Why Luck Is Never a Shooting Strategy

One shell.

One moment.

Where you have your attention is already deciding the outcome—X or O.

The mental game. How do we make it actually work? Not with vague, inspiring statements that leave us wondering what to do in the shooting box, but with simple, crystal-clear understandings that start delivering more X's.

It all begins here.

What do we all want?

The target to break.

Of course we do.

So, very understandably, that's exactly what we try to do.

And when we don't break it?

We try harder.

Typically giving us this:

OXOO

More inconsistency.

"Sometimes" breaks.

Shooting method for the next shell?

Honestly?

Hope. 

Back to "sometimes" breaks.

There's nothing wrong with caring.

I care.

You care.

That determination will break the target sometimes.

But sometimes isn't our goal.

XXXX is.

Here's the first hard truth of the mental game:

The target ONLY breaks when your shot string intercepts it.

For that to happen consistently, the shooter must purposely guide the gun, building the precision into the swing needed for the shot string to intercept the target.

That means putting our attention on guiding the gun—not on hoping the target breaks.

A swing is learned, built, and reinforced by putting our attention where it belongs.

Which brings us to the most important question in this article.

Who's guiding the gun?

That's the mental game.

Not positive thinking.

Not hope.

Not trying harder.

Who's guiding the gun?

The answer to that question is already determining whether the next shell becomes an X or an O.

Whether you're practicing or competing, here's an understanding I hope you'll hold onto.

The instant the trigger is pulled and the shot string leaves the muzzle—even by one-thousandth of an inch—

Have a seat.

We're done.

We have zero control over what happens downrange.

The only thing we can ever control is what happens behind the muzzle.

If we want to improve, our attention has to move away from trying to break the target and toward purposely guiding the gun and executing the swing correctly.

That's where consistency begins.

To those who insist you should "just trust your swing..."

We'll come back to that in a moment.

First, why do we try harder?

Because not only do we want the target to break...

So does everyone watching.

Friends, squad mates, family, everyone.

Everyone is pulling for us.

That pressure naturally pulls our attention away from guiding the gun and toward breaking the target.

And when trying harder produces one miss after another?

The fun starts disappearing.

So does the motivation to improve.

At minimum, three things are at work.

1. Honest—but misplaced—attention focused on breaking the target.
2. No dependable shooting method.
3. While learning, attention isn't purposely directed toward executing that method correctly.

Those who seek to improve quickly learn that instinctive shooting has limits.

Instinct absolutely has value.

But instinct doesn't come with dependable methods for our three target presentations.

Learning those methods is an absolute requirement for advancing skill.

But here's something just as important.

The method isn't enough.

It only works when your attention is focused on executing it correctly.

It takes both.

Now think about this.

Once the bird is in the air...

If your attention is thirty-five yards away trying to break the target. OXOO.

Who's guiding the gun?

But when your attention shifts to purposely guiding the gun and executing an X swing...XXXX.

Who's guiding the gun?

You are.

Trying isn't the enemy.

Trying becomes one of your greatest assets when it's focused—not on breaking the bird—but on controlling the only thing you can control:

Your gun.

Every shell.

Every target.

Focus on one setup step.

Or one swing step.

Learn it.

Execute it correctly.

Reinforce it.

One shell at a time.

Now let's talk about trusting your swing.

Anyone who tells you to load a shell and "trust yourself" before you've learned dependable methods and how to build an X swing isn't helping you.

That's asking you to trust something you haven't yet learned.

Once you've learned proven methods?

Trust your swing completely.

But not before.

Consistency—and higher scores—become much easier when you first learn dependable shooting methods.

You simply cannot achieve X consistency without them.

Then...

Shell in the chamber.

Put your attention exactly where it pays.

Execute the method.

It'll work.

Count on it!