group, shot outdoors with a light cooperative wind. This is one of those 'a little above the crowd' lots. So much fun too shoot I won't be able to help myself.
 
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I do appreciate all of your comments.

I can only agree that bad ammo doesn't any good to our mental, but how to define bad ammo?
There are too many traps regarding ammo selection, usage, and defining its qualities.

I invite you to take a look here:

Problem solving... ammo, gear, wind or shooter?

This is our 1st problem solving... Look at the picture. It's the last shot on last card during a National Champs. The line was like this... This particular shooter shot for bottom to top with zigzag. Starting at target 21 and ending at target 5. Ammo, gear, wind or shooter? Any thoughts?
wwaccuracy.com

At first glance, and using a tool like OnTarget will lead us to be comfortable with the software evidence. I'm not on that boat, I'm not saying ammo is faultless, very far from it, and I have my share of bad ammo too, so I know the feeling.

Hard true is... you can't do nothing after you pulled the trigger, either good or bad ammo... but you could do whatever you'll want to all other ammo that's not yet shot...

Don't take me wrong, I have been there too, but now, I tend to follow a different route.

To be continued...
 
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I have received a lot of positive feedback from many of you about my experience sharing.
I do think that's the purpose of all of the more experience ones towards the newer ones. But please, share also your thoughts, as I'm always eager to learn, and new or not so new on the shooting range, all have something to share.

These positive feedback continue to encourage me to write down my thoughts and what I have done bringing me where I am today.

This brings me to another thought, that I have already shared, but haven't found, at least yet, a clear reasoning. Why, BR doesn't have a teaching school, coaching and mentoring, like other shooting disciplines?
Might be the very small numbers comparative to others, or the higher shooters medium age. Human nature shows "the older we are the less prone to receive lessons".
We should counteract this thought. We all need learning until we die, no exceptions.

Why I'm bringing this theme now? Because, building a correct mental atitude is much easier with a coach or a mentor. And if someone learn the right competitive behaviour, from the very beginning, normally, the stronger he/she might grow in the sport.

As the National Light Rifle (LV) matches are closing up, I normally do a mental reset from previous comps and establish the normal "base line".
This is important, at least to me, as returning to the steady mental state, is key to delete the previous competitions building stress and anxiety.
It's a loose battle to try to defeat anxiety, she will always be there, hide and expecting to strike when you'll least expect. You have to learn to live with it, rather trying to vanish her...

Living with anxiety levels it's not hard, not letting anxiety levels build up and interfere with your performance is difficult, but something you have to master to reach another level.

As anxiety is a conscious thing, and our conscious can only deal with one thing at a time (sorry ladies, you too...), thinking one thing will distract your mind from anxiety. Or just moving your head in a conscious way will do the trick. For me, the most easy way, is to talk to myself. As I have to think to articulate and talk, my conscious loose ability to deal will anxiety, and she, the anxiety, loses capacity to interfere with my performance. Also be aware that anxiety rising levels can just be noted by a lack of focus. And if you don't focus enough you are going to miss. So, learning to "control" your anxiety by putting your conscious thinking about something else, is a shooting landmark. By all means refrain from thinking and realising you are nervous... big, big, red line here, don't do that.

Time to practice anxiety distraction manoeuvres. Discover what works for you... think about your fingers, car, talk to yourself, do maths, sing... just try and stick with what works for you.

Also, returning to your mental base, tends to diminish anxiety levels, because you are resetting everything.
So, I have deleted all IS stuff from my mind, and start focusing on LV peculiarities.

This middle, nowhere class, some could even argue if it has a place in BR shooting, has a lot of compromises. Lighter stock being the most important one. All the others aspects are shared with the heavier category. But being lighter, it is more prone to shooter errors. I use just one rifle for both classes, LV and HV. Why so, if with a heavier rifle it's easier to score? Because, if I know the rifle is a little harder I'm much more focused on shooting. And adding focus only benefits your scoring ability. Never be relaxed on a competition, neither shaking, in between is the virtue. You'll need a certain anxiety levels to excel, but the threshold is thin and dangerous. If anxiety levels go higher than that level, your scores will suffer, but, if you are totally relaxed, your score won't be at your highest. We'll need a certain awareness stress to be fully alert. And alert you'll need to be to read the wind, and anticipate the wave. A lazy wind read will put you out of the winning circle.

Returning to LV National 1st match.

Not a bad weather, in fact, a great spring sunny day is going to gift this competition.
Nice shooting envelope, with all the strong competitors there. The scenery was painted, and I was a little less confident than usual. I've told you I have an ammo inventory, and looking at it, I've choose two lots for that day. One, the best but going dangerously low, and the other that has proven very well in practice. I decided to shoot with it to prove the ammo could shoot in the heat of a competition. This is interesting because if I miss, I could immediately excuse me saying "this is not my best ammo". No, I'm not like that. Once a decision has been made, I'm stick to it, so if I decided to use that ammo, this was the ammo... if you know what I mean.

Focus on high levels, very alert to wind changing pattern, quite intense on that day, and having fun shooting ten after ten. You have to agree with me, that's no more fun than hitting dead center...

And I score 750 59x for the 1st place.
Mission accomplished, that ammo shoots in the competition heat. See? I have shifted slightly my goal, from winning to, prove a winning ammo. This very slight shift allowed me not to think on winning ability, but on the ammo capacity to win. This small trick lowered my anxiety levels to a point where they were easily managed.

Think about it!

To be continued...
 
PedroS said:
I have shifted slightly my goal, from winning to, prove a winning ammo. This very slight shift allowed me not to think on winning ability, but on the ammo capacity to win. This small trick lowered my anxiety levels to a point where they were easily managed.
Click to expand...
That is gold right there. And it makes your arguement for coaching and the mental game because your sharing it does two things. First, some people might grab the idea and use it as presented. Or someone else will see the creativity in it and be freed to come up with a solution of their own. Bassham gives many varied examples of the range of possibilities his students use from a variety of sports ... not just shooting.
 
And the remaining Nationals was just the same...

Heavy rifle for the 1st place with 740 55x.

I haven't prepare in a special way this year's Nationals, but being calm, confident on the gear, and reading correctly the wind, I finished with an historic result... for the 1st time a BR shooter won all:
  1. International Sporter
  2. Light Rifle
  3. Heavy Rifle
  4. 2-gun aggregate
  5. 3-gun aggregate
Then the WBSF Portuguese Cup ended up with the same winner with a 750 62x.
What a year!

Don't take me wrong, and not bragging myself, but paying attention on a couple of things, not overwhelming yourself with unnecessary stuff, being confident on your wind reading capacity do make wonders.
I didn't change my gear tuning for several years now, and I won't until it continues to deliver.
I have seen many great shooters being lost, because they started to tinker their gear because of this or that. Again, gear can't do what you can't achieve. Understand your weak points and work on them. There's a very simple trick to know if your gear needs retuning... let a better shooter do a card with it. If he scores better than you, you have the answer...

I have to be humble and say I wasn't expecting such a success in the Nationals, as being an European and World Cup year, I have not planned to be in peak form so early, just a couple months later. But, I built on top of it... meaning, ok, I'm on my peak form so let's maintain and don't scratch it with unnecessary work load. When you reach a certain level, maintaining the peak form is more related to mental and motivation then anything else in particular. And remember, always have in your mind the simple rule: If it wain't broke don't fix it... an old proverb advising against changing something that is already working well or functioning adequately.

Can I ask how many times have you did it? Don't answer... yeah, we all have been there...

European and World Cup ERABSF/WRABF held in Oulu, Finland, 6-16th August.
Around here we have our share of issues and problems with ours Teams, ending just with 4 shooters making the trip to Finland.
Health, logistics, motivational, all played a role in reducing our contingent to compete. Internal affairs, not to be discussed here, but to let you know human is a complex animal...

Logistics to such an event are huge, to say the least. Things are getting more and more hard to overcome, that you have to rationalise arriving tired to the shooting site, just because of it, and not particular to just travelling. Think ahead and prepare yourself.

On Monday the 11th, we started travelling the day before, because we did only rimfire, when I arrived at Ruutikangas, the shooting field and range, I notice a striking thing, that put immediately me aware of what is going to happen during the competition.
The range has some wind turbines to produce energy... what? Who is going to build a shooting range on an area favouring wind turbines?
You got the picture... where there are wind turbines, what is expected to have? Sure, wind, lots of wind...

And wind was there, all the time, from strong to Katrina like... melted with cold, some rain, and a not finished facility that did put a lot of stress on shooters. Conditions, as you are expecting, were difficult, harsh, being not rare, shooters of this caliber, loosing 10, 15, 20 and 30 points on a card. For this, you just need to get unlucky and pick a worst condition relay. Contrary to most sites, wind was worst in the morning, tending to calm down as the day progresses.

I was a little on the apprehensive side, as I didn't shot with such strong winds. In fact, I realise flags won't show nothing more from a certain wind speed, meaning you couldn't guess the holding off, and missing bad. In such conditions, you have to learn the most on the practicing days. And they showed you have to hold off on the 8-7 ring to hit the center. Not much high (wind was predominantly left to right), but far away to left. But missing on practice is not a big deal, and you have to, to learn the condition, but I started to think, humm... it will be fun tomorrow...

Let me start from the ending and then rewind to share with you some thoughts.

I brought home 12 gold medals and 3 bronze medals, respectively:

Light Rifle Euro and World Champion - 745 48x
Heavy Rifle Euro and World Champion - 748 48x
2-gun Euro and World Champion - 1493 96x
3-gun Rifle Euro and World Champion - 2231 135x
International Sporter - 3rd European and 4th World - 738 39x

International Sporter - Euro and World Team Champion - 2198 102x
Light Rifle - Euro and World Team Champion - 2233 127x
3rd Heavy Rifle - Euro and World Team - 2215 105x

A great result once more, renewing my LR, HR, 2-gun and 3-gun tittles from Plzen 2023.

Full results: https://ech2025.fi/results/

This event was more of surviving than really achieving your best score. Many people was complaining all the time against the wind, the gear, the ammo.
Just don't do that, you are entering a negative spiral, and more important, you can't do anything... can't change the wind and/or the conditions, neither the gear, nor the ammo. If you have brought to that particular competition that gear, ammo, and yourself, don't blame it, you use the best you can.

It was more a mental game than anything else. Coming to the bench defeated could be seen in many face expressions. Coming out from the bench worst than defeated was a common feeling.

Shooting in the wind, means, you are going to miss. Shooting in such bad conditions, the odds are against a great score, so please do accept the misses, don't fight them. Interesting enough, and what I have learned from my many shooting years experience, practicing days often reflect the competition days conditions. And the competition days were worst... I realise myself holding off out the scoring circles... almost touching the square limiting lines of each target. Not for the faint of heart, and I believe many shooters didn't believe such a compensation was needed.

The X count tells the true story, and I don't remember shooting less than 740 in International Sporter for a very long time...

I did shot the more Xs in all categories, meaning I did miss badly, but majority of shots were well compensated.

This was, as I said earlier, a mental competition, but also a believing in your gear, and on your holding off. Who believed the most won, simple!

Lessons learned:
  1. Before the 1st card all shooters are even
  2. Never came defeated to the bench
  3. Believe what the sighters told you
  4. Don't loose too much 10s on the sighters
  5. Accept you are going to miss

Now time for a deserved rest.

to be continued...
 
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Congratulations. Very generous of you to share so much of your experiences.

Being unwilling to make big holds in big winds is a slow self inflicted death. You will occassionally get caught out but that is better than an inevitable slow bleed of points. You posted elsewhere recently that you shoot both eyes open while in the scope which enables you to make small adjustments to those big holds. All those X's are proof of the efficacy of the technique.

Again, congratulations of your well deserved victories.
 
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