How do you deal with trembling hands?

[aig1]

I found my self shooting a competition yesterday and my hand was shaking a lot.

It was not all due to competition anxiety because I shot a practice match about 1h before the competition and had the same exact problem. I shot 10 points below my average during practice and almost 20 below my practice average during the actual match.

My question is can I do something if I find that my hand is trembling before a match? Or do I simply accept the fact that my scores are going to take a dive and move on?

Maybe I should not have had that coffee 3 h before the match, or I should not have eaten right before the match

So how do people deal with trembling hands?

Thanks,

AIG1

 

[blindndead]

For me Its the coffee, I have a cup when I get up, go to the range and my hand's are all over the place. Drinking a 12pac with the guy's the night before prob does not help.

 

[GTOShootr]

Get the Lanny Basham book With Winning In Mind

http://www.brianenos.com/store/books.html

I try to skip coffee the days I shoot.

 

[Tiktock]

This is my feelings from years of 3 position smallbore rifle, but its all mental. Coffee is a factor but if you normally drink coffe and dont have shaking hands, its just competition jitters. Repetitive practice....meaning doing the exact same sets of movement for each shot help reduce this since your body goes more and more into auto-pilot with increased practice, much like using repetitive keyboard shortcuts until you dont even realize you are doing them anymore.

Lots of people try to shoot "extra good" or do special stuff on a competition day and that causes their scores to drop. its no coincedence that our best shooting is normally done in the most relaxed and comfortable atmosphere...much like home field advantage. You need to get your brain to feel "at home" every time you shoot, competition or not

WAY easier said than done. I think most target shooters would benefit from meditation and breathing exercises...anything to calm the mind. Olympic level, people are often training long distance running to reduce their resting heartbeats per minute, then shooting during the resting stage of their heartbeat.

The more you compete, the less it will happen. Some people get psyched out by formal competition...others just do their thing, shoot solo, and only look at the scores when they are done. I hated looking at the scoreboard before a match ended.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Its likely excess adrenaline in your body. Did you happen to notice your pulse being a bit more rapid than usual also?

Excitation with all thats going on at the range contributes to the condition and it becomes less of an impediment the more time you spend on the range. I find myself more relaxed about a half hour into my shooting sessions. Breathing exercises might help you and also some fresh water and a good pee.

 

[M1911]

Keep going to matches. You'll get used to it and you'll have less adrenaline after a while.

 

[Supermoto]

I shake bad, especially when shooting weak hand. The more I try to steady the gun, the more it shakes, It gets so bad that all I see is a red dot zipping across my lens. It doesn't help when I hear laughter from the peanut gallery behind me. Some of it is caused by coffee, It makes my hand shake when I'm not shooting. but alot of it is cause by competition jitters and excitement. Knowing that I have a problem shooting weak hand only adds to my jitters, So this winter, I will practice shooting weak hand until it becomes a strong point. then hopefully anxiety will be replaced with confidence

 

[aig1]

Keep going to matches. You'll get used to it and you'll have less adrenaline after a while.

Well I certainly hope so

Admittedly i am new at this. Last night was only my 7th official competition. While I do get the jitters and the racing pulse before competitions, the behavior of my hand is different. It will usually be steady and then twitch every once in a while....more often so if I am nervous.But in general my hand will be pretty steady.

Last night was very different. My arc of movement was way too large and I could not reduce it no matter how much I tried to rest between slow fire shots or trying to concentrate or convince my self that it was all mental. also the ark of movement was consistent, there were no times at which I had a steady hand and then it moved a lot. I was all over the place all of the time.

Maybe I was extra nervous since I had convinced my self that I could do a new personal best. the result was that I could not break 250. A disaster in other words

AIG

 

[Junglerott]

Sounds like a case of the yips. You need to take a minute when the shooter before you is up to calm yourself.

 

[TY43215]

Try a couple Motrin see what it does for you.

 

[Lugnut]

So this winter, I will practice shooting weak hand until it becomes a strong point. then hopefully anxiety will be replaced with confidence

I love that attitude! No other way around it providing it's not a physical problem.

 

[aig1]

I love that attitude! No other way around it providing it's not a physical problem.

Well I agree. I do practice as much as I can. which is only 2 times a week unfortunately.

AIG

 

[M1911]

Well I agree. I do practice as much as I can. which is only 2 times a week unfortunately.

AIG

Dryfire my friend, dryfire.

 

[JimB]

the zone

Several of the good shooters on my team refer to it "as getting
in the zone"

noting else is around you and you concentrate on just what you doing and nothing else... I have not got there as yet.

JimB

 

[9X21]

Keep going to matches. You'll get used to it and you'll have less adrenaline after a while.

I've been doing this for almost 20 years,
Some mornings, I still shake!

less coffee, eat something, NO RED BULL or other like "wake me" ups.


Get comfortable with the IDEA of competition.
Remember, you are really only shooting against yourself!

Motrin a few hours before you start may also help.
(eat something with it!)

 

[bpm990d]

Get the Lanny Basham book With Winning In Mind

http://www.brianenos.com/store/books.html

I try to skip coffee the days I shoot.

+1 for Lanny's book.

Body Mind Mastery by Dan Millman is also excellent.

J.P. O'Connor's On the Firing Line series is also great. Read the article on choking and the one on mental and emotional skills.

B

 

[9X21]

PS,
stop thinking about the beer your going to drink after the match!

 

[aig1]

Dryfire my friend, dryfire.

i do that every day. No exception! IT scares the bejeesus out of the cat, even if I am just holding the gun. she must be local

thanks for the motrin advice, and I will definitely get some of the books recommended. so far i have been doing most of my reading here :
http://www.bullseyepistol.com/

AIG1

 

[Dan Hurley]

One quick thought, a big part of the reason that we like to shoot all kinds of competitions is that it's exciting. We like a few butterflies and we like the challenge of herding them into a place where we can can control them. If it didn't get the blood going, it'd be bowling.

If you can remember that you seek and enjoy the pressure, maybe the hands will settle down, ... but if they don't, at least you know you're alive.

 

[MFP4073]

I love that big adrenalin rush. My hands are shaking after almost every stage especially a run -n-gun stage. Usually it calms before I shoot the next one. I find that taping and setting steel help to ease the excitement a bit between shooting. ;o)

If you find yourself clutching the pistol perhaps easing up on your grip a bit could help too.

 

[Dan S]

It seems that most of the replies didn't notice that you're shooting Bullseye, not action shooting.
When shooting slow fire, particularly as a newer shooting, take a couple deep breaths before each shot. Get a countdown timer so you know how much time is left, so you don't rush. Don't choke the heck out of the gun, relax your little finger a bit. Do you scope each shot? That can psych out some shooters and make them blow the next couple. DON'T be afraid to lower the gun and start again!!! The dot doesn't stop moving around, don't try to make it stop. You're wobble area will decrease with time and practice.
You mentioned that your practice scores are 10-20 points higher. Are you shooting a match cold, or shooting several targets of each segment and choosing the best? That doesn't give a true representation of what you will shoot.
Don't forget, that shooting in the evening has other factors applying. What kind of day was it at work, did you get physically stressed prior to the match?

 

[Blues508]

Avoid the coffee. Try a few deep breaths before going to the line.

 

[boomerang]

Maybe I was extra nervous since I had convinced my self that I could do a new personal best.

Stop trying to choke.

Don't scope.

Your arc of movement is smaller than you think.

I don't have problems with coffee. I have problems with sugar, like drinking a coke with my meal from McDonalds on the way to the match.

Eat a turkey sandwich or make some biscuits and turkey gravy before you go to the match.

Shoot the shit before you shoot.

 

[aig1]

It seems that most of the replies didn't notice that you're shooting Bullseye, not action shooting.
When shooting slow fire, particularly as a newer shooting, take a couple deep breaths before each shot. Get a countdown timer so you know how much time is left, so you don't rush. Don't choke the heck out of the gun, relax your little finger a bit. Do you scope each shot? That can psych out some shooters and make them blow the next couple. DON'T be afraid to lower the gun and start again!!! The dot doesn't stop moving around, don't try to make it stop. You're wobble area will decrease with time and practice.
You mentioned that your practice scores are 10-20 points higher. Are you shooting a match cold, or shooting several targets of each segment and choosing the best? That doesn't give a true representation of what you will shoot.
Don't forget, that shooting in the evening has other factors applying. What kind of day was it at work, did you get physically stressed prior to the match?

Thanks for the advice! I am already trying to incorporate much of what is already written here. I do breathe before each shot. I do lower the gun if my concentration lapses. I do not think that I choke the gun. My hand (and the gun) is usually quite steady.

My practice matches are shot as a real match. No picking best scores to record as that defies the point. I realize that I have to deal with nervousness and I have begun creating a routine before each string of fire. Now I have to begin implementing that routine during practice matches.

My day was a bit hectic and I was very tired. Possibly that has something to do with my shaking hand. The idea is that I cannot always control my working day to the best effect for my shooting match. So I need to learn to deal with stress and nerves, I guess.

Thanks for all the input

AIG

 

[matt]

Thanks for the advice! I am already trying to incorporate much of what is already written here. I do breathe before each shot. I do lower the gun if my concentration lapses. I do not think that I choke the gun. My hand (and the gun) is usually quite steady.

My practice matches are shot as a real match. No picking best scores to record as that defies the point. I realize that I have to deal with nervousness and I have begun creating a routine before each string of fire. Now I have to begin implementing that routine during practice matches.

My day was a bit hectic and I was very tired. Possibly that has something to do with my shaking hand. The idea is that I cannot always control my working day to the best effect for my shooting match. So I need to learn to deal with stress and nerves, I guess.

Thanks for all the input

AIG

I found a routine for match day is key. And during the match. Also, despite what others have said, I can't have coffee after noon on a match day (assuming the match is in the evening). Even on serious practice days I forsake cafine. It just gives me the jitters. I should say though that I drink a little more coffee than the average bear (5-6 cups a day without a second thought... gotta stop that.)

 

[Will Brink]

It was not all due to competition anxiety because I shot a practice match about 1h before the competition and had the same exact problem.
AIG1

I'm not convinced at all it's not from comp anxiety and a practice match would not really change that. It just takes time to get less comp jidders, and some times they still get you anyway, but they do get much better as time goes on as you compete and such. Without knowing your age, etc, etc, that's the most obvious answer. If you find your hands shaking during other activities, I recommend seeing a doc, neurologist if possible.

 

[TY43215]

The advice given by DAN_S is spot on. (His advice has helped my scores a lot Thanks Dan)

Another shooter told me about the Motrin. You may think I was joking when I originally posted it but I am not.

I work a rather physical as well as mental job. Many things have an adverse reaction come match night. If I have excessive receivables and slow pay customers, it effects my concentration. If I had a problem job during the day it also plays games with the concentration. If I had a heavy lifting day it also works to the negative. and so on.

I am trying to shoot mid 270s regularly by the end of the year so I have been asking many people.

First thing to do is read the suggestions I was given in THIS THREAD There was a lot of good advice given that has worked for me.

The one thing I have found that interferes with my scores is the people around me before and while I shoot. I have to learn to ignore their problems, banter, and other actions that disturb my concentration.

I am practicing with my revolver to gain more control. Want to see shakes????? that 6" barrel won't stand still But it is getting better. When I go back to the Ruger semi, I am amazed at the difference.

Good luck, and keep your concentration.

 

[matt]

...The one thing I have found that interferes with my scores is the people around me before and while I shoot. I have to learn to ignore their problems, banter, and other actions that disturb my concentration...

I found that using quality ear plugs and turning off my electronic ear protection (worn over the plugs) was helpful in this regard. I can still hear well enough to get the range commands, but all the little stuff goes away. With the electronics on I can here every bump and scrape in the range.

The worst is when you get someone next to you who's ejected shells come right at you. Some people put up hardward cloth screens to keep this from happening.

Others will wear actual blinders to prevent visual distraction. I haven't tried it to know if it helps.

 

[M1911]

I found that using quality ear plugs and turning off my electronic ear protection (worn over the plugs) was helpful in this regard. I can still hear well enough to get the range commands, but all the little stuff goes away. With the electronics on I can here every bump and scrape in the range..

On the rare occasions that I shoot that type of competition, I turn my electronic muffs OFF. I don't want to here the guy next to me curse, or the guy behind me chatting. It is distracting. Turn the muffs off.

Don't go into the match thinking "if I shoot X then I move up from marksman to sharpshooter" (or sharpshooter to expert, etc.). If you scope your shot and see that it was not where you wanted it to be, don't think about it. Don't beat yourself up over it -- it is spilt milk. Just think about the NEXT shot. Concentrate on what you need to do to make a good shot; don't think about the consequences of not making a good shot.

That is, think about the procedure that you need to do to make a good shot. Don't think about the results. I use the acronym BRASS -- Breath. Relax. Align the Sights. Squeeze the trigger.

 

[Mooney]

If it may be an issue due to the physical weight of the gun while shooting one-handed, the legend himself, Walter Rodger (sp?) told my basic pistol class a few years back to use a milk jug with water in it, held at arm's length to strengthen your arm(s). Add more water when you can comfortably hold it without shaking.

Shooting a full practice match beforehand may alter your dexterity just enough to throw you off when combined with competition jitters.

Speaking of Walter, is he still teaching? Anyone know?