| What You Don’t See is What You Get | | | | is quickly forgotten. But not when the 0 is put on a |
| July 2008 Clay Target Shooting Tip Full Articleby: | | | | scoresheet. That’s a whole lot more than just a |
| Dan Schindler | | | | consequence, it leads to expectations, what ifs and a |
| | | | | host of other distractions and disturbances. |
| Sporting clays is the ultimate test, pitting ourselves | | | | Gun skills are not the same as “scoring” skills. |
| against targets down gullies and through trees at | | | | To score well in competition takes much more than |
| countless unknown speeds, angles and distances. We | | | | just gun skills. Engage the mind, divert the attention, |
| spend thousands of dollars on equipment, books, | | | | and the shooting performance will suffer. Why? Not |
| videos and training all to master basic, rudimentary | | | | because the gun skills aren’t present but |
| skills. Some shooters do, and they have the skills to | | | | because the performance is managed by the mind, |
| show for it. But why is it that skills don’t always | | | | which first must be focused and still. |
| match scores? | | | | If higher scores and consistency are the goals, |
| Hmmmm. The answer is simple. Competition. | | | | sooner or later a shooter must attend to mental |
| Breaking targets on a quiet practice field conveniently | | | | distractions and scoring skills. It’s the part of the |
| bypasses consequences. Other than a brief moment | | | | game we don’t see, hiding in plain sight, robbing |
| of disappointment or consideration, the missed target | | | | us of targets, needing our attention. |