KAA County and Open Champsionships

After last week ends poor practice I went into this determined to do well, and I did, of sorts.

I didn't shoot well at all and it was only the last third of the round did I start to get my arse in gear and shoot properly, and salvaged a reasonably comfortable MB score of 1214. Should have been a lot more. The weather was a little tricky but it was 1250 territory easily.

I did win the visitors trophy and came top overall in the compound, but I am disappointed and am determined that next weeks York will be very different.

I suppose I should be pleased that I can now shoot badly and still get MB scores and be in contention for medals, but its no real consolation.

Must and will do better!!!

Back to earth with a bump

Once again I headed out to the range to shoot another York as part of my pledge to shoot a 12 doz round every week. However, I really could not get into gear and shot poorly compared to recent practice and competition standards.

100 yards was poor, shooting two 46 and one 48 end, and I ended up with 598, about 20+ points from my normal practice score.

80 yards was solid, but I still struggled, but got back some consistent form, being strong in the shot towards the end of the distance.

60 yards was clean with a few dodgy shots.

The problem was I was not strong in the shot and my alignment was poor. I was not in the right mind and struggled to focus fully.

Having said that I shot 1234. In competition this would be a very solid MB score, so to shoot badly and still hit this level is a positive. I think I need to be mindful that I have set a high standard in the last few months and have not had many blips. I have to expect to have a few lows.

Next week is the Kent Target Champs, so I need to clear the mind and go back to basics.

New practice regime and York practice PB

I have now made up my mind that my whole practice regime is going to be focused around shooting timed FITA's and Yorks. Out goes changing to indoor competition mode or shooting other rounds (unless they can be done alongside). Before I would immerse myself in indoor competitions without really enjoying them and then it takes a lot of effort to get back into outdoor mode just before the season start.

Up until now I have had too many other distractions that have hampered progress in shooting/practising FITA's and Yorks. Whilst it will be nice to do something different occasionally, I am now fully focused on these. Its these rounds that will give me GMB scores which is what I want. I want to now make shooting a 12 doz round per week normal, and shooting them to a high standard normal as well.

My plan is to shoot a FITA or York per week. I will shoot the round that is appropriate to any competitions coming up, and over the Winter I will alternate between the two.

For the indoor season, I will shoot indoors on club night simply for practise, but this will be done with my outdoor set-up and on 40cm target faces to replicate outdoor rounds as much as possible. I might even print off some scale targets to replicate the different distances over 20 yards.

So, last Saturday, I was up at 6:30am and down the range by 8am, and shot a York practise PB of 1268.

The 100 yards started slowly with a 100 dozen, but I steadily built up and finished on 622. This distance included four 6 gold ends.

Apart from one red on the first dozen @ 80 yards, I maxed out the rest of the last 6 dozen. Not all the shots were pretty, but each was strong and positive. It seems that I can stop the bad shots being so bad by being positive.

This was probably the first round for a while that I had aligned everything during each shot, pulling hard on the wall and bring the draw elbow round. This resulted in a rock steady aim, and with good timing the shot executed with guaranteed golds.

Surrey vs Kent county match and my first GMB score!

This weekend I shot for Surrey in a friendly against Kent. I was hoping for good weather and got it and my chance to prove the GMB level scores I have shot in practice could be transferred to competition.

I practised a timed York on Saturday morning and blew away my previous practice PB of 1226 with a 1262.

The 100 yard distance was end after end of 52's and 54's, with some sloppy shots towards the end, but I ended with 624. I also made a note of the FITA score equivalent, and the first three dozen was 342, smashing my previous 330.

At 80 yards I maxed out the first 2 1/2 dozen, but my 60 yards was poor dropping 2 into the red.

However, I went into the county match on Sunday with a target of 1230 in mind. I ended up with 1250, which is GMB by 1 point.

The 100 yards was very nice, finishing on 616, but I had very poor 46 and 48 ends, but each dozen was 100+.

80 yards was steady, and averaged 52 per end, and 60 yards, whilst a bit nervy, was maxed out, which is a first in competition for me.

Overall I am pleased and am now progressing nicely. At least I can now say I have earned my MB and have improved on the 1206 York I shot in May. The only downer is that this was not a UK status shoot (not applied for in time), so I cant use the score.

I have 5 shoots left and hope to get good weather and go all out to see if I can get three GMB scores before the end of the year.