Curing the "shakes", shooting anxiety?

[tbc]

Double up your ear protection. Use inserts and earmuffs. Slow down. Shoot one live round and dry fire in between. Relax on the gripping and let it recoil.

[BMartin1776]

Hmm me thinks some haven't read my responses esp this one...

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showpost.php?p=20771871&postcount=17

thanks anyway

[Redeyedrider]

Seeing as you're an experienced shooter, it's probably a mechanical problem. Try dropping in a different barrel. If it was a mistake you were making then it would be repeated. You'd group here or group there. If there's no rhyme or reason, and you're splattering every which way off target then it's either the ammo or the piece.

edit to add -

Have someone else try shooting it. That will help guide you to the correct answer too. If they can drive tacks with it then you'll know it's you.

[wurger]

I was shooting worse and worse the last couple of years and getting really frustrated when shooting handguns. I was all over the target, shooting like a noob.

Got an updated pair of glasses (had been nearly 8 years since the last pair) and all my problems went away. Amazing how not being able to focus on the front sight jacks up your shooting.

[Anonreg_89323423]

I have an anxiety disorder that requires daily medication, maybe I can help? Proper breathing is essential. Slow deep breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth. Breathe to expand your stomach, not your lungs. Grip is important, don't white-knuckle it but be confident. If you're shaky, take a break. Lots of water, stay cool. Stay focused. Practice with a partner that you're comfortable with, it helps - I shoot with my old man and he's easy to talk with. Don't be intimidated, it's just target practice. And don't drink or take any xanax to calm down, guns are drugs are a bad mix.

[003]

As noted above, there is nothing like a good .22 pistol to work on the basics. I shoot 200/300 rounds of .22 LR for every 100 rounds of center fire. Sight alignment, trigger squeeze, etc all improve when shooting a quality .22.

[Citation650]

Lasers exaggerate the shakes.

[17+1]

Didn't see anything about air guns but a good pellet pistol is super helpful to train with. Set up some beer/soda cans in your backyard and plink away. The more trigger time you get the better, like others said it's a lot of mental training to hold steady and break the shot clean.

[EvoXguy]

Before I shoot , I do some mild exercise such as shoulder shrugs and mild stretching with some deep in and out breathing just to try and loosen up. I always seem to get that amped feeling when I get ready to shoot though

[sakosf]

Didn't see anything about air guns but a good pellet pistol is super helpful to train with. Set up some beer/soda cans in your backyard and plink away. The more trigger time you get the better, like others said it's a lot of mental training to hold steady and break the shot clean.

That's how I learned to shoot, with a pellet pistol & then a pellet rifle, I had a Benjamin pump pellet pistol, followed by a Sheridan pump pellet rifle ......long time ago, when Nixon was in the Whitehouse

[Redeyedrider]

How come you're getting the shakes with your 1911 but not the HK

[BMartin1776]

How come you're getting the shakes with your 1911 but not the HK

Well I have it a bit with HK, but like I said after 50-100 rounds it goes away... I mean with HK&1911 all hits are combat effective but not good enough as far as 1911 goes. The HK I can blow out center of target, yet been able to do that with 1911.

So I dunno what WTH is going on with me... I use practice laser cartridge, dot goes where I aim, in range w/live ammo cannot get good grouping.

Just need ideas how in general so I don't have to go through 50-100rnds to "calm down"

[readysetgo]

Sit back for the amount of time it takes to shoot 50-100 shots?

It's not the noise?

I'm "jumpy" for the first several minutes no matter what because of the reports around me.

[TexasJackKin]

When I was a young lad in the late '60s, our hunter safety instructor said, "Some people need a drink, to settle their nerves." NO, I'm not suggesting that, I just find it interesting how times have changed.

I have noticed when I take new shooters to a range, oftentimes they are a bundle of nerves, worried that they will do something wrong, and the range master will yell at them. But after a few times, they become acclimated to the range environment and calm down. As others have said, shooting more often will help a lot.