When you find yourself having a bad range session, what is your problem and what drills do you use to try and bring it together?
For me, it's trigger control. I usually try some slow fire exercises, but I'm often unable to bring it together. I'd like some more options.
Honestly, when I'm having a bad day - I pack it up, conserve the ammo, and call it a day. There's always tomorrow.
It depends a lot on what is going wrong.
If a particular skill is going poorly, I drill it. For example, if my cold FAST reload is 2.5 or something, then part of my day's range plan gets pushed aside so I can work reloads for an hour.
If it's a general "nothing is going right today" event, I usually work through something like the 99 or FASTs just to force myself to perform when I'm frustrated, then call it a day. I'm a big believer that skill building does not happen under those circumstances. I know there are guys who tough it out because they think it's a mindset thing, but wasting effort, time, and ammo just to prove I can pull the trigger when I'm sad doesn't seem worth it to me.
Now, if I were in a class or at a match and things were sucking -- and believe me, I have many of those t-shirts in the closet -- then yes, I stick with it. I'm not at those events primarily for skill-building practice but to learn and test.
So... it depends.
This is a point my flight instructor made often, particularly when working on landings. If we'd scheduled a bunch of touch-and-goes, but the landings just weren't happening, he'd have me just blow it off and go do something else... you can make bad landings all day long, but all it will get you is mad. You're certainly not learning anything, or internalizing good practices.Originally Posted by ToddG
Trigger control/anticipation seems to be what gets me most often. I'll usually go to a 3x5 walk back drill starting about 3 yds. If that doesn't start to sort things out then I'll do some ball and dummy drills utilizing the "dry fire 10 times if you catch yourself doing something wrong" technique. If that doesn't work I revert to self-loathing, cussing under my breath and packing up my stuff while contemplating my self worth. Fortunatly I'm an optimist and I'm usually done with self-pity by the time I get to the main road.
If the problem is in specific manipulation, then I do what Todd does - try to spend some time on it, doing at very slow pace and build up.
If I can't hit anything, I go to ball and dummy. Few clean runs with B&D serve as a positive reinforcement that the very basic building block - ability to hit target at slow pace - is still there, meaning decent trigger control and no anticipation. After that, it depends - I may wrap it up, or I may try to come back to a practice plan. I do try to leave on a [relatively] positive note. A couple of circle drills usually suffice to confirm I still can hit high-prob target at 7 yards or so, and then I am done for good.
Great topic, JV!
I would do well to work on this aspect of my practice.
If I am doing poorly at something, I usually keep doing it and really run it into the ground, waste ammo, and hate myself for a while. If other things are going well in my life, my happiness at any given moment is often determined by how I last shot.
I need to adopt a constructive practice instead. Thanks for the ideas, everyone.
A college professor once explained it to me like this; With any skill you're going to have slumps. You will maintain a skill at a certain level, practice, and at some point your skill level dips sharply (slumps). Continue to practice but don't get frustrated. Your skill level will eventually recover and will be at a higher level than before it took that sharp dip. According to the good doctor, it was important to recognize that this was a natural progression and to maintain focus on your goal. Seems to work for me.
I'm definitely in a slump...
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There is a huge difference between a slump and a bad day at the range. A bad day at the range could just be something with your eyes, too much caffeine the day before, being distracted, etc. If you've got the time and access, it can often be as easy as grabbing lunch and then trying again.
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