[Wa Jim]

Anybody else totally crash during a Match?

My last, on Tuesday (yesterday) I couldn't find my derriere with both hands.

I zeroed a really cool classifier by forgetting a mandatory mag swap and couldn't find my grove in any of the other stages.

Although I had one stage that I hit ok.

Crazy thing is I shot a Match on Sunday that was harder and did very well.

Actually my best so far.

I cant shake it....

 

[Rwehavinfunyet]

Crashed and burned.....bad day at a match.....

Having a bad day at your favorite hobby, job, or sport can happen to anyone at one time or another...even the pro's can have a bad day......

It can be caused by many things you may not be aware of...... a poor nights sleep even though you thought you had a good night's rest.......too much caffeine or alcohol the day before.......a fight with your spouse or significant other...... a pressing problem from work...! Any little thing that sticks in the back of your mind can make you "unsettled or distracted" without being consciously aware of it....! Having balance and harmony in your life is important.

Look at Tiger Woods when he was defamed from all his extra marital affairs.....the balance and harmony in his live suffered. His"peace of mind" and his self esteem most likely suffered. He still isn't played like his old self and is struggling to find his swing and his game......

Everyone is different when it comes to eliminating distractions before going to an action shooting match. For me, I like to be fully prepared, otherwise I won't have "peace of mind." I thoroughly clean my gun and inspect it. I chamber gauge every reloaded round I make to ensure there are no bad or bulged cases or upside down primers. I always make at least 50 rounds more than the match usually requires. I take apart and clean all my magazines. I don't drink alcohol the day before the match, and I make sure I get plenty of sleep and for me this means 7 hours. My "better half" requires a full 8 hours of rest each night to feel her best. On match day, I don't rush during the drive to get to the range, and I like to arrive at least 40 minutes early. The first thing I do is get my gear on. I then load up my mags. I then review the stage descriptions that are posted at each shooting bay, and even though I don't do a walk through, I do may make mental notes. Usually by this time, I can pay and register for the match.

Having a below standard performance can happen to anyone....at least our livelihood doesn't depend on winning .....action shooting is supposed to be fun! Forget having a bad day, and look to do better at your next match!

 

[1-DAB]

heck, i designed a stage, did the stage brief, carefully explained that the first two targets were to be shot from retention, explained what retention was....then shot that stage and forgot the retention part, one PE, +3 seconds....sigh.

stuff happens.

 

[Lppd4]

If you've never bombed a match you haven't shot very many matches. Those that or those that will

 

[corey4]

i have only been doing this for a year.

i had an IDPA match in july at one of the clubs i frequent. i shot a 190. i had a FTN, completely missed a target, and procedural on each stage. that is one of each on each stage. who knows W T F happened with my head. after the second stage, i said screw it, i already blew the match so i practiced strong hand only for the other 3 stages.

i am in the low 120s at the 2 clubs i go to for IDPA and the lower 70% range at the other 2 clubs for USPSA. not impressive, but that is my skill level right now.

it has happened when i played Jr hockey, racing motorcycles, and at work as a professional tree climber.

sometimes you feel like you did everything right the day/night before and morning of and end up as a scrub.

 

[Rwehavinfunyet]

shot a 190...now shoot a 120....?

It is very difficult to determine how good you are shooting IDPA matches by judging your total time.....the stages will vary from match to match, so the total time it takes to shoot a match will vary from one match to another.

Shooting the Classifier is a good way to determine your skill and improvement. However, some shooters do not shoot the Classifier well, yet do very well in matches.....:scratch: Judging how well you shoot against the top shooters may not be a good comparison either, since it depends on the skill/class level of the top shooters.....

 

[Detritus]

If you've never bombed a match you haven't shot very many matches. Those that or those that will

I still waiting on my second horrible match. my first disaster of a match was my first match, ever. only shot 2-1/2 stages since I had a squib middle of 3rd stage, at that point my day was over because I was under 21 and using a gun borrowed from my father and the squib rattled him. but the previous stages would be embarrassing now

Now every time I gear up at a match I think to myself "well it'd be hard to be worse than that one, so let's get on with it". and so far I've been right

 

[GunBugBit]

I usually have a mix of stages in every match, some that I shot well, others that I didn't. I've only experienced a couple of matches where I felt I was consistent and shooting very near my best through all stages.

 

[waktasz]

Lanny Bassham would smack you for even considering writing this thread, let alone doing it.

The more you talk about shooting badly the more you reinforce to yourself that shooting badly is something you do.

 

[tarosean]

Lanny Bassham would smack you for even considering writing this thread, let alone doing it.
The more you talk about shooting badly the more you reinforce to yourself that shooting badly is something you do.

:scratch::scratch:
I thought you were supposed to be indifferent now-a-days.
Didnt you just write recently about choking at the Nationals???




AS for me? S___ happens.

I effectively zeroed a stage Sunday taking out 3 NS's. Great for everyone else... Not for me!!! There is no recovering from that many points. Even though my best stage of the day was after that one.

 

[waktasz]

Do as I say, not as I do

I was shooting a lot better earlier in the year fresh off listening to the Lanny audio CD series. I should probably give it another go in preparation for Limited Nationals to get my mind right.

 

[BillD]

Do as I say, not as I do

I was shooting a lot better earlier in the year fresh off listening to the Lanny audio CD series. I should probably give it another go in preparation for Limited Nationals to get my mind right.

I'm sure it will make all the difference.

 

[waktasz]

I wouldn't expect you to understand.

 

[evets5321]

I think it is a mental thing to be able to put a "BAD" stage out of your mind and then do what you need to do. I use to shoot 3D archery and a friend went with me and shot the first 15 targets perfect, blew a shot on 16 and then fell of the turnip truck for the rest of the match....just couldn't get that bad shot out of his mind.

 

[wc145]

I've had a couple of those days in the last month or two. One particularly memorable stage was to be shot two handed then mandatory reload then shot strong hand only. I blew through it thinking I'd smoked it, right up until I heard "six procedurals..." and realized I'd shot the whole stage two handed.


The last match I shot was a local 3 gun, only two stages. The first stage was supposed to take place in NY, so a max of 10rds per mag. I was helping my kid get his rifle ready and stuff ready (it was his first 3 gun), while loading the mags for my M1A. The rife portion was 10 targets, 2 rds per targets, longest shot was going to be maybe 50yds, no problem so I only loaded two mags.
The stage started with rifle, imagine my surprise when the bolt locked back after just 5 shots!! I reloaded, reengaged, and boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, .......!!!! Bolt lock again! Somehow I'd managed to only load 5rds in each mag.:bawling: Not my best day.

Shooting an action pistol match this coming Sunday, the weather should be perfect, hope to redeem myself!

 

[Rwehavinfunyet]

IDPA stage......

One particularly memorable stage was to be shot two handed then mandatory reload then shot strong hand only

If this was a scenario stage, it would have been a better stage design to draw and fire strong hand only, conduct a reload, then shoot freestyle......

Having shooters "remember" to change their shooting technique in the middle of the stage is not the best stage design..... Often times a scenario stage design may require the shooter to switch the gun to WHO at the end of the stage with targets 7 yds. out. They might say things in the scenario like "Your shooting arm becomes disabled and you are forced to fire the last array Weak Hand Only. Once again, this is poor stage design, since switching the gun in the middle of the stage is another "remember to do this" during the COF......

IMHO, if a person wants to test your strong hand shooting on a scenario, have them carry an object in their weak hand, or place their weak hand/arm in a sling for the entire stage. Test weak hand shooting for drill stages.....transferring the gun to the weak hand toward the end of a stage is a memory drill and more gun handling with a "hot gun" which may be problematic for newer shooters......

 

[mikc]

Sounds like you did not have the stage in your head. My master class mentor always says to "play the movie" before the start. If you can nor visualize the entire stage in your head prior to the start you are not ready.
Tanking a stage happens to all shooters I have ever shot with.

 

[1-DAB]

If this was a scenario stage, it would have been a better stage design to draw and fire strong hand only, conduct a reload, then shoot freestyle......

Having shooters "remember" to change their shooting technique in the middle of the stage is not the best stage design..... Often times a scenario stage design may require the shooter to switch the gun to WHO at the end of the stage with targets 7 yds. out. They might say things in the scenario like "Your shooting arm becomes disabled and you are forced to fire the last array Weak Hand Only. Once again, this is poor stage design, since switching the gun in the middle of the stage is another "remember to do this" during the COF......

IMHO, if a person wants to test your strong hand shooting on a scenario, have them carry an object in their weak hand, or place their weak hand/arm in a sling for the entire stage. Test weak hand shooting for drill stages.....transferring the gun to the weak hand toward the end of a stage is a memory drill and more gun handling with a "hot gun" which may be problematic for newer shooters......

concur.

if you want to have shooters do one hand only shooting, give them something to do with the other hand, carry a stuffed toy, a stick, drag a weight (like walking a dog), or as you noted, once past the last cover, swap to weak hand for last few shots. anything beyond the typical 2 shots on each target freestyle is weird and confusing and likely to be messed up by someone. poor stage design.

 

[parallax]

I guess it all depends on how one defines "pooched a match."

I've certainly shot worse than I WANTED to, or than my ability should allow.
My last local USPSA match, I had 5 Mikes and a No-Shoot, and only finished 7th, out of 60 shooters. For ME, I would call that "pooching a match", but others would probably be thrilled to finish 7th.

 

[wc145]

I guess it all depends on how one defines "pooched a match."

I've certainly shot worse than I WANTED to, or than my ability should allow.
My last local USPSA match, I had 5 Mikes and a No-Shoot, and only finished 7th, out of 60 shooters. For ME, I would call that "pooching a match", but others would probably be thrilled to finish 7th.

And they say you can't miss fast enough to win!