good day vs. bad day practice

elliott · Post by **elliott** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 12:48 pm

My late friend Ian Cartier was in contact with Bill Demarest (world record holder for free pistol, 576). Bill said he did not "practice". He worked on his "procedure". Be that as it may, while one is practicing or working on one's procedure, if you are having a bad day, when shots are just not hitting, do you try to "work" through it or do you call it a day and give yourself a rest?

Paul Ha · Post by **Paul Ha** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 2:22 pm

Time permitting, on bad days, I keep at it:-
(1) I might find out what was causing the "bad" day; thus, turning it into a "VERY good" day;
(2) I might have to do (1) anyway, if the "bad" day is actually "match" day;
(3) Shooting is an addiction to me; I don't shoot, I'm not content.

jrmcdaniel · Post by **jrmcdaniel** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 2:37 pm

I like Paul's answer. I would also suggest:

. Try something different like concentrating only on holding horizontally or vertically or a blank target.

. Change position (for rifle shooting).

. Try shooting as fast as possible for 10 to 20 shots.

. The old reliable -- do some dry firing.

Best,

Joe

Nicole Hamilton · Post by **Nicole Hamilton** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 3:38 pm

Personally, I usually keep shooting, hoping it'll get better. Only later do I finally conclude that it was, at best, a complete waste of time and, all too often, an exercise in practicing a bad habit.

Mike M. · Post by **Mike M.** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 4:16 pm

Depends. I'll try to work through it - analyse what I'm doing wrong, and fix it.

If that doesn't work, it's time to switch to a different event and different gun for a while. Something to clear the palate.

Richard H · Post by **Richard H** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 4:21 pm

Usually I'll change up what I'm doing, such as shoot on blanks, dryfire, go to holding excersises, or shoot centers. Focus on aspects of a good shot delivery ie trigger, sight alignment, NPA, stance or follow through. just focus on one aspects and analyze what your doing in regards to that. No sense practicing something that isn't working, unless of course you want to get really good at being bad, by going to the other tools you might discover what has changed in your delivery. That said if it's a match you're SOL and just have to shoot through it.

Shooting is one of the few sports where people practice by just doing more of the same. In football, baseball, basketball, hockey or any other sport, you do drills to perfect aspects of the sport, they don't just go out and play matches, shooting is no different.