B2 -Thomasville Times - Saturday, March 20,2010
SPORTS
The worst kind of henpecking is on the shotgun range
OFF THE PORCH
DICK JONES
Outdoor Columnist
I’m in a terrible
slump on clay targets.
A little over a year
ago, I was shooting clays
better than I ever had in
my life. I shot several 25
out of 25s on five stand
and wobble trap, I was
shooting like a natural
shotgrmner and feeling
very good about myself.
Now, I’m not sure I could
hit my own foot if it
had a clay target on it.
It’s a most frustrating
situation and it happens
to everyone who par
ticipates in anything that
requires practice and ef
fort. I’m kind of ashamed
of it, though I know that
it’s temporary because
I’ve been through it be
fore. The comeback will
require effort, but I have
a reasonable expectation
m come back strong.
The fact is, though. I’m
not a natural shotgunner.
I’m an uncoordinated
spaz who can’t walk and
chew chewing gum at
the same time. The main
reason I got interested
in shooting in my youth
was because I stunk at
regular sports. I won my
class at the first pistol
match I ever shot and
the first time I ever shot
an M14 rifle in a High
Power rifle match, I
won first Marksman in
the 1984 North Carolina
State Championship.
When it comes to
holding a gun steady
and keeping it on target
while pulling the trigger.
I’m a natural. Shooting
a pistol or rifle is easy
for me for some reason.
Shooting a shotgun is
a whole different ball
park. I struggle with
it because it requires
hand/eye coordination.
The problem is, I love
shooting shotguns, too.
For some reason, my
slump isn’t affecting
my ability to shoot real
birds. I’ve been hunt
ing a lot lately to get the
most out of the ending
game preserve season
and I’ve been slaying
ducks, pheasants, and
chukars with regularity
I make long shots, shots
m tight places, and shots
that are a total surprise
with equal ease. Clay
targets are, for some
reason, another matter.
For me to shoot a shot
gun weU, I have to really
work at it and I haven’t
been doing that enough.
My psyche is suited to
focusing on the target,
making everything as
perfect as possible and al
lowing my finger to break
the trigger and fire the
gun. Adding movement to
that equation complicates
things for me, but I can
manage provided I don’t
think too much. When I
was shooting weU, I was
shooting a lot. I was in
the groove and confi
dent. Confidence makes
one able to block out
negative thoughts and
negative thoughts make
a spaz even more inept.
I know why I have the
problem; I just have to
shake it by shooting
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enough to get back my
confidence. What makes
this especially difficult is
that my wife, Cherie, was
going through a slump,
too, but she’s recover
ing much faster than
I am. Only those of us
lucky enough to have a
spouse who shoots knows
the misery involved in
being outshot by the
woman we encouraged
to learn to shoot.
The last few times
we’ve shot together,
Cherie’s outshot me. In
fact, last fall, she taught
my friend, Terry Picket’s
wife, Sara, to shoot and
the last time I shot with
Sara, she outshot me, too.
My affliction with clay
targets comes from a lack
of confidence. To those
who have great hand/eye
coordination, this may
seem strange but to a life
long spaz, it’s not funny
Shooting a shot gun
well requires a smooth,
confident swing that
tracks the target and
allows the trigger finger
to do it’s work at the most
opportune moment. If
the shooter lacks confi
dence, his swing is jerky
and the shot just doesn’t
break at the right time.
This allows the little clay
disk to continue its flight
imimpeded and dam
ages the confidence of
the poor jerk even more.
The reason I’m shooting
at real birds so well is
because I don’t have time
to think about failure
when a chukar, pheasant,
or duck tries to wing its
way to the next county.
In most situations. I’m
thinking more about
Larry, my lab, and what
he’s doing and the shot
just comes reflexively
Thinking about what’s
going to happen when
the gun goes off breaks
down the ability to let
the shot happen natu
rally and I, and anyone
else afflicted with self
doubt, tend to stop my
swing and second guess
my lead which causes a
miss. In other words, I
have everything I need to
break the target. I’m just
analyzing it too much.
Russell Jones, a shoot
ing buddy of mine who
won the 1989 Wimbledon
Match,( the long range
shooting equivalent of
the Daytona 500,) said
this after the match. “It
was the easiest match I
ever shot, I didn’t think
about having problems
so I didn’t have any
problems. Shooting
a good score is easy,
everything goes right.
Shooting a bad score is
hard, everything goes
wrong and you’re strug
gling to deal with it.”
This happens to every-,
one from time to time; I
know that, by shooting.
regularly, rU get back in
the groove. Right now.
I’m struggling with it
and the women who are
outshooting me aren’t
making it any easier.
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