TargetTalk

This is an exercise given to me by George Brenzovich who has been coaching for around 40 years. It helped me quickly adjust to my new rifle and equipment. I've been shooting for 10 months (3p air) and this season my standing scores were around 89 on average. Now after doing this exercise many times, I'm consistently shooting 97's and 96's. I can't guarantee that kind of improvement for everybody, but I do hope it will be beneficial. By the way this is not just limited to the standing position it has also helped both my other positions, but standing was the most improved.

- 30 minutes of mounting the rifle
- no pulling the trigger (even dry-firing)
- put the rifle down if mount is incorrect or "doesn't feel right"
- 30 minutes of holding exercises
- again no firing including dry-firing
- hold rifle on a specific spot for 25-30 seconds (I used a target and picked a bull)
- 20 minutes of shooting
- 10 quality shots
- it's ok if it takes a bit longer than 20 minutes when you are building up rhythm which takes practice

If you get tired, stop the timer, take a rest, then start back up. It's typical with this exercise to get tired after the first few times.

-Haynes

Hi Haynes,
Thank you very much for the information you have provided..
I just need few more information.
- 30 minutes of mounting the rifle Could you please explain me this? which part of that you call mounting?

- 30 minutes of holding exercises Could you please explain me this again?

I think I am confused among this.. till what it is called holding and what is called mounting..

Thank you in advance..
regards
MishraDK

Thanks Haynes!

Like the last poster though I would appreciate if you could add a few details to the areas described above.

Thanks,
Jordan

First, I apologize for not replying to questions sooner. I've been very busy with exams and I was not alerted by e-mail that someone else had posted. Ok getting down to business.
Mounting exercises
- You go through your whole routine/shot-plan where you are looking down your sights with finger on the trigger. If anything doesn't feel right, or you left out part of your routine, put put the rifle down on the stand (standing position) or take your cheek off your cheek-piece (prone & kneeling) and start your shot plan over
Holding Exercises
- Same thing as the mounting exercise but, you hold it on a specific bull or spot on the target (properly set for position) for 20-30 seconds just depending on the person.
This exercise is pretty "fudgable" in that you can make your own little version of it under these guidelines and it should help. If not, it may not be the exercise for you, or you just need to change something. The main goal is muscle memory!! Standing and kneeling require the most muscle memory. That's why typically when you haven't shot in a while, standing and kneeling are the most difficult to get back into. I can hop into the prone position and shoot a 99/100 after 2 months of not shooting. Standing... is about 92/94 after a while. The thing you should be focused on is PERFORMANCE not score. Taking the element of the pellet out, gives you that opportunity as long as it is approached with the right attitude. If anyone has anymore questions, please feel free to ask and thanks for listening to my rants. :-D

Hi Thanks a lot for sharing this. May i ask a strange question... would a change of jacket or rifle in future negate all the training previously done with the old jacket and rifle?

I was thinking changes in equipment might result in some changes in position as well. Thanks in advance.

Anonymous wrote:Would a change of jacket or rifle in future negate all the training previously done with the old jacket and rifle? I was thinking changes in equipment might result in some changes in position as well.

I would recommend doing the exercise a few times with the new equipment, but you will adjust quickly. It's basically all the same motions, just getting used to the new stuff. But no, it will not make your previous training useless. If you make changes to the position, I would defiantly do the training so you can get that position consistently and get that new muscle memory. If you have any more questions, comments, concerns, feel free to message me.

-Haynes

Wow thanks a lot for that rapid reply. I hope to do this training for all sessions now. Hopefully i can see improvements in stability soon..

I used to do a variation of this which i call "perfect shot" training whereby only if everything is perfect then i would fire, if not i would cancel and start over. I guess this would be your quality shots part of the training.

All the best for your shooting =)

Well I do have a passion for shooting and I'm on this website quite a bit. :-D
Anyway, I don't know if I'd recommend this training for every single session. The guy who gave it to me told me to do one position a day, until I was really solid in that position. Then I could focus more on the more difficult ones until I was solid with them. Prone (least amount of muscle memory required), Standing (the most MM) Kneeling (second most MM) Then when things really fall apart this exercise works best. My standing went from 97 to 89 and I talked to the guy who then gave me this. Standing has been pretty consitent in the 96,97 area. When things go wrong, and your performance was fine, check the rifle, then see what you could do if nothing is wrong with the rifle. I cannot enforce how much it helps to physically check your rifle instead of kind of thinking about any adjustments that may have caused loose screws. The exercise also give you alot of confidence in matches because you aren't as worried about the muscle mem. kicking in. Checklists help me alot for less match anxiety and less mess ups. :-D
Hope this helps,
-Haynes

Shoot well!

Actually i'm currently only doing standing air, so i figured doing lots of position work would help with stability. I have problems with consistency as i always get 10s all coming together and 9s and 8s all together as well, so i can have a 90 and 100 series in the same match lol. I have difficulty replicating the same feel for every shot =/

Anyway glad u could share your experience!