The Unique Challenges of Wingshooting
Game shooting offers its own unique challenges when compared to clay shooting, not the least of which is that the game bird has a brain and can change its line, speed, and angle with a mere flick of a feather on a wing or tail....
Are You Doing This for Yourself?
Some people think shooting is about breaking targets. But in our experience, it should be about so much more, especially when it comes to learning to perform. We have the privilege of shooting with young shooters as they enter college and go through it. In talking...
Knowledge and Understanding – Consider the Railroad Tracks
“I wonder where in the learning process the unlearning of bad habits comes in. Maybe you don’t unlearn at all. Maybe the process of learning anew writes over the old habits in the brain!” Look at skill as a set of railroad tracks that are all...
Visualization in Sporting Clays vs Trap and Skeet
In sporting, the ability to visualize in detail the movie of the shots you are about to ask your brain to create is critical. But it’s increasingly more difficult due to presentation being different from shoot to shoot, day to day, and even morning to...
A Hundred Percent Effort in Practice
The thing that confuses shooters is that they don’t practice with the required intensity. They're out there going through the motions, having fun. And then when they go to a tournament they try, and their brain doesn't recognize them. They're not relaxed, or happy-go-lucky, they're...
Are You Making it Stable?
I had a lesson with a fellow, and we worked on a station had trouble with at a tournament. I had him shoot them as a true pair, which was a pretty tough one. The wind was at our back and it was blowing the...
Go Out and Have an Honest Practice Routine
Push yourself to the limit and make a commitment that when you get to the gun club, you're going to go out and practice, and start working on specific issues. And if you can't do it, you need to turn around and go home. You...
The Downward Spiral
After you enter the downward spiral and are confused for 25 to 30 minutes, you're toast for the day. This is due to your brain injecting cortisol into your system, which is a hormone that kills performance at every level. After 25 to 30 minutes...
Practicing with Just One Flat of Ammo
I was working with Craig Hill after he had gone to the world shoot and finished eighth in the world. He came to me again and awked, “Okay, what do I have to do different?” “Describe your practice routine,” I said. Now, Craig is 6'6, a...
All the “Be Sure”s
Positive soundalikes: they sound positive, but they're a way for your brain to say, “Hang on, now, be careful. You're down three. Be careful. Come on now, be sure now. Be sure you see the target. Be sure you're in front of it. Be sure…” All...