7. Controclass="underline" Maintaining control of your shooting is a continuous battle. The battle builds tension. Tension tightens the muscles and finally the abrupt motions made in compensation for errors cause the shooter to go beyond the desired area and deliver shots in exactly the opposite place from where the error was causing him to shoot originally. Smooth coordinated actions are best assured by the relaxed, confident and carefully planned approach.
8. Lack of Follow Through: Follow through is the conscious attempt to keep all control factors applied through the break of the shot. For example, you are continuing to maintain concentration on sight alignment even after the shot is on the way. This is accomplished by having a surprise shot break and no reflexes of anticipation to disturb sight alignment. Follow through is not to be confused with recovery. Merely recovering from recoil and reestablishing the hold and sight alignment after the shot is fired is no indication that you are following through.
9. Match Pressure: (See Chapter VII — Mental Discipline) If there are 200 competitors in a match, rest assured that there are 200 shooters suffering from match pressure. You should exert all your mental energy toward planning and executing the fundamentals correctly.
E. WIND SHOOTING AND ADVERSE CONDITIONS
In a shooting day the weather is apt to change drastically but not necessarily very often. This means that a shooter must be able to react to all changes taking place around him and to change his method of shooting accordingly.
A shooter should also be guided by the rule that shooting should not be rushed when the weather conditions are changing frequently. He should be particularly attentive and carefully analyze any weather condition. After making a decision to shoot under a certain condition, adopt the appropriate method, and shoot only under that condition, time permitting.
1. The Wind not only causes a bullet to drift to one side while shooting, but it reduces accuracy by increasing the sway of both the shooter’s body and his pistol. The shooter should try to determine a proper compensating sight change if there is a constant side wind. If there is a head wind, take care that the wind is deflected away from the eyes by shooting glasses. Powder fragments and acrid fumes blown back into the face cause smarting and watering of the eyes. Body sway can be minimized by a concerted effort to resist the wind pressure. A slight increase in general muscular tension is necessary.
a. Wind shooting is conducive to jerking the trigger because as the arc of movement increases, the shooter develops a tendency to relax his positive trigger pressure. Usually the shooter is waiting for a more stable sight picture. His concentration on sight alignment will diminish and he will make an effort to set the shot off on the move as the sights pass the vicinity of the aiming point.
b. The obvious answer is to first wait for a lull in the wind; next, concentrate as one normally does on sight alignment. When the smallest arc of movement that is possible to obtain under existing conditions is achieved, positive pressure is applied to the trigger.
c. Do not continue the hold during extreme gusts. Always take advantage of a chance to rest. Each subsequent attempt to fire a shot should be made with a firm resolve to align the sights and to apply constantly increasing trigger pressure until the shot is fired.
d. The surprise shot continues to be the indicator, even under these conditions, of whether you are applying the fundamentals correctly. Your shot group will be somewhat larger as a result of the wind disturbance increasing the arc of movement, but the wild shots resulting from faulty sight alignment, flinching, jerking and over correction will be minimized.
e. Extensive practice under wind conditions is not recommended, but enough firing should be conducted under those conditions to familiarize the shooter with the technique and method best for him.
f. Changing of Wind: When shooting at 50 yards and the whole air mass is moving approximately the same velocity in one direction, fairly accurate sight corrections can be made for wind. When doing this, however, it is not wise to think an all-purpose correction has been made. The changing nature of the wind must be taken into account. The grass and weeds, etc., should be watched attentively while shooting to detect a change in the force and direction. A shot should be made only when wind conditions have been accurately determined.
g. Sometimes the necessity to shoot when the wind is gusty requires a shooter to shoot accurately in a very short time, say within two seconds. The successful firing of an accurate shot under such conditions will be achieved only if a shooter has remained in the firing position in the intervals between lulls. When shooting under such conditions, he should figure out the most advantageous posture for himself in which he can wait out the gusts of wind. As soon as there is a lull he will be able to take aim quickly and fire his shot.
h. To aid accurate shooting when a gusty wind is blowing and when the wind is changing, a shooter must alter his tempo of shooting. Sometimes he must shoot rapidly, sometimes shooting twice when the wind is quiet or when the lighting is right, sometimes taking fairly long breaks. Wait out the unfavorable conditions for making a shot; but watch your time!
i. In order to manage the difficulties arising during windy conditions a shooter should be prepared beforehand to change both the tempo of his shooting and alter his system of control as the situation in which he finds himself changes.
2. Adverse weather conditions such as cold, hot or rainy weather or extreme light conditions pose problems that can be solved in much the same manner as in wind shooting. Be determined to adhere to the fundamentals and ignore distractions to the competition. Compensate for disagreeable conditions.
a. It is advisable to carry a raincoat with you at all times and possibly a plastic cover for your gun box to keep your equipment dry. Most ranges, except for those at the National Matches, have covered firing points that help to keep the competitor dry during rainy weather. A rain suit or short heavy coat are the best garments for shooting in rain or cold windy weather. The folds and loose ends of a rain coat or overcoat flapping in the wind will cause body movement.
b. During cold weather the shooter must obviously wear warm clothing. Use insulated underwear to avoid wearing many layers of heavy clothing. When the shooter becomes shivering cold it is difficult to hold the sights in perfect alignment or retain sensitive trigger control. Hand warmers are very good and are small enough to keep in the gun box or pocket. Light weight lubricating oil must be used in cold weather to prevent malfunction of weapons.
c. During hot weather, perspiration becomes a problem. A sweat band on the forehead keeps the sweat out of the eyes and it is recommended that powdered rosin be used to dry the hand. When not on the firing line the shooter should relax in the shade. Covered firing points provide protection from the sun while shooting. Salt tablets prevent heat prostration. Eat lightly.
3. Changes in light intensity and direction have a great influence on the accuracy of aiming. Under changing conditions, the eye does not perceive the relationship of the front and rear sights consistently. There may be a change in the point of impact of the shot group on the target. Experienced shooters usually settle on one lighting condition when the cloud cover is changing, aiming only when the sun is shining brightly or shooting only when the targets are in the shade. The choice of a lighting condition must be made depending on the relative length of time that the targets are well lighted or shaded.