Pre-Shot Routine
Posted On: 07-22-2022
I know most youth shooters know this idea and practice the pre-shot routine (PSR). The question is do they understand how important it is to their shooting success. It takes very little observation to notice professional shooters and their PSR’s, so recently I watched a video provided by Federal Ammunition featuring Kayle Browning. Way too many accolades to provide here, but she is an Olympic Silver medalist in trap from the 2020 Olympics.
Kayle simplifies the idea of a PSR as a way of keeping you busy between shots or as a way to keep your mind off of distractions like the run you have established, the miss, or anything that might get to your mental stability during the shoot. She starts her routine by:
- Setting her feet to the way she practices. This begins her next shot. She makes a good point that after hours of practice and muscle memory her feet know where they belong on the trap line at each station.
- Eye setup is next. She makes sure her eyes have the best chance to see the target.
- Hold point is now identified and for her it is slightly below what she has identified in step 2 for her eyes.
- Her step 4 is maybe one that shooters learn over time and for her it is mechanical. She makes sure, something mechanical is accomplished by the movement of her arms, legs, or body, and this may change each time she shoots. For her this movement is something she is reinforcing as a move she needs to do during the shot.
- It all finishes with the gun mount and her alignment with the flow of the targets.
The point here is to have your youth shooters diagram why they do what they do within their own PSR. If they rotate the shell in the chamber, tap the gun, swing the gun, close the breach, or whatever they do, is there a reason for doing so and how does that part of the PSR improve their shooting.
A good way to break this down is to have each shooter share their PSR with the squad. What will become apparent is often another shooter will see when the PSR has changed or is something was missing for each shot. As well when asked, “Why do you do that?” can the shooter respond with something other than, “I don’t know.” Parse the PSR out to both improve it’s function and to develop consistency and efficiency. Take a little time at the range the next time out and see what you get.
DON’T FORGET TO KEEP CHECKING BACK TO THE MYSSA WEBSITE FOR REGISTRATION OF THE 2022 FALL CLASSIC. THAT WILL BE HAPPENING SOON.
Dr. David R. Vaught, Ph.D.
Executive Director