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Thread: Frustrating Range Day

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Les Pepperoni View Post
    Almost every range session...

    "This is supposed to be fun?"
    Truth!

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Les Pepperoni View Post
    Almost every range session...

    "This is supposed to be fun?"
    An interesting point...after a while, shooting stops getting fun.

    Winning however...winning never gets old.

    Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

  3. #13
    Site Supporter SeriousStudent's Avatar
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    I'm with Les. Every real range session is hard and frustrating, because I only work on hard things.

    The fun range sessions are when I take a buddy and his kids to the range, and we shoot a bunch of suppressed firearms and have BBQ and root beer floats afterwards. I shoot some, but mostly I'm loading and supervising.

    That is fun!

  4. #14
    The above is exactly why I carry the little 3.5 in 45 colt replica to the range each and every time. While I might carry it around the homeplace from time to time it will never be my go to for sd, and I don't compete with anyone but me so..... just plain old fun. There is just something about a cowboy sixgun and a bag of balloons. I can be serious, but when the fun is gone there simply is no point and more importantly there will never be significant gain. The fun is about the freedom to exercise my 2nd amendment rights, The fun is about a great big fireball and hanging on to a handful of recoil. The fun is about having your buddies grin ear to ear and hollar, whoa that was just cool! I don't care how much money/prestige/trophies or bragging rights you have cause you are the fastest, most accurate, deadliest shot in the game, Life is to short not to take that lousy range day and make it something special even if it's just a reset to motivate you for your particular skills/talents. Somehow I don't think frustration ever wins the day in any case, no matter the goal.

  5. #15
    Site Supporter P.E. Kelley's Avatar
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    I do not like to practice, I just don't. It feels like work, because it...is!
    When I have too I will, otherwise I just play, as that takes me back to what I really am at heart...a plinker.

    To keep my interest up I am always changing things. That satisfies my desire to shoot different tools and forces me to
    work on the fundamentals. I find it too easy to get sloppy with guns I am used to shooting well.

    This weekend, I shot a local 3 gun match with a Prototype CZ Custom that wasn't wearing sights. No, not by design, I removed the rear after the
    front vacated its moorings. (it is a prototype and the final product will not have that issue)
    That pistol made me WORK for each shot during the match and doubly so on a 20 plus yard plate rack with...4" plates! YES, extra shots were fired, but
    my full attention was on each shot after the first couple of misses. Was it frustrating, yea to a degree, but not nearly as much as shooting poorly with a
    gun that I know I shouldn't ever miss with.
    Guns are just machines and without you they can do no harm, nor any good

  6. #16
    Site Supporter Clobbersaurus's Avatar
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    I used to think like the OP and others in this thread, but have come to realize that I only get better by working on stuff that I am not good at. Working on hard stuff has become something I look forward to, because I won't get better if I don't.

    Redefine your measurement of success in your range sessions. Work hard to realize a gain in every session, even if it is small, and then celebrate the gain ruthlessly and only note any weaknesses as something you need to work on in future sessions.

    Don't dwell on the weaknesses, it will only lead to a negative self image, which I believe is a killer when it comes to match performance.

    Celebrate every gain and keep a positive attitude. That is a muscle that has to be trained just like anything else, and I am still working on it, but I find it gets easier the more you work at it.

    I rarely ever plink anymore, but when I do, I make sure I enjoy every minute of it.
    Last edited by Clobbersaurus; 09-26-2017 at 10:07 PM.
    "Next time somebody says USPSA or IPSC is all hosing, junk punch them." - Les Pepperoni
    --

  7. #17
    Here is a point of clarification. I want my practice to be way harder than any match. That can be difficult, but I don't find that frustrating at all. That is normal. Personal records only come intermittently, and that is also normal.

    Frustrating is when I can not perform as usual -- in other words what I can regularly do, is just not happening today.
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

  8. #18
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    Reflection on yesterday.

    So, after reading what you guys posted here and thinking about it over night I realize that I sat myself up for "disaster" yesterday. Normally when I go to the range I concentrate on one thing, like say tracking my dot. I will keep that in the front of my mind while shooting every drill. I am not good at shooting B-8's at 25 yards so I do it. But, I always try to finish with things I'm better at (notice I said better, not good) because it gives me a sense of satisfaction so I leave feeling good about my practice. Some days I notice progression on the B8 at 25 and some days I don't and I'm ok with that because I see overall progression when I look back to where I was weeks/months ago.

    I made a list of things I needed to work on and tried to work on ALL of them yesterday. That was a mistake and a show of impatience. I should have chose one and worked toward improving on that. When I look at the list it's a little overwhelming but you know how you eat and elephant, right?

    1-1-18 I decided to get serious about my shooting. Not to compete, though I have thought about it. I just want to be better, so, in a way I'm competing with myself.
    So next trip I'm working on one thing then doing some drills that are enjoyable and don't seem like work.

    Thanks!
    Last edited by SC_Dave; 09-27-2017 at 07:42 AM.

  9. #19
    I always learned and improved more on the "bad" range days.

    My problem was if there were others at the range I found I wouldn't push myself to work on my weaknesses. Pride, I guess. So I started going at day break before anyone was there.....especially rainy and cold days. I found that if I had the range to myself, I would shoot left handed, push out to 50 yards with both hands, and rush shots to the point of missing up close and then back down a notch.

    But yeah, we all have bad days.......look at them as learning opportunities.

    Regards.

  10. #20
    I went to the range today, with this thread in the back of my mind. I set up a killer session. Gabe's full test from appendix and open carry, draws to the USPSA head at 25 yards with a 1.50 par, Bill drills with a 1.90 par, Four Aces with a 2.25 par, one hand support and strong hand to the eight inch steel at 40 yards. Bill drills at 25 yards with a 3.50 par, and draw to three eight inch steel with a 1.75 par. Guess what, it was real hard, and I could not do everything as well as I would hope. None of it was frustrating though, because my performance was plus or minus a small bit, at my expectations for my ability.

    How is that different from those days when I am frustrated? Failure to meet expectation comes from different reasons. Perhaps I am making a technique error, like not prepping the trigger well enough on hard shots, or not gripping hard enough on speed drills. Maybe my frustration is I had a PR the day before, and I can't repeat it today. Those reasons are both fixable or understandable. The thing that pisses me off is when I just can't do it because "today, things are just harder." That happens some days to everyone, and those are the days I need to do something else or just quit early.
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

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