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The 2006 Highpower Season

The Scores

 

The Stories

If there is one thing I like to do from season to season it's improve. Improvement being measured by score and "felt" performance for a stage or aggregate. Last year I was able to really get my rapid prone to where it should be and shoot more consistent scores. But I also saw that I was giving up a lot of points in standing. My offhand performance would put me in a situation where I had to hold real hard for the rest of the course and hope that others wouldn't perform as well.

So that brings me to 2006. Provided I can maintain my performance level in the sling supported positions, standing is where my focus will be. I've been trying to contemplate what it is about standing that will differentiate a good score from a bad one. My analysis comes down to the decision making process of breaking the shot. In other words, how and when I decide to pull the trigger has a direct impact on the result of the shot. A result that, in my opinion, has more weight than other factors.

Now that I have a handle on what I perceive to be a shortcoming, I have to fix it. When looking through the sights in standing I've often found myself seeing a good sight picture (i.e. seeing a sure 10 or X) but for some reason I don't pull the trigger. Most of this is based on the fear that any pressure on the trigger will pull the sights off target and result in a bad shot. I have to condition my mind to be shooting the shot when I see that 10 through the sights. This is what is known as being "aggressive" on the trigger.

My offhand process has depended on chance and randomness. I would bring the rifle to some point on the target and let my NPA and wobble bring the sights to the center. There really wasn't a lot of control involved. This randomness meant that that particular shot could be good or bad depending on factors that I had no direct control over. Now I'm learning to bring the sights to the center in a consistent and controlled fashion. Mount the rifle, come down to the same point, bring the sights to the center, see the 10, shoot. Of course this is easier said than done but by getting to the 10 ring the same way every time I'm training my mind to anticipate seeing the good shot.

Admittedly I've drawn a lot of inspiration for this from David Tubb's book "Highpower Rifle" and his approach method of shooting standing. But I think a lot of people have mistakenly interpreted this as shooting on the move. I don't think it's shooting on the move as much as it is training yourself to shoot when you see a 10. Anyway we'll see how it goes.

Around August or September last year I noticed that one of the keepers in my leather sling had stretched and allowed the frog to move inside it. This caused the length of the sling from my arm to the rifle to get longer. This extra length gave me a looser position. To avoid this in the future I've decided to go with a web sling starting this year. While this change won't gain me points, I feel it will avoid the possibility to lose points during the season due to a changed position.

 

April 9

The first match of the year allows me to get reacquainted with friends that I haven't seen since last year. A rifle match is always more enjoyable and relaxing when you shoot with friends and family. My first order of business was to work on my new offhand technique. The first thing I noticed was that my hold was a bit bigger than it normally is. This was due to me tensing my support arm and not getting full bone support. The arm tension was used to push the sights higher. Even so I felt that my trigger control was more aggressive on some shots but not on others. I also had to readjust my windage zero since that was off. The wandering zero continued into sitting with a group that would have cleaned the target but on the right side of the 10-ring. This can be attributed to additional cant in the position due to the less bulky web sling. Rapid prone went fine with a great group but a sight picture error put one straight out the top. Slow prone had another mental lapse with me shooting the shot when I wasn't completely concentrating on where the sights were pointed. All in all a decent score considering the six month layoff. For now it will be a continuation of the offhand approach training and some dry firing in sitting to establish proper sling length.

Offhand: 96-2

Sitting: 99-1

Rapid Prone: 99-6

Slow Prone: 199-11

Aggregate: 493-20

 

April 23

A new season means that I have a new barrel on my rifle that I need to get zeros for. Since this is the first time I'll be shooting this barrel, this is when I'll start to get zeros. Offhand was rough because some shots were off call and I someone shot on my target. This caused me to correct off the wrong shot location and it wasn't until later in the string before I could get centered up. Sitting was again difficult because I was trying to extrapolate from my left cant in standing to my right cant in sitting. I was close when I shot the string because the group size was fine but I was still at least two clicks too low. The group size opened up quite a bit in rapid prone but it was due to sling position so at least I can fix that. Slow prone went fine and I was able to walk away with confidence in at least this position. Now that I have some rough zeros I'll be able to refine group position on the target. 

Offhand: 89-0

Sitting: 98-2

Rapid Prone: 96-2

Slow Prone: 199-13

Aggregate: 483-17

 

May 6

My first opportunity to shoot a full 600 yards this year. Shooting 20 shots in each stage went a long way to establishing my zeros. I was still fumbling with the knobs in standing but it was more because my calls were off. I neglected to follow my sequence and started shooting without establishing my position. Instead of letting my left arm settle into it's proper place on my hip, I tried to squeeze it close to my torso. This required muscle tension and I was fighting things for the first half. Once my position settled a little I was able to limit the damage to three 9's in the second half. The first string of sitting I felt like I was shooting for the first time. I shot too fast with an inaccurate zero. The group was huge with shots all over the place. The second time around was much better with a 6x clean. The new web sling is taking more time to get used to than I had anticipated. I'm still experimenting with lengths and settings for rapid prone. The rifle doesn't feel as tight as I'd like it to be and the groups are way too big for my liking. 600 was fine although I was putting too many shots at 11 and 1 o'clock in the ten ring. The wind was changing but readable. I need to get into a better rhythm from week to week to shake out these cobwebs and shoot better scores.

Offhand: 188-3

Sitting: 197-7

Rapid Prone: 197-3

Slow Prone: 198-6

Aggregate: 780-19

 

May 20

Things were a bit hectic today because, in addition to shooting, I also ran the match. I've been working hard on offhand recently but this is the first time in two weeks that I got to shoot it. The approach training has done some good but I can see one hurdle that I still need to overcome. My hold in the vertical direction needs to improve. When I come into the target from the left, the sights are bouncing up and down quite a bit. Today I was still able to break the shots in the middle and I did feel I was more aggressive on the trigger than in the past. Even so, on one shot the sights flew across the black and I still pulled the trigger giving me an eight. My sitting is coming back to where it should be. The first string was a clean but I jerked a nine out in the second string. My first group in 300 rapid was all over the place with two nines on the left and bottom. For the second string I just repeated to myself what helped me in this event last year. "Focus on the front sight and squeeze the trigger". Once I did that the target came up clean. Slow prone wasn't as comfortable as I would have liked and I was getting some glare off the front sight. I'll have to see if I can get the post blacker.

Offhand: 196-7

Sitting: 199-11

Rapid Prone: 198-9

Slow Prone: 197-8

Aggregate: 790-35

 

May 21

Today was downhill from yesterday. A nice day to shoot with enough breeze to move you in standing. Regardless, I shot three 9's for my first shots in offhand. My position felt comfortable but I was breaking the shots at the wrong times. I'll go back to my dry-fire routine this week. The sitting group was a bit larger than I cared for but still within the ten ring except for one shot that I yanked out in the middle of the string. Rapid prone was good with plenty of concentration on the front sight. I also took my time and just squeezed them off. Slow prone started off quite well and I was clean until about the 10th or 11th shot. I put one out on the right and then was back in the middle. But getting towards the end I felt like I was pushing my right shoulder into the rifle and flinching a little bit as the shot went. I have to relax more and not just my left arm.

Offhand: 95-1

Sitting: 99-4

Rapid Prone: 100-6

Slow Prone: 196-9

Aggregate: 490-20

 

May 27

My first team match of the year. As always, lots of fun. Even with the slower pace of pair-firing I was able to shoot at least an acceptable score offhand. The rapids were fine but my position in sitting makes me wobble a bit too much. I feel that my hand is not as far back on the hand guard as it has in the past. This drops the muzzle lower and I have to offset that with something else in my position. This was the second time I shot this upper at 600 yards and my zero was way off. The whole group was high and I was continually coming down during the string.

Offhand: 97-2

Sitting: 99-6

Rapid Prone: 100-5

Slow Prone: 191-6

Aggregate: 487-19

 

 

May 28

The Regional at Lodi always starts at 600 yards and moves forward. In the first slow prone match I just wanted to get a better zero than I did yesterday. Even though I was trying to relax in position, on some shots I felt like I was moving when the rifle went off. This comes from my feeling of recoil being different on some shots than on others. It's almost as if I'm tensing up when the gun fires. While the first 600 had mild conditions, the second one had at least one change that yielded an eight straight out the side. I shot rapid prone with a Rattle Battle cadence. As soon as the sights came back on target I let the shot go. By not squeezing this opened up the groups and gave me a nine on each string. By the time we shot standing in the afternoon the wind was blowing a bit. Regardless, the shots started to go into the middle. I shot at a quick pace but I noticed that I was breathing rapidly. My mind started to wander a bit and it was difficult to regain concentration. This loss of concentration caused me to break my shot routine. I was trying to hold the rifle on target instead of smoothly coming into the middle and this turned into four eights during the string. This time sitting was back to where it was last year with good pace and a firm but comfortable position.

Offhand: 187-3

Sitting: 200-11

Rapid Prone: 198-6

Slow Prone: 198-6

Slow Prone: 194-9

Aggregate: 977-35

 

June 1

Tonight was one of those days that you can really call a "no wind condition". You could feel the stillness in the air and a good shooter could have shot a 500. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those shooters. The rifle didn't hold any steadier in offhand but I was able work the sights over to the target and break clean shots. The two nines were because I moved too fast and shot as I was going out. The rifle was a bit lower in my shoulder than normal and this made me feel like my head was on top of the buttstock instead of next to it. The sitting group was strung out vertically with one shot at the top and one on the bottom. This was due to me bringing the sights up to the target and breaking the shots almost on the move. For 300 my two sighters were 10's on the left side. So I wound up shooting the string with three clicks right in no wind. I should have known better but I did this anyway. A wise man once said "yesterday's zeros are always better than today's sighters". I was eager to confirm a no-wind zero at 600 since conditions were so calm. My elevation was fine but I lost three shots because I think I still have a problem with relaxing when the shot breaks.

Offhand: 98-3

Sitting: 100-3

Rapid Prone: 98-3

Slow Prone: 197-6

Aggregate: 493-15

 

June 3

This was the state highpower championship and I feel like I'm starting to get into the groove of shooting. It's been coming rather slow this year but as I start to shoot more, highpower is starting to seem very natural. The morning's standing felt mediocre. I would let the occasional nine slip through and there was never a long streak of 10s. I broke a lot of shots on the right side of the ten ring but I didn't want to change anything since that's where my calls were. I called a high nine on my first string of sitting and that's where it ended up but the real heartbreak came at 300. Since the wind only slight and coming into our faces, I shot the first sighter with no wind. It came up a 9 on the left. I made a full correction of 4 clicks right and the second sighter was a 10 at 1 o'clock. Thinking I was in the middle I left the 4 right on the gun for the first string. The group that came up was good and would have easily been an 8x clean but it was centered on the 10 line on the right side. Three shots in the ten ring and seven shots in the nine ring. I cleaned the second string shooting straight-away but the damage was already done (to the tune of 7 points). Still, I could redeem myself slightly if I shot a good slow prone. Things started off fine and I was clean through 16 shots. Then I shot an eight at 10 o'clock. I can't explain that one because it looked just like all the other shots. The only thing that I can think of is that I'm doing something as the shot breaks like muscling the gun or closing my eyes.

Offhand: 193-1

Sitting: 199-11

Rapid Prone: 193-3

Slow Prone: 198-7

Aggregate: 783-22

 

 

June 4

Another great day to shoot with warm temperatures and blue skies. This morning I had changed lower receivers because I wanted to try something. The trigger in the lower I used today had longer travel from shot break to re-set. I wasn't used to this and was devoting a little too much concentration to carefully letting out the trigger, letting it reset, and taking up the first stage again. While not a big deal for slow fire it was a bit unnerving in the rapids.

Another ho-hum offhand performance with almost all shots on call. The tragedy today was, again, my 300 rapid. I spent a little longer getting off the first shot. A little longer dressing up each shot. Before I knew it the targets were dropping into the pits as I shot my last shot. I don't think it even hit the frame. That'll teach me to alter my cadence. Four nines in slow prone finished out my day.

Offhand: 96-2

Sitting: 99-1

Rapid Prone: 90-2

Slow Prone: 196-7

Aggregate: 481-12

 

June 8

Clear and pleasant with a slow breeze coming towards us and to the right. I had a hard time with my first few shots standing. The sights were stopping on the left side of the black and I was breaking the shots there with four points dropped in the first three shots. I adjusted my NPA and only had one nine after that. Rookie mistake. After shooting a late shot in 300 rapid on Sunday I was eager to get all the shots off in time. Too eager. I didn't spend time getting good front sight focus and wound up dropping two shots out the bottom with a group on the left side of the 10 ring. I keep having these bad corner shots in slow prone and I think it might be because my sling is too tight. This causes me to tense my shoulder to push the rifle further away from me. When I let the shot go I either tense up more or relax causing an errant shot. The string went just fine except for the 11th shot which dropped out the bottom but it was good to get back to double digit x-counts.

Offhand: 95-0

Sitting: 100-5

Rapid Prone: 98-0

Slow Prone: 199-10

Aggregate: 492-15

 

June 11

Today's skies looked like they were going to open up with rain at any moment. Heavy overcast for most of the day with the sun peeking out just as the match was finishing. My calls in standing were quite good with the spotter coming up right where I thought it would. I let the rifle drift a little more than I should have so I need to work on controlling it more. My sitting has been scaring me recently. When I shoot a clean it seems to be because I got lucky and not because it was a good group. Today I had a shot on the left side that was barely breaking the line. Most shots are going in the middle but there always seems to be at least one that I push off somewhere else. Slow prone wasn't the best today because throughout the string I felt like the rifle was floating a little. I would have liked a tighter fit between me and the rifle. The first nine was so far out that it was almost an eight but at least I called a bad shot. The second nine came on the last shot but I didn't call that one.

Offhand: 97-1

Sitting: 100-5

Rapid Prone: 100-6

Slow Prone: 198-8

Aggregate: 495-20

 

 

June 18

This was just a practice that I shot with some friends but it almost looked like we were going to be rained on at any minute. Heavy overcast with lots of humidity and a brief shower just before we finished up. I had a decent offhand but with one lone X which was my 17th shot. The calls were good but I just kept breaking everything just a bit off-center. The position actually didn't feel as comfortable as I have been working on. I still felt like the rifle wasn't completely under my control. There is a way that I get "locked in" and that's when everything falls into place in standing. I wasn't able to find this today because I saw more movement than I should have. The rapids were uneventful with a high shot on my second string of rapid prone. The slow prone was frustrating with the only nine coming on the first shot for record. That particular one didn't really feel any different but I was able to get settled and continue on with the rest of the string.

Offhand: 195-1

Sitting: 200-9

Rapid Prone: 199-7

Slow Prone: 199-13

Aggregate: 793-30

 

June 22

I was on second relay tonight so we started at 600 and worked our way forward. Even though the sun didn't officially set until late, there was some cloud cover that made the sights a bit dark. My slow prone position was looser than normal because of the length of my sling. I was just trying to confirm that the longer sling would leave my position with less control over the rifle. It did. When I got into sitting it felt like I was riding a wild bull. The sights were flying all over the target and I felt like I was scrunched up behind the rifle. Not comfortable at all and I had big group to prove it. By the time I shot standing I was tired, my heart was pounding and it was difficult to concentrate.

Offhand: 95-1

Sitting: 99-4

Rapid Prone: 100-2

Slow Prone: 195-6

Aggregate: 489-13

 

June 29

Today's offhand went well. I've been training to get a locked-in position and knowing what that position feels like. The biggest change was dropping the buttstock a little in my shoulder. This brought the rifle down a little lower and gave me the feeling that the rifle was more "captured" between my shoulder and my forward hand. All the shots were on call except for one that I thought would be out the top but it turned out to be a 10 at 12. Sitting had a good group that looked better on target than it did through the sights. It felt like I was pulling the trigger as the front sight went skidding past the target. At 600 I was in shadow from the trees behind me but I still felt like I could see the front sight. My position wasn't quite as comfortable as I would have liked though. It took me longer between shots than normal because I would have to concentrate harder to line up the sights with the target. I also felt like I was doing something to the rifle when the shot went off.

Offhand: 99-3

Sitting: 100-8

Rapid Prone: 99-3

Slow Prone: 195-8

Aggregate: 493-22

 

July 6

Another decent offhand performance with all shots being on call or just a bit inside. After I shot my sitting I looked through the scope and saw holes low in the nine ring and even an eight. Sure enough, when the target came up my whole group was low. Turns out that I shot my sitting with my standing elevation on the rifle which is a difference of six clicks. A silly mistake that is easily preventable provided I follow my routine. I spend a lot of time working on shot execution mistakes but I still need to develop and follow routines to eliminate these "preparation" mistakes. The slow prone was working even though it was hard to get a clear front sight in the setting sun. I dropped my first point by about shot 13 and a little later put an eight straight out on the right. It's never acceptable to shoot an eight in a match but to shoot two of them in one day...

Offhand: 98-3

Sitting: 93-2

Rapid Prone: 99-3

Slow Prone: 197-10

Aggregate: 487-18

 

July 8

The Wisconsin Service Rifle Championship. We started at the 600 yard line today. While the wind wasn't bad this morning I found it difficult to see the front sight since we started so early. There weren't any really bad shots just a lot of nines especially in the corners. By the time my relay got to shoot 300 the wind had picked up and was fishtailing. It would spend most of it's time toward 5 o'clock but then change with extra gusts or swing over to 7 o'clock. My first string was on the edge of the nine ring on the right side so obviously 5 clicks left wasn't enough. I shot the second string with 8 left and was mostly on the left side with one out the top. I have been improving my standing but it has been in calm conditions. With the wind blowing I tried to discipline myself to wait out the gusts and only break the shots that I wanted. It didn't work out in the first half with two eights but I only dropped three points in the second half which, I thought, was what I would expect for the conditions.

Offhand: 191-2

Sitting: 199-5

Rapid Prone: 195-3

Slow Prone: 193-5

Aggregate: 778-15

 

July 9

Team match this morning. Pair firing, we seemed to spend a lot of time lining up the right shot and starting over when we held too long. I found that my calls were good and anything off call was still inside of where I thought it would be. It felt like the rifle was under my control and even though it took extra effort, I could move it into the middle. The rapids were fair with a shot in rapid prone that was in the outer third of the nine ring. At 600 the wind had a mind of it's own. Getting coaching helped but the slow pit service didn't. Because of the rapid changes we stopped changing the sights and just favored the shots. I've had to favor in the x-ring in the past but this was the first time that I had to point the sights as far out as a 10.

Offhand: 98-1

Sitting: 100-5

Rapid Prone: 98-4

Slow Prone: 190-8

Aggregate: 487-18

 

 

July 9

This afternoon was the first leg match that I've been able to shoot this year. After shooting the team match in the morning and not getting a good night's sleep the night before I was pretty tired and I almost had to force myself to sign up. But I was already there and I usually do pretty well in these things so I'll go for it. Starting things off at 600 I got the wind right for the first shot but after that I tried to shoot fast and expose myself to as few changes as possible. The mirage was hard to see because the wind was coming back in our faces and angling to the right. I'd get the odd nine here and there but somewhere in the middle everything changed and I had a 7 on the left. I waited with my eye on the scope because I felt that any let-ups wouldn't last long. Sure enough the mirage seemed to be close to what it was and I started again with a nine and then back in the ten ring. What I forgot to do is to keep track of how much wind I had on the rifle. During that lull, if I had to take off the wind that I had on, I would have had to look at the sights. I dropped down into rapid prone with 2 clicks right and watched the flags drop to almost nothing. Even so I thought that I'd still be safe just in case they picked up again. By the time I was changing magazines it had picked up again so my wind call would work. Standing was an exercise in endurance since it was warm and I was so tired. But I didn't force any shots. Instead I just worked my system and kept disciplined in when I would let the rifle go off. On some shots it took longer than on others but I didn't let myself give up. The x's came on the last two shots.

Offhand: 98-2

Sitting: 100-4

Rapid Prone: 99-5

Slow Prone: 192-6

Aggregate: 489-17

 

July 13

My NPA was a bit off for standing because I had nothing to the left of the x-ring. My hold was only moderate but all the shots were breaking on the right. The rapids were acceptable with only one click right used at 300. But the real breakthrough came at 600. Behind the firing line at Racine there is a wooden tower that, at that time of the evening, threw a shadow over my firing point. This made my front sight really black and easy to focus on. I just put the top of the post in the middle of the blurry thing downrange and squeezed the trigger. The last 10 shots had 9 x's although, admittedly, I seemed to be all over the x-ring.

Offhand: 96-2

Sitting: 100-4

Rapid Prone: 100-4

Slow Prone: 200-12

Aggregate: 496-22

 

July 15

The Regional Championship at Van Meter Iowa is always hot and humid and this year was no exception. This morning's team match was already uncomfortable when I started shooting. The range faces east with the sun in our eyes and a mist downrange which made seeing the black difficult. The front sight was pretty clear but it was hard to get good calls. I was actually surprised with the x-count in standing but the shots just went in well and everything felt natural. We didn't have sighters and the group that I shot with my normal zero was high with 4 nines out the top. At 600 the wind wasn't really doing much and I pushed a nine out on my first shot.

Offhand: 98-5

Sitting: 100-6

Rapid Prone: 96-2

Slow Prone: 199-12

Aggregate: 493-25

 

July 15

By the time we got into the afternoon it was hard to motivate myself to shoot the leg match. The heat was brutal and I was already tired from the team match. Some friends went into Des Moines to go to a gun store but since I'm not a gun guy and I came all that way I figured that I should shoot. My offhand calls were good except for two shots that I could have sworn were going to be nines. I knew I was still clean during the string but it never caused me to be nervous. When the shot didn't want to go I just paused, breathed, and started again. By the time I got to 300 I had a feeling that I was not going to shoot a clean. The string wasn't really great and I thought I had mis-aligned the sights on a couple shots. Even though the group was bigger than I wanted it things worked out. My first shot at 600 was an X and I was still clean until I put a nine out on my 9th shot. About five shots after that I started to have some problems with elevation and had an 8 out the bottom and few more nines. My left hand was burning from the hot hand guard and the sun beating down on me. I was glad to be done. 

Offhand: 100-4

Sitting: 100-3

Rapid Prone: 100-1

Slow Prone: 194-9

Aggregate: 494-17

 

 

July 16

The Regional this morning started off with the same hot and humid conditions with bad light. My hold was good but the shots were not on call. I attribute this to the fact that it was hard to see the target. While I cleaned my first string of sitting the second string was going out at one o'clock. While I thought I had dropped a nine out the bottom in my first string at 300 the target came up with 7 x's and a nine out the top. The real disappointment for me came at 600. I dropped my first point on shot 9 or 10. Then on shot 17 there was an 8 straight out the right. The mirage didn't look like it changed so I must have put it there. To hedge my bets I came left two clicks and put a 9 out the top, then a 9 out the bottom, then a 9 out the top for my last shot. I came off the line in a bad mood and ready to keel over from the heat.

Offhand: 194-3

Sitting: 199-10

Rapid Prone: 198-9

Slow Prone: 194-6

Aggregate: 785-28

 

July 22

This is my last opportunity to shoot across the course before the Nationals. Standing had a good start. I was breaking good shots and the only bad one was my sixth which took off across the target just as I was shooting it. It was on call for an 8. After that I bled out four nines on the back half. By about shot 12 I noticed that I had a side-to-side wobble as I was holding on the target. It's amplitude was about mid-ring nine to mid-ring nine which, if centered, would be fine. But I was coming in from the left and it was hard to get shots to break on the right side of the wobble. When I went into the pits I saw that my nines weren't even out to mid-ring. I shot an alibi in sitting because not only had a primer come out of the case but the anvil came out of the primer. 300 rapid was the most disappointing. On the first string I shot a 9 and an 8, both at five o'clock. The second string had two nines in the same position. Slow prone went fine and I was able to focus on the front sight well except for one eight that I dropped out the bottom.

Offhand: 194-7

Sitting: 199-9

Rapid Prone: 195-6

Slow Prone: 198-9

Aggregate: 786-31

 

 

At this point I feel I'm ready for the National Matches. At least as ready as I can be. My aggregate scores are decent and I'm averaging just above 98%. My offhand is working pretty well I just need to hold myself together in the other positions (especially 300 rapid). We'll see what happens.

 

July 31

The CMP matches have been moved up one day and it's really throwing me off. I'm used to getting here on Sunday and then having a semi-day off on Monday. Now I'm shooting the President's match on Monday and I feel like I'm getting thrown into things quicker than I want. Today's weather was hot and humid. Not as bad as the Iowa regional but worse than Camp Perry has normally been. I've been shooting some good offhand but today it seemed like I couldn't hold the rifle well. My 300 rapid was all out the bottom with six shots in the bottom of the ten-ring and three nines. I just wanted to get through 600 but I felt like it was touch and go whether I'd make the hundred or not. My score was the lowest since the time I shot a miss.

Offhand: 96-0

Rapid Prone: 97-1

Slow Prone: 96-3

Aggregate: 289-4

 

August 1

I got very lucky last year in the NTI and I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to at least have a decent performance. The weather was hot and humid again today but the morning's offhand had calm conditions. Still, the rifle was moving all over the place and I couldn't get what I consider important for a good offhand score, control of the rifle. It was like it had a mind of it's own. By the eighth shot the sights took off like a rocket and I shot a seven out the top. This was followed up with an eight. Even sitting had movement and I was bringing the sights up into the center and breaking the shots. My trigger control was lousy and I wound up putting the group out at 1 o'clock. I was almost panicking now since the day was going so bad. I kind of felt like I redeemed myself (somewhat) by "only" dropping one point at 300. The wind was blowing by the time we got back to 600 and I didn't help things by shooting lots of corner shots. I walked back to my hut in what was probably one of the worst moods I've been in after shooting a match. I didn't want to go to dinner. I didn't want to do anything. I was feeling pretty low.

Offhand: 92-1

Sitting: 98-4

Rapid Prone: 99-2

Slow Prone: 190-5

Aggregate: 479-12

 

August 3

In contrast to previous years I was quite relaxed for the 6-man team match. This was partly due to feeling that I couldn't do any worse than in the NTI but also to the fact that I had a good time coaching a Whistler Boy team the previous day. There was a lightning delay during our second pair of offhand shooters and I was on the last pair. My standing actually went pretty well with only three nines. After my troubles in the individual matches I was quite satisfied with the 99s in today's rapids. Once we got back to 600 I coached the first pair. It was pretty calm but because of the overcast there was no mirage to watch. When I laid down my biggest concern was being able to get enough contrast on the front sight. I was able to do it and wound up with a pretty decent score.

Offhand: 97-1

Sitting: 99-5

Rapid Prone: 99-5

Slow Prone: 197-7

Aggregate: 492-18

 

 

August 6

I felt like we had a pretty good team for the Rumbold today. The skies were clear and the conditions were calm. The thing that stands out the most for me in offhand was that every shot was inside of call. I'd say it was just out at 3 and it would be a mid-ring 10. It was a good feeling I performed well. My sitting group was well centered but I pulled a mid-ring nine out at 5 o'clock. 300 had a high group with the only nine out at 2 o'clock. Even my two strings at 600 were a pair of 99s. I guess it was a 99 kind of day but the x-count could have been better.

Offhand: 99-3

Sitting: 99-2

Rapid Prone: 99-2

Slow Prone: 198-7

Aggregate: 495-14

 

August 7

The first day of the championship and the weather had cooled down to normal compared to CMP week. Yesterday's offhand was encouraging but despite the calm I could barely hold the rifle still. My first sitting group had one nine just out at 5 o'clock but the second string had two nines out the top. Strangely enough I did the same thing in rapid prone. This inability to hold elevation at 300 is really starting to dog my confidence.

Offhand: 191-3

Sitting: 197-5

Rapid Prone: 197-9

 

August 8

The second day's standing is traditionally windy and this year was no exception. The only thing that broke up the nines was all the eights that I shot. Oh, and the seven. With one shot out in the first string of sitting I decided to get serious and followed that up with a 7-x clean. Despite the good sight picture at 600 I still had several corner shots.

Offhand: 182-2

Sitting: 199-11

Slow Prone: 195-7

 

August 9

An easy day today with two rapids and a 600. Even though my second string in sitting was a clean I used as much of the 10-ring as I could. Rapid prone started off with a scare as I had a nine for my first sighter and then followed that up with an eight! I don't usually change my elevation from my sighters but this time I felt that it might be prudent to do so. The first string had all the shots no wider than the x-ring but two were out the top. I came down a further click for the second string and put two nines out the bottom. It's like I can never win.

Sitting: 199-8

Rapid Prone: 196-9

Slow Prone: 196-8

 

August 10

This was the day that things got really frustrating for me in offhand. With calm conditions everything started out decent. I shot a nine for my first record shot but then went on a string of 10s. But during firing my hold seemed to get bigger and bigger. A wobble that started out as acceptable soon became a struggle to get the sights to even get close to the center. As I've seen over the years, when my wobble gets bigger my trigger control gets worse as I try to jerk the shots. My first string at 300 had a liner 10 at the top, a liner 10 on the left, and liner 10 on the bottom. When you're shooting groups that big it puts you under a lot of pressure to center things up since you don't have a lot of wiggle room. My last 600 yard match went OK despite getting caught in a let-up that gave me an eight.

Offhand: 191-3

Rapid Prone: 197-7

Slow Prone: 197-7

Championship Aggregate: 2337-79

 

I don't need to analyze a lot to tell me that my performance at the Nationals was below par. In the NRA championship especially I didn't have any major train wrecks but I just kept giving up a few points here and a few points there. Over the course of four days that really costs you.

 

August 17

The weather for our Thursday night league has been pretty good this year. Tonight it all caught up with us. I was on second relay and the skies were just overcast when we were in the pits. By the time we took to the 600 line the drizzle started coming down. I didn't mind the rain too much but the dark skies made the target very difficult to see. Bringing the post into the sighting black gave me no indication of how high the shot was going to go. As a consequence I wound up with an eight out the top during the string.  The story was the same at 300. While the group was no wider than the x-ring, the shots went from as high as the bottom of the x-ring to a couple of mid-ring nines at six. The sitting group was well centered up except for two liner tens that I jerked. By the end the sky was really dark for offhand and the target was barely discernable. It was almost impossible to call shots since I had only a vague idea where the front sight was when the rifle fired. The hold wasn't all that great but I took my time and didn't give up. Dropping a total of 12 points wouldn't have been acceptable if the conditions were better but because of the lack of light I can live with it.

Offhand: 95-2

Sitting: 100-6

Rapid Prone: 98-3

Slow Prone: 195-5

Aggregate: 488-16

 

August 24

It was pouring rain when I drove to the range tonight. I thought it would be a wasted trip but the rain stopped and the skies cleared a little. I've been dry-firing standing this week hoping to get back some of my performance from earlier in the year. My sighters broke ugly and they came up ugly. But for the record shots the sights would wobble around the target and then come into the middle. For some shots the rifle only came into the ten ring for a split second. It almost felt like I could sense when the sights were about to come into the 10-ring and that allowed me know when to break the shot. In sitting I was doing something just as the shots were breaking. I could feel myself moving the rifle just before each shot fired. 300 was a disaster with six nines out the bottom. Admittedly, I shot too fast but they still looked like they were decent through the sights. Yet another example of my problem in keeping consistent elevation in rapid prone. In slow prone I kept putting shots into the same lower left corner of the x-ring. But I still through out three nines during the string because I didn't concentrate enough on the top of the front sight.

Offhand: 100-3

Sitting: 98-2

Rapid Prone: 94-2

Slow Prone: 197-10

Aggregate: 489-17

 

August 31

It was dry tonight but there was just enough wind to mess with my head. The offhand didn't have any really bad shots, just plenty of nines. My sitting group was tall and just a bit on the right side with one nine just leaking out. Rapid prone was another heartbreak with shots dropping out to the bottom all that way to the eight ring! But I do feel that I'm shooting much too fast. I need a way to slow myself down and focus on breaking good shots within the time limit. 600 was pretty easy with the two nines being pushed out the top.

Offhand: 95-1

Sitting: 99-5

Rapid Prone: 95-3

Slow Prone: 198-8

Aggregate: 487-17

 

September 2

Good weather for our state Service Rifle championship. My standing hold was good but the target was pretty dark through the sights. The shots were breaking fine but it was hard to get good calls with the low light. I was able to clean the first sitting string with six x's so I was hopeful for a repeat performance. But my movement was so much greater the second time around. It feels like I'm holding the gun up by myself and shooting it like it was a shotgun. I slowed down my prone rapid and had much better groups. The elevation was fine and nothing was lost out the bottom. The 600 yard target was quite bright and I had a problem getting the sight back in the same place every time. All in all it wasn't a disaster but not the performance that I know I'm capable of shooting.

Offhand: 194-4

Sitting: 198-6

Rapid Prone: 196-8

Slow Prone: 195-4

Aggregate: 783-22

 

September 3

Today's team match has the specter of threatening weather. It was dark and overcast all day. I had a new trigger put in a lower of mine and I was eager to test it out. Unfortunately, the geometry of the trigger shoe was different than what I am used to. This caused me some grief in rapid fire as I had to actually think about how I'm releasing the trigger and taking up the first stage for the next shot. Things worked fine for standing except for a zero that just didn't want to stay put. I spent half the string clicking over with my windage knob. Sitting was pretty bad with a trigger that I wasn't used to couple with all the position problems that I've been dealing with. My rapid prone group was pretty good with only one shot out. Nowadays I'm pretty satisfied with that. Slow prone went fine too and I finished within the 490's which is about what I'm averaging these days.

Offhand: 98-1

Sitting: 97-4

Rapid Prone: 99-5

Slow Prone: 197-7

Aggregate: 491-17

 

September 4

I haven't shot this leg match in several years so I thought I'd give it a try. Offhand was pretty typical except for the higher than average x-count. Sitting was another disappointment with two nines in a group that was way too big. But the real disaster came at 300. The elevation problems that I thought were taken care of came back with a vengeance. My group was strung from the middle all the way down to the eight ring. I felt that I shot the string at a good cadence and the shots looked good from where I was shooting them. I'm beating my head against the wall with this one. I shot my slow prone straight away for most of the string. I noticed that I was putting a bunch of shots on the left side of the x-ring to mid-ring 10's at nine so I came over one click and finished there.

Offhand: 97-4

Sitting: 98-3

Rapid Prone: 93-2

Slow Prone: 199-10

Aggregate: 487-19

 

September 7

My last Thursday night league match. It's been getting dark earlier and earlier and today I'm on second relay so we have to move fast. Conditions were real calm but I started slow prone shooting high for some reason. I came down two clicks right away but I had a nine for my first shot and then an eight out the top. 300 has been my nemesis recently with tall groups down to the eight ring. But I've been trying to slow myself down and just focus on the front sight and break clean shots. It worked today with a good group but off center at about 7 o'clock in the ten ring with two nines just off the line. Things were pretty dark through the sights at 200. Sitting didn't feel that great since I was breaking shots in the general vicinity of what I thought was the black. For standing I had no calls because it was almost impossible to be focused on the front sight. It was hard to judge when to let the shot go because I couldn't tell if the rifle was pointed in the ten ring. Strangely enough my first four shots in standing were x's and I finished with two more.

Offhand: 96-4

Sitting: 100-7

Rapid Prone: 98-0

Slow Prone: 197-9

Aggregate: 491-20

 

September 10

It almost seemed like we were going to be rained out but skies just remained overcast and started to clear by the end of the day. My offhand hold was working real well at the beginning. My sighters were both x's and I was clean through the eighth shot. Then I got impatient and allowed the sights to move out to the left as I shot the ninth shot. The result was an eight. I followed this up with another eight on the last shot. This really soured my mood as I saw a good performance degrade into a mediocre one. Thursday's rapid prone group was good but it was low and to the left. Today it was more of the same with good sighters and a group that had four nines just off the line at seven and eight o'clock. While it's not as bad as shooting eights out the bottom it's still a misplaced group using a zero that I've had all year. It's this kind of stuff that makes me glad the season is almost over.

Offhand: 96-1

Sitting: 100-5

Rapid Prone: 96-2

Slow Prone: 198-9

Aggregate: 490-17

 

September 23

Mentally, my season has already ended. I'm already thinking about the off-season and what I'm going to do over the winter. Because of this I had kind of a removed attitude towards the day. There was a lack of concentration and a feeling that I just want to get through it. But I still had expectations of what I should shoot in standing. That went fine although for my third shot I forced it too soon and got an eight. Shots 7 and 10 were nines and then I just kept things in the ten ring until the last shot. It didn't seem to break any differently but it came up a nine. Sitting was shot with all kinds of wobble. I just can't seem to get comfortable in the position. For rapid prone I took lots of time to breathe before the first shot and then before the third one. It didn't seem like I was running behind but I shot my ninth shot as the target was dropping into the pits. The late shot was good for a six and of course I saved one. The group was well sized but on the left side with two nines. Things were a little faster for the second string which resulted with ten shots on the target (always a good thing). Again, the group was good but with a lone nine out at 1 o'clock. Still, I'm happy that the groups weren't the tall ones I've shot recently. My preparation for slow prone was not detailed enough and I put the sling a little too high on my arm. This brought the rifle back toward me more and I found myself tensing my left shoulder to push the gun away. All in all, a pretty bad day. Of course I deserve this kind of performance if my mind isn't going to be in it.

Offhand: 195-5

Sitting: 195-3

Rapid Prone: 183-3

Slow Prone: 195-7

Aggregate: 768-18

 

September 24

This morning I was focused on shooting offhand and that's what I did. The hold was good and, just like for most of the season, everything was inside of call. The rapids were almost a waste of time. In sitting it was hard to get the sights back on the target after recoil. Once they settled down and I got them back in the middle I would jerk the trigger just as the gun went off. The result was big groups with plenty of nines. I was hoping for at least decent groups in rapid prone but it was not to be. I do feel like there's way too much muscle tension when I shoot. But at this point of the season I have very little motivation to fix things. I actually wasn't very comfortable when I shot slow prone. It felt like my forward elbow was too low. That caused the rifle to be too low and it seemed like my body was then pushed down too low. But the light conditions were good and my left arm was relaxed. 14 of my last 15 shots were x's.

Offhand: 196-7

Sitting: 194-5

Rapid Prone: 191-6

Slow Prone: 199-15

Aggregate: 780-33

 

October 1

Once again I showed up focused on my offhand and expecting to shoot in the mid-190s. The past couple of times I've taken a lot of time to shoot some shots. Consequently, I finished just in time. Today I didn't shoot sighters so that I would have 22 minutes for 20 shots. This was just in case I spent extra time trying to get some shots off. As it turns out I had a pretty good rhythm and the shots broke easily without having to spend all kinds of time waiting out my hold. I had two nines fairly early on and then one towards the middle of the match. For the 19th shot the sights dipped down underneath the target and the rifle went off as I was bringing it back towards the center. But I knew that I didn't get up high enough and the result was an eight on the bottom. This burned me since the whole string was going so easily and all I had to do was take my time and line things up better. This one mistake turned a good 197 into a mediocre 195. Earlier this week I tried a more cross-ankle sitting position. During dry-firing this seemed to have less movement. When I got into the string the movement wasn't as good but still alright. I dropped one nine on the first string but I had lots of trigger control problems in the second one. It was like I was shooting as the sights came flying past the target. For rapid prone I became a lot more deliberate with my shooting. I focused on the front sight and took my time. This resulted in some good groups but a bit high in the ten ring. After last week's 15 x's in slow prone I was looking forward to a good performance. But I had a hard time getting started with nines for my first three record shots. I settled down after that but the damage was already done.

Offhand: 195-5

Sitting: 197-6

Rapid Prone: 198-6

Slow Prone: 196-8

Aggregate: 786-25

 

Post Season Reflections

The Good: Standing was a great improvement over last year and my best offhand season ever. My hold was good and all season the shots kept coming up inside of call. I feel like if I can keep my concentration level and have the discipline to not shoot bad shots I will shoot a good standing score. This was really my strength this year.

The Bad: 300 rapid really let me down. Especially after I had such a good season with it last year. My problems were based on really large groups and shots that were out the bottom most times. As it turns out I believe that the groups out the bottom are because of shooting too fast. My temptation is to shoot as fast as possible because the sights looked centered. My success last year was based on my "focus and squeeze" philosophy. But I just seemed to forget that for this year.

Others: For good or bad I've always seemed to perform at the Nationals at about the same level that I do at home. This year that average performance at Camp Perry didn't come about. This is partially due to me being nervous and putting tremendous pressure on myself to perform. I also didn't have the same level of focus on the Nationals that I have in the past. There was always something to do with regards to teams or other administrative duties as well as some strained relationships with friends.

Now I go inside to shoot 4-P smallbore until March. While I start to miss the service rifle after a little while, I think that it will be good to get away from it for a while and start fresh in the spring.