In the mid 1950s the Melbourne Olympics kick-started the smallbore movement in Australia. It certainly did in the Adelaide Club. A few started to train with a specific goal to "up" their skill level with the intention of making those Games. They did, and that was only the beginning of a phenomenal record in international competition for that club.
From 1956 to 1990 there were no fewer than 9 individuals from that club who represented Australia in international events including Olympic Games, World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
A club is only as good as those who work in their respective fields. Motivation boiled in our club and not only did it attract new members but the competitive atmosphere motivated all to new heights and kept that club there for the next 25 years.
Most, but not all state associations are governed by club representatives, yet in many cases those state associations, as a team effort, give very little thought to the well-being of their own club affiliates. In fact, most don't care a damn.
Certainly clubs must look after themselves - that's their responsibility. Individual shooters join clubs and yet there are times when I wonder at the policies of some clubs which in no way encourage new members to join and (secret of all secrets) to keep them. If any club or association puts money before members then it will fail.
The fact is, clubs are the information centre, the teaching ground, the hub, core, nucleus and the well-being of the states, national body and the international scene. Every club that fails is another nail in the coffin of all associations, and yet we know this!
We can't expect our national body to do magic tricks - they've enough on their plate, although it sure wouldn't hurt to place "State Responsibility" on their agenda. It may help to awaken some states.
The Adelaide Club during that 25 year reign had no coaches, yet a dozen members reached world class status. How? Actually the secret is fundamental.
An ongoing motivational environment created by individuals alone, within a club or training area, has more power than any coach will ever have. Even with a coach, if we do not have that same environment that inspires, then any system will fall short of expectations.
It is without doubt that here in Australia the coaching environment lacks that motivational power that must be ongoing. That costs time and money and will always be an uphill battle and consequently short-lived. That's unfortunate.
A person's skill level is vertically governed not only by the skill level of those around us but also by the numbers of those around us. Each must inspire the other to give impetus to all. The Adelaide Club had that power.
Motivation is the only word in the dictionary, and is the spine.
We had better believe it!
We can buy accuracy. But how much can we expect?
The difference between most of the rifles that are used today and the world's best would be only 1 - 2 mm in group size at 50m. This will not change our scores from 585s to 595s. In fact at times it may not change them at all.
Bad 8s will still be bad 8s. Bad 9s will still be bad 9s and 10s, irrespective of where they go will still be 10s. It's only those skinny shots that will guage in. Every rifle of today with good ammo would be capable of shooting half the group sizes that most of us come up with. Could it be that we ourselves add 15 - 25 mm to the group and WE are the ones who drop all the shots?
At times however there could be some indirect factor that could apply. When we buy new equipment of any sort we may become revitalised and motivated. We often lift our game as we become more focused. Unfortunately this motivation is often short-lived.
The shooter, the ammo, and the rifle are the most variable, and in that order.
My first real target rifle was a BSA Mk11, which I used in Melbourne in 1956 for prone and 3P. Later I purchased and Anschutz 3P rifle and after a while decided to use this rifle prone, and sold my BSA. I perservered with the Anschutz for two years and could not get scores anywhere near those of the BSA.
I then bought a prone-stocked Anschutz and without exaggeration the next week my scores headed to world standard, as with the BSA. This made me think. If a person could afford five different stocks of different configurations, there could be a chance of finding one that suited one's own physical characteristics and therefore have a sweet-spot on recoil.
To some this may seem to be an excercise only. In those days this was "stone-age" sports science. I still believe, as I did then, that there is much more in regards to stocks Vs the individual than we'll ever know.
Every part of a stock behind the bolt is lower than the bore axis. When the rifle is fired it kicks in two main directions, backwards and upwards. The upward jump being caused by the fact that the resistance point is on the butt, which is lower than the bore axis.
In the early '50s Russia came up with a "hacksaw" pistol for rapid fire, the barrel of which was vertically in line with the extended arm and the sights were on a frame above. This configuration almost eliminated recoil jump. This facilitated a quicker re-sight and gave better accuracy. Incidentally it was banned.
The bullet, when moving up the barrel may only take a millisecond, but if the bore-line at the time of bullet exit varies, that variation is multiplied by 50 at the target. This could equate to a couple of millimetres or 10 - 20% of the group size, and that is big bikkies when it comes to consistent accuracy.
I'm sure there are other things besides trigger release, hold and sighting that could make consistent shooting a little more easy. I used a fairly low prone position with a slightly curved butt plate lifted about 25mm above the stock. Against all theories the shoulder pressure was mainly at the top of the butt plate, and this probably gave less jump. Worth a thought!
Before we go off and spend thousands on a super new rifle or put Warren Potent's barrelled action into your stock, if you expect to shrink your groups to 10mm then you're dreaming.
Those same consistent mental, physical and visual skills that the champions use are still necessary irrespective of what rifle you use. It's the champion that is consistent in this case.
Could it be that we can easily become orientated towards accuracy instead of focusing on consistency? Consistency is the only word in the dictionary.
This may not mean much but take a look at the photo on page 19 of the last issue and notice the top of Warren's butt plate. It is the only part of the stock above the bore line.
There are things that could make shooting easier.
When we first joined a rifle club we were presented with ten shot strings and "bullseyes" which count 10, forcing us to add up scores viewed through the scope.
When we had the opportunity to beat our highest score or shoot our first possible that scope or monitor made our thoughts work overtime and ahead of ourselves. This can create tension. Our thoughts unfortunately can make us come unstuck.
What we see in the scope can give us a lot of information relative to our physical and mental skills and in particular to our self~discipline, together with the execution of the shot. That target is actually a graph that relates to all of our present skills on the firing point.
The view through the scope can affect shooters differently. The better shooter we are, the less time is needed to scope the shot. At times the longer we dwell on that picture the greater the chance of unwanted information creeping in.
Any information which is not necessary to complete the next shot in the form of an overall performance, should be ignored. That viewing process should be on performance only and should last only as long as it takes to gain enough information necessary to make corrections as needed. Everything else is irrelevant.
A prone champion has a very professional outlook when scoping a shot. His physical and mental actions on the firing point are ingrained through repetition. When he scopes the shot there is very little to do except note the position of the shot in the ten ring and perhaps make a fine adjustmerit.
Finalising the shot is also different. If a nine turns up prone it's a surprise, even a shock. Champions in good weather conditions shouldn't be able to analyse a shot after it has been fired. If they can (or we can) they should ask themselves as to why they let it go in the first place when it didn't feel the same. That is why a nine is a surprise and that is why they're champions.
We shouldn't kid ourselves that champi~ ons can't let go 60 consecutive perfect shots. Just look at the number of 600s shot. I was a sceptic once but we've just got to get used to the fact that true champions do not make mistakes in the prone position.
In time we can become more professional~ ly minded and can take a little more pressure. Nonetheless, we should never become complacent. Anxiety can sneak out of the blue when we least expect it with disastrous results. So it's logical to build a barrier between what we view through the scope and our thoughts.
We need to keep the door shut, and there are several subtle ways of isolating our thoughts from what is happening. It is not so much to try and trick your mind but to cut off any further thoughts than are necessary to carry on with the next shot.
On subtle way to scope a shot if you are getting tens is to say in your mind "It's there" instead of a bullseye or a ten. Then forget it. Scope the shot, everything registers, then forget it.
"Forgetting it' is not ignoring any of the facts. All shooters at some time during their shooting lives, especially away from club matches, will experience various degrees of tension brought about by the environment and by scores that they may present to themselves during competitive matches.
There is a secret to suppressing tension Vs the scope, and that is to let a one shot suc~ cess fade away. That is not an easy task. Self~discipline is mental strategy. Most of us "B" graders let go bad shots. They all need to be analysed but not ignored and hope the next shot is in. We've got to think it out to improve and make the necessary corrections. If the next shots are "It'sthere", then we'll gain confidence. Otherwise being lost is staying lost.
The whole mental side is of a "Catch 22" situation where our thoughts need to be controlled by our own mind from start to finish. Even though it's all very serious 1 believe in treating that scope picture in a somewhat nonchalant manner to suppress tension and to add to that "forget it" barrier. We should be in control, not the scope picture!
The day will come when everything will register and be noted in the back of our minds; but nothing will sink in past that "forget it' barrier. When this happens you'll know you've toughened up!!
When I look back at this philosophy of scoping the shot where everything registers in a quiet way and then "forget it", to stop any traitor thoughts from creeping in, it is a far cry from those early days when thinking of ten shot strings, 9s, 8s and an overall score, to a more professional approach of controlling my thoughts and concentrating on performance and those basics only.
In this case scores are the result of controlling our thoughts Vs that scope picture. We could say tension is governed by what we're thinking of and success can be governed by what we're NOT thinking of.
Shooting is easy if we work hard at it.