Seems like every time I shoot lately I've hit 23 or 24 birds. Doesn't seem to matter whether I'm shooting a .410 SXS choked F&F or my SKB 12ga choke skeet and skeet. Even the double 20 and the full choke 16 pump are shooting the same scores. Mine you, I'm not complaining, but why can't at least one of those rounds be a 25 straight? Its always a different station. Guess I'm an equal opportunity misser.

Losing your focus.....

Yeah, sounds like mental lapses. Get an aggressive mindset, keep your mental focus on each shot and stop worrying about your score while you're shooting.

At least in my simple mind, if I COUNT, I lose. My rounds have been better when I don't pay attention to how many I hit/miss.

Some guy posted here that if he misses, he puts that shell in a different pocket. I am going to try that system and see how it works for me. p.s. I wish my scores were as high as yours.

And what good does that do that guy?

What good is keeping score when you are practicing? When shooting a tournament, someone else is counting for you!

As an engineer, numbers are just easy for me, so without even trying, I always know my score, and at least the shooter shooting in front of me, even though I wish I didn't.

You may be right. I might be loosing focus. Need to think about gun mount and get it right before calling for the bird. That might be where I'm falling down.

I find a consistent preshot routine helps, I don't mean standing on the pad over thinking the next shot. Preshot routine starts when previous shooter steps on the pad. I have a list that I review, foot position, hold point (distance from hole as well as below flight path), look point, good mount, weight distribution, start gun on the flash, these are what works for me.

You may have something there. I think I get in too much of a hurry.

If you figure it out let me know I'm in the same rut. Always missing one or two but never the same station.

Pace is an important part of your routine. I remember Wayne Mayes saying that he once caught himself speeding up, realized it was affecting his game, and worked to ensure that he always controlled his pace. I know it cost me in competition once and I realized it was an easy variable to control and applied in practice as well.

Speaking as that guy . . . what it does it allows you to know how you did once the round is over, without giving any thought to keeping score while you're shooting.

I'm with RoosterBooster. "Losing your focus"

I just came in from shooting one round of Trap ( I know it is a Skeet Thread.) I am gradually crawling up in scoring in both Skeet and Trap. The Skeet field was tied up, so I decided I'd use the more-distant Trap field.

I had one odd-ball shell in my kit. I slipped it into the gun and casually called PULL. It was an easy, sliding away and rising slowly, no wind... shot. Missed it.

Put a full box in my belt and proceeded to shoot the next 17 or so straight. I missed another easy shot that looked just like the first one. Two or three shots afterward, the same thing. A shot that I can normally hit all day long, and I miss it three times in 26 shells.

23 for 26 is the way I score it (unofficially). Every single one was due to a lack of focus. I hit the hard ones every time.
Bah Humbug.

Heck, still my Personal Best, though.

I think I shoot with someone who does that. During each round we have to remind him 3 or 4 times that he's already shot his option.

For me, "losing focus" results in a flinch. I have to go through some serious mental gymnastics to avoid it, but it comes back periodically.

I’ll suggest it’s more of a mental block than being a loss of focus. Our subconscious minds try to keep us in our ‘comfort zone’. If someone is very proficient at consistently breaking 25 the subconscious mind will start to see that as a comfort zone and allow a person to go there. If we often shoots a 23 or 24 the subconscious mind sees 25 as outside the comfort zone and through nerves or some physical twitch will encourage to stay in our comfort zone. The classic example is when we’ve run 20 straight and miss one of the remaining 5 and then make all of the rest . . because we’ve satisfied the subconscious mind that we’re not going to shoot 25 straight . . outside our comfort zone. Sports psychologists make a living off this stuff :-)

This is a good thread because I think there are a lot of us in the same boat. I do the same thing one 24 and a slew of 23's.

A reminder that as to focus, there is no 'round of 25': there is Only one shot, one opportunity, one moment - the shot you are taking. None before, none after - just the one. Each one, including doubles, is 'stand alone'.

Your consistent, reliable, repeated pre-shot routine / ritual of positioning and mind clearing serves to intensify focus, relaxed and confident - on only one shot.

After more than 10 (15?) years after leaving competitive skeet shooting, a few years ago old buddies charmed me into jumping in for a couple of guns, good sized local registered shoot. Had fun, worked on the basics, when the 410 was over, knew I'd missed some - didn't know whether I'd shot a 90 or a 96. Surprised and delighted with a 95. Not counting targets, misses, rounds - only focus on one shot, and they'll string together.

Wayne Mayes was once ask, what is the hardest shot on the field? His answer was "the next one".

It's all been said! I can remember several rounds of 24 where I smoked every single target except one. I can also remember many rounds of 25 obtained by means of a chip here, a chip there etc. Every target is separate.
Peter.