Relaxation exercise
Objective: Improvement in scores through relaxation while shooting.
Skill level: Experienced shooters with some knowledge of autogenics or self-hypnosis and who have one or more "good" shooting experiences.
Time: single cards a night shot over a few months
Approach

In order to shoot well you have to be relaxed.  Many different approaches are used in different books and by different shooters/coaches.

In this exercise we want you to think about an "excellent" shooting experience - one where you shot better than average and where you were comfortable.  It does not have to be a situation over which you have analysed and can understand why it was a good experience.

Dont worry, for example, about the fact that the experience may have been outdoor and you are now shooting indoor. 

What you have to do is to settle into your firing point and wait for the clear-to-shoot message.
Now
  • BEFORE mounting the rifle think yourself back into the environment where you shot well - this will take a minute or two.
  • Block out the hubbub going on around and put yourself back in that situation.
  • Use all your senses as you think yourself back into that environment.  Expect this to take a minimum of 5 mins when you first start.  As you do this, remember - for example -
    • smell the grass, relax
    • feel the heat of the sun on your back and the warmth in the jacket, relax the shoulders
    • hear the noises that you heard - the occasional shot from compeditors, judges chatting etc
    • NOW mount the rifle and continue the pattern
    • Yes, you have to do Natural Point of Aim (zeroing) but keep the smell, sights and sounds alive, ensure your head neck shoulders whatever return to you relaxed event
  • dont forget to pull the trigger from time to time.

This exercise will be very mentally demanding so try to do a series of spotters and NOT a major comp card  of 10 shots first time out!

Instead we recommend:
  1. Put up a practice card NO SPOTTERS
  2. Sight in (on the first target on the practice card).  Use your scope.  Once sighted in
  3. Move to the second aiming mark  and execute a shot. NO SCOPE ON THAT SHOT
    1. NO SCOPE on that shot. 
    2. Move to the third aiming mark.  Redouble your efforts to feel as you did on that "good" shoot. Execute a single shot.
  4. Now you can scope the last two shots
  5. Finish.

Stop.  Lets see your card

Thats it.  Lets see the spotting shots, and the 2 shots after that.