New Blog Post...... this is the 2 types of practice....follow the link.....

http://www.willfennell.com/blog/the-2-types-of-practice

....thoughts?

Best,

Will

Excellent advice Will. As always, you communicate/explain in a clear and concise manor. Every lesson that I took from you and every question I asked of you were always answered this way.

Congratulations on your engagement.

TR

Thanks Will for your insight.

Do you shoot at all, the week before a registered shoot?

At a registered shoot where there are no warm up targets, what is generally your procedure before you begin shooting your first event?

Great suggestions on how to practice

TR,
Thanks buddy....I want you to know, I have learned something from you, every time we have been on the range together. You are one of my shotgun hero's!

4th,
Yes, I shoot leading up to a major shoot...for something really big, I might work really hard up to the event, and lay off the day before. Regarding a shoot with no warm up....well, at least 1 day of the nationals every year, you have an 8am rotation, so there is no warm up that day. Also, there is very little warm up opportunities when the World FITASC is held somewhere other than the USA. So, I have worked to not be 'that guy' who feels like he has to warm up for 'x' number of targets before competition. If I have the chance, and I feel like I want to bust a cap, I certainly will. But I don't feel like I have to . If I don't shoot warm up, I try to get out on the range, and get my eyes focused on some targets....work my eyes. That is more important to me than shooting shells.

On those days when I have an early rotation, I do have a 'rule' that I strictly follow. I have my feet on the floor, and my eyes off of the TV/computer/phone at LEAST 3 hours before I compete. So, 8 am start time means by 5am, I'm up, drinking coffee, walking around( hopefully outside) focusing my eyes more than 25 yards away.....looking at birds, cars, street signs, whatever!

Good questions!

Best,

Will

Great tip! Thank you, Will.

Will, thanks for getting down to the "nitty gritty" on preparing for NSCA shoots and what your usual routine is all about. It's informing and refreshing.

Will, maybe a topic for a separate thread but possibly part of practice routine #2 -- I would like to ask about managing the mental game. How do you mentally approach a new station after the view pairs? Obviously you want -- or expect -- to run it, but thinking about outcome is detrimental, so how do you avoid it? What, if anything, changes for the last pair on a station when you're straight? And finally, what if anything changes when you're on your last 2 to 4 stations and are only down a target or three; how do you avoid the inevitable thinking about outcome?

Jack,
Good question, and you are right, its probably worthy of its own thread, but for now...here is the 'short answer' to your 'long question(s)'......

How do I approach a new station? just like I always approach a new set of targets....I go through my planning routine. This does NOT include thinking about the outcome. The way I avoid thinking about outcome is by immersing myself in the process.

Regarding the next 2 questions asking about changes I might make ...... I do my damnedest to NOT deviate from my routine and plan( assuming the plan is working).

Hope this helps,

Best,

Will

Well... That sums my problem up right there. No matter how hard I try not to, I tend to "deviate" when things are going really well.

Being new to Sporting Clays I found the article to be of great value to me. I have been looking for a good way to progress and learn with a structured regiment. But until now was not sure how to go about it. I have been told many ways to go about it but they were all different and do not seem to work.
Thanks again

Just about anybody can learn from TR. Just don't expect it to be sugar coated.

For example, here's a text I got from the Sensei one night, after a particularly painful round of FITASC.

TR's top ten comments on your first 50 Fitasc.

10. I've never seen _____ shoot that bad and he only has one eye.
9. Fitasc, it's not for everyone.
8. There is always the Pro Catfish Tour.
7. Some were born to shoot, while others were born to dig ditches.
6. If _____________ whips you, don't tell anybody that you know me.
5. Boy, it looks like dropping all that money on the DT 11 really paid off.
4. Custom stocks, don't leave home without one.
3. Well, 10 is better than 9.
2. 10?? Seriously, a ###### 10????
1. Cheer up, tomorrow will be better because nobody can #### up a round that bad two days in a row.

Let me know if any of this is helping.

Your friend, TR.

^^^^^^^

Will, your two types of practice is more or less what I'm using though being limited to shooting once or twice a week with friends it's not always possible to stay on track.

My question is, do you advocate any swing training or tournament practice with chokes tighter than what would be generally used in a tournament?

In most tournament situations my Parcours is Briley choked IC and LM or 10 and 15 though LM and M or 15 and 20 might be used on a course reputed to be longer. I've not shot FITASC but if I did I might listen to the internet voices and tighten that up another notch. But for general practice I've been using even tighter chokes then returning to more open chokes a couple of weeks before the tournament so I can build my confidence level up by shooting mostly easy pairs.

While awaiting Will's reply... After some experimentation with chokes and loads, I have become a big fan of shooting the same gun, chokes (M/M, which will take on the overwhelming majority of presentations), even ammo (1oz #7.5 1200±) in practice and in competition. I prefer not to introduce another variable (or variables) if I can avoid that, so I could give my undivided attention to target reading as well as shot planning and execution. To each his own, of course.

+1 ^^^^^^

Train/practice like you compete.

Update to my earlier question several posts up.

Will, I'm inclined to agree with mortum, and suspect you mostly do as well as I read that you use fixed chokes and the same ammo for most presentations.

My question was mostly meant to refer to using tighter chokes during skills practice. I'm a rookie tournament shooter trying to sort through the many variables. As mentioned, my tournament practice of easy pairs starts several weeks before but it's not overly intense as I'm trying to find my way to an approach to tournaments that's appropriate for now and will give me something to build on.

As a rookie tournament shooter, not at the skill level of your more elite students, I get a measure of confidence from being able to adjust the chokes in my Parcours in anticipation of the general nature of the course. To date I have not changed chokes during a tournament. So it's the same approach as having fixed chokes but with more flexibility to alter the gun depending upon circumstances and give the less skilled shooter what could be a higher chance of hitting the bird due to a larger pattern.

Put IC/MOD, LM/MOD or MOD/MOD and go shoot. Read this if you haven't already
http://www.shootingtimes.com/long-guns/ ... ds_201002/

smokey,
I suggest practicing like you compete as far as chokes go......and I will share this...

As an instructor( primarily of competitive shooters), I see far more targets missed due to folks shooting chokes that a more 'open', than too 'tight'. I watch shoot go all around targets, quite frequently, and not break the bird, when folks insist on shooting skeet or IC on 30-40 yard birds. Sure, those loose chokes will break targets at that range some times, but not all of the time.

Put a couple of LM, Mod, or Improved Mods in your blaster and carry on! If you run into a really close-fast target, run a cylinder choke, or use a FIOCCHI spreader.

Best,

Will

What I do ^