Targets Vs Groups

[Wolfdog91]

Ok just wanna see if anyone else deals with this.
Basically if you give me a target to shoot, say a shotgun shell, gong ,steel popper, animals while hunting. I'm generally a very calm and collected shooter as long as I know my rifle is zeroed .
However you give me a paper target and tell me to shoot as good of a groups as I can ... I am a nervous friggen wreck. Like today. Figured I'd go to the range by myself ( and take my GF's Christmas present since she don't feel like going lol) and just have fun doing some .22lr plinking
Well make sure I was zeroed @35 with a five round group ( bottom right orange sticky ) sorry it's turned the wrong way
But yeah just plopped down fired those off no problem and went to shooting shot gun shells, and cans from 35-50yd with no real problems. Missed mabye one or two every 10rd mag. Was doing stuff like only shooting say the P on one Pepsi can or the brass on the shells . Even laid some on the berm so it was just the bottom of the shell and the primer and was punching them @50 pretty easy. And shot some cans @100yd

Well I come back to 35yd after all that feeling great and decided to shoot some groups and lord have mercy I turned into a nervous wreck. As you can see

And this happens to me most every time I get on paper. I start seeing my heart beat more I get 2x as nervous ect. Usually doesn't happen when I'm just zeroing or doing just "work " shooting as I call it. But when it's time to try and make little bug holes like I've shit incredible groups with this same gun and others just drinking around but when I decide to try and get serious....

I know it's all in my head but does anyone else deal with this ? I've heard plenty on target shooters getting like this on live game but don't think I've heard about it vice versa.
Thanks.

 

[mongo chicago]

Every competition shooter has dealt with that at one time. The old saying goes "you always shoot better groups/scores in practice than you do in matches". No magical cure, just something you have to get over.

 

[dantiff2]

Make sure that your rifle rest and even bench setup and technique are solid enough to allow for shooting groups. Make it so that it takes a lot of the "you" out of it. Good solid front rests or bi-pods along with a rear bag that packs so that when you center on the x and start the firing process your gun can't move as you get nervous. Rear bags, especially squeeze bags make a HUGE difference. Amazon bags will not work here. Go with something of higher quality. I know, it's easier said then done ; )

 

[FeMan]

My buddy had the same issue recently. I had built him a hunting rifle and it shot great. As he got closer to his big hunt, he started shooting progressively worse. He mentioned that he thought there was something going on with the rifle/load. I went out with him and the rifle shot under 1/4 moa. I told him to stop shooting groups and handed him a bunch of 5/8" orange sticky dots. I told him to shoot at those, one shot per dot. He called a few days later and said he was drilling the dots. The next time I saw him I looked at the target and found that if I superimposed all the dots onto one another, his collective 10 shot group was around 1/2"!

Sorry for the long story but it illustrates the fact that shooting groups can mess with your head at times. You might want to try something similar and see how it works for you.

 

[Jeff Porter]

Research Target Panic...

 

[CharlieNC]

Try at home dry fire practice daily to develop a consistent technique that you don't have to think about.

 

[dantiff2]

Trying not to derail this thread...I noticed I started having a little bit of panic years ago, after getting into more precision shooting and not just hunting or plinking. When I finally got a good shooting gun that would actually out shoot me. My go to, was into airgun shooting. It allowed me to get tons and tons of trigger time in at home. Then that progressed into PCP airguns and they will shoot 1/4 moa (like the real thing) so that REALLY helped me to break that target panic. It made me so much more calm behind everything that I shoot now. Try it and I promise you'll fall in love.
Dan

 

[CharlieNC]

Trying not to derail this thread...I noticed I started having a little bit of panic years ago, after getting into more precision shooting and not just hunting or plinking. When I actually got a good shooting gun that would actually out shoot me. My go to, was into airgun shooting. It allowed me to get tons and tons of trigger time in at home. Then that progressed into PCP airguns and they will shoot 1/4 moa (like the real thing) so that REALLY helped me to break that target panic. It made me so much more calm behind everything that I shoot now. Try it and I promise you'll fall in love.
Dan

They are fun! Good, cheap training.

 

[K22]

In my experience having shot competitive NRA Precision (bullseye) for 30 years this not at all that unusual. In fact, it's fairly common. There are names coined for it, "chicken finger", fear of a bad shot, "target panic" etc. As you can imagine, the condition is magnified in pistol shooting.

Mental toughness in a bigger part of competitive and target shooting than many realize. The really good shooters have ice in their veins and have mastered match / target pressure with iron clad focus on the shot at hand. They can block out a poor shot and totally focus on the shot at hand.

When it comes to match shooting, the more matches you shoot the better you should be able to deal with match pressure. One technique I used in a match was not to look in the spotting scope during slow fire until the string was completed. The idea is so that you are totally focused on fundamentals and don't get distracted with the score of the shot or rattled if it's a bad shot. This is not recommended for practice since you should be calling your shots and trying to learn to improve your master of the fundamentals. But it has worked for me during a match.

Another technique is to mentally repeat your firing checklist each shot. In pistol shooting I would say, front sight focus, positive trigger action, follow through each and every shot. This keeps your mind focused on the shot at hand and helps block out other distractions. Incidentally such a technique can work in hunting shots too.

Visualization is another technique - visualizing the perfect shot. Often used in sports psychology.

Then there is the technique of convincing yourself that this is just a hobby - it's supposed to be fun not a job. When you make a poor shot, try to diagnose the reason. Treat a poor shot as an opportunity to learn, not a catastrophe. I learned long time ago to keep a range book and keep notes on each range session. It's a good way to learn and improve.

Because shooting at its base in an athletic endeavor, you will have ups and downs because of the bio-rhythm cycles of your body. Some disciplines minimize this effect by limiting the human element such as shooting off a bench with a front and rear rest but even this manner of shooting is subject to bio-rhythm cycles. The more the human element is involved, the more the effect of biorhythm. Precision pistol is one of the most difficult because you're using one hand standing with no artificial support.

 

[Doug Casner]

Dont think about it too much. Calm down. Doug

 

[drover]

Simple answer - plinking is fun, shooting groups is work.

A miss or a wide shot is of no consequence when pliking, even an edge shot that catches just enough of the object to move it looks like a good shot. On targets every shot there is evidence of how bad it was.

Poor practice makes for poor performance. It's ok to just plink but when shooting targets you need to concentrate, keep the two as separate things - one for fun and the other for being serious.

drover

 

[6MMsteve]

shoot more more more,,need lots of trigger time,

 

[6MMsteve]

plus a light rifle will magnify your faults.... and a trigger that you have to take a nap with will really magnify your faults

 

[3Ackleys]

Just curious, given your problems shooting groups. But how do you ever "know your rifle is zeroed"?

 

[X Count]

Buy the book "with winning in mind". A good foundation for mental management in shooting

 

[David Milisock]

Ok just wanna see if anyone else deals with this.
Basically if you give me a target to shoot, say a shotgun shell, gong ,steel popper, animals while hunting. I'm generally a very calm and collected shooter as long as I know my rifle is zeroed .
However you give me a paper target and tell me to shoot as good of a groups as I can ... I am a nervous friggen wreck. Like today. Figured I'd go to the range by myself ( and take my GF's Christmas present since she don't feel like going lol) and just have fun doing some .22lr plinking
Well make sure I was zeroed @35 with a five round group ( bottom right orange sticky ) sorry it's turned the wrong wayView attachment 1395402
But yeah just plopped down fired those off no problem and went to shooting shot gun shells, and cans from 35-50yd with no real problems. Missed mabye one or two every 10rd mag. Was doing stuff like only shooting say the P on one Pepsi can or the brass on the shells . Even laid some on the berm so it was just the bottom of the shell and the primer and was punching them @50 pretty easy. And shot some cans @100yd

Well I come back to 35yd after all that feeling great and decided to shoot some groups and lord have mercy I turned into a nervous wreck. As you can see
View attachment 1395404
And this happens to me most every time I get on paper. I start seeing my heart beat more I get 2x as nervous ect. Usually doesn't happen when I'm just zeroing or doing just "work " shooting as I call it. But when it's time to try and make little bug holes like I've shit incredible groups with this same gun and others just drinking around but when I decide to try and get serious....

I know it's all in my head but does anyone else deal with this ? I've heard plenty on target shooters getting like this on live game but don't think I've heard about it vice versa.
Thanks.View attachment 1395405

I have a similar issue, it's not pressure to perform it's boredom. I'd rather watch paint dry or listen to a speech by Chuch (the schmuck) Schumer then shoot at targets for group.

I can't even attend shooting events. I do ok with shoot and scoots but otherwise no.

 

[Wolfdog91]

Dont think about it too much. Calm down. Doug

Yeah I'm always told that but , well ta alot easier said then done with me ADHD + Anxiety= constant over thinking in everything I do

For most peoel things are A+B=C me it's A+B=C unless C is an odd number so then you need to ÷B by A to get D , but what if this happens then you need to get G and yadda yadda

Kinda why I love reloading and shooting so much because their so many variables I can play with , if that makes sense

 

[Gargoyle]

I haven't "plinked" since I was a kid. Every range trip is a science experiment.

 

[Wolfdog91]

Try at home dry fire practice daily to develop a consistent technique that you don't have to think about.

I actually do alot of dry fire when I can , problem is I don't think I'm doing it quite right I guess. I mean I'll do the deal where you have a little target set up, you have you gun and gear and you drop down set up you stuff in a calm and collected manner get on target squeeze off a shot then do it all again ,over and over but man it's like when I get on paper and need to shoot a groups all that just goes out the window.
I've started filling my self and my targets while I shoot and I find myself going " why the heck am I doing that ? I practice all the time ?"

 

[Wolfdog91]

I haven't "plinked" since I was a kid. Every range trip is a science experiment.

I don't do it a ton anymore because it's usually a little boring for me now days. Like shooting a can @100yd, isnt really a challenge compared to shooting a group you know , I mean it can be fun don't get me wrong , especially if I have people to shoot against ( love plinking with my gf actually) or their some interesting targets or "rules" but you slap a 4" gong @100yd all day with a subpar load and half decent marksmenship.

The science experiment part of it like you said is why I absolutely love reloading and casting! Always something to fiddle and tweak and keep me wondering and annoyed