Anyone other than me ever experience an extreme peace of mind, zen-ful state, or restful state of tunnel vision where the world and all its sh** just dissappears when behind your rifle? For me, it happens only when im prone behind my bolt guns looking through a scope at the target. My breathing seems to come smoother; the breeze, the birds, the bees and distant sounds of planes all seem to fade and there seems to be an unmistakable bond between the target, the rifle, and the shooter. I feel i could just lay there all day without firing a shot and it would still be a perfect day. Yall feel that same?
Exactly! It's required therapy for me. Especially now that I've got a rig that fits and lay the way I feel comfortable. Not laying the way someone says is correct. It is like yoga or meditation. Only a shooting brother knows that feeling. Zenn to you brother. Mike
Absolutely, yes sir!!!...especially when I take a box of clay skeet targets and set them up on the sides of my gravel pit at 400 yards or so and shooting prone with a bipod take my time and break them slowly, one at a time. Often I take the time to wrap a properly folded paper towel around the top half and call them "taliban"...that makes it so much more rewarding and relaxing. With several shooters we take turns going from the extreme left and shoot our way to the right until they are gone, often set up at different ranges and most of the time partially hidden behind big rocks or clods. A piece of hidden tannerite behind some of the skeets makes that one a terrorist trying to set up an IED. This is most often done with a bunch of former Marines, so when and if I miss I get a hard time and lots of abuse....but, it's all in fun. The shooter who misses the most gets to buy the Bushmills. It's all pure hillbilly ignorance, but we have fun.
Yes it's the being "in the zone". Anyone who had competed or shot a lot in serious practice sessions can related to this condition. It the goal of every shot but because we are humans it not possible all the time. If I clear my mind, focus totally on the my shooting plan for that range session, follow all the fundamentals, take my time, and above all concentrate totally on the shot I usually have a good range session or hunt. If I fail in any these areas the range session or hunt goes sideways. Sometimes I can refocus and salvage the range session or hunt - that requires the capability to ignore past shots - you can't do anything about them - only the next shot. Here's my six step mental sequence on every shot: position stability - trigger finger placement - breathing control - cross hair focus - positive trigger action - follow thru Also trying to shoot to many rounds in one range session doesn't work for me - I can't maintain this level of discipline. Since I'm precision varmint / predator hunter I don't need to practice long strings. Also, I'm primarily interested in the cold barrel shots so it normally takes me about an hour to an hour and half to shoot 10 to 15 rounds per range session.
The ZONE is right guys! During the three minute prep I close my eyes and lay my head down on my mat, breath slowly and concentrate on shooting. When I pick my head up I’m ready to go!! X’s Only!
I totally understand the feeling, its like the feeling you have when you know you have the perfect shot while deer hunting, you feel it before you pull the trigger.
