Taking a Six-Week Break
When people shoot year-round and compete in winter tournaments in Florida and Arizona, somewhere between June 15th and July 15th, they hit a wall and plateau out and go down. It takes them until the end of August or middle of September to work their...
Accepting the Visual Confusion
Brian set an especially deceptive set of targets at American Shooting Center one time, and I did a clinic on how to read targets. He had a pair coming from the left and the traps were real close together. But somehow, he figured out a...
Minimizing Visual Confusion
“When a true pair is thrown, either close together with similar flight paths or crosses early in their flight path, are there some general practices to minimize the visual confusion? Move pick-up points? Hold well under targets? Any guidance would be appreciated." The biggest thing is...
Force the Brain Out of its Comfort Zone
Most people practice in their short-term memory, but you’ve got to force the brain out of its comfort zone to put together a new circuit. The more you do that, the better it becomes at recall. So, when you see a pair or a target you've...
Practicing Slower Moves
I had a student who was really good out to about 30 to 35 yards, but when a target was any further than that, he wasn’t so good. “Okay, tell me what kind of targets are giving you problems,” I said. “If they're fast, I can hammer...
Flipping Negative Thoughts
Our brains are wired to focus on the negative. This can be a major hurdle for athletes who aspire to excel in competitive environments like skeet or sporting clays. But the key lies in flipping this tendency on its head. When faced with a disappointing...
You Need a Strategic Approach
I had a client from the Northwest who was advancing well by focusing on single targets, determining breakpoints, and testing her predictions. However, her progress derailed after taking advice from an experienced shooter at a local club. He suggested she shift her focus to the second...
Staying Calm Under Pressure
One trait stands out amongst successful competitors: the ability to stay calm under pressure. This calmness fosters clear thinking and a focus on the process rather than just the outcome. The mental state referred to as being "process-oriented" evolves through trial and error, successes and failures,...
Why Are You Scrambling?
In our sport, lots of shooters impulsively close their gun and call “pull,” proceeding to hurriedly track the targets and trying to hastily correct their shot at the last moment. This often leads to confusion as to why there’s no improvement in their performance. We typically...
The Science of Skill: Building Blocks in Shooting and Life
Skill development is an intricate process rooted in biology and psychology, both in shotgunning and life itself. The key to mastering any skill, including shooting, lies in understanding how our brains evolve with practice. During adolescence, a protein called myelin plays a crucial role. It wraps...