S .M. A. R. T

S is for SPECIFIC

When you set a goal you should be very clear in you mind of exactly what that goal relates to.... Simply stating that improvement is desired does not give a target of how much an improvement is needed.

M is for MEASUREMENT

Any goal set should always be capable of being measured in some way. Use objective measures to measure goals.

A is for ADJUSTABLE

Goal setting is always described as a dynamic process and as such you need to be able to alter goals. If your progress is faster, or slower, than your originally been hoped for you need to be able to change your goals in order to set the most appropriate target.

R is for REALISTIC

Goals must be realistic, a common error is to set a goal which cannot be achieved. Goals must be challenging but they should not be so challenging that you never manage to complete a goal. If you never complete a goal, you lose confidence in yourself or give up trying.

T is for TIME-BASED

All goals should be have a specific time-frame. That is to say that you should always identify a point in time when the goal has to be achieved. There is another way of viewing goals as time based. In general, there are three time periods for setting goals short term, medium term and long term. If you view goal setting as a staircase, each individual step is a short term goal. The bottom step can be seen as today and the very top of the staircase can be some specific point in time in the distant future. By successfully climbing each step you will progress up the staircase towards your final goal. Always write your goals down and leave them in a visible place!!

Notes for Pistol Shooting Comps

- Equipment:

Always ensure that all air cylinders are full before a match.

Clean all pistols regularly.

- Physiological Preparation:

Please ensure that you get at least 8 hours of sleep the night before a match.

Do not do any heavy lifting or gymnastics anytime close to a match.

Have something to eat before a match, but not too much.

- Psychological Preparation:

Concentrate on the fundamentals - stance, grip, trigger squeeze, breathing and
follow-through.

- REMEMBER to look at the FORESIGHT!

Concentrate on each and every shot - don't let past shots bother you.

Do not aim for more than 20 seconds; try to fire off after 10-15 seconds of aim

Call your shots.

Look at your OWN target and avoid paying attention to how well others are doing.

Take your time and work out a rhythm; do not rush.

Take all sighter shots seriously, but do not shoot too many sighter shots, to
conserve energy.

It is good to have a target, but do not "force" yourself to shoot a given score.
Just concentrate on shooting every shot right and the score will take care of
itself.

Don't be afraid to put the gun down and rest when you are tired. You do not have to
fire a shot everytime you lift the gun.

Stop and think SERIOUSLY every time you make a bad shot - in order to avoid making
the same error, but don't harp on it.

Do not be in a hurry to make a "redeeming shot" after a bad shot.

Visualize!

The Subconscious Shot - Hit or Myth?

Surely the Holy Grail for pistol shooters is to understand and be able to produce the subconscious shot release. But does anyone ever really get there? Do we ever get more than a flash of insight, a hint of how our mind can control our performance without prompting on an active level? Is it something we should aspire to, or are we barking up the wrong tree? I’m sure from a coaching perspective this talk is akin to heresy. But we are not coaches, we are shooters. We need a practical solution to the problem, a paint-by-numbers plan to provide a quality shot process every time. We don’t need to immerse ourselves in a world of theoretical psychobabble that we really don’t understand, and if we could, would be about as much sense as a race car driver struggling to understand the technical aspects of his turbocharger.

I could contend that the subconscious shot, that wonderful, magical break as the sights sit exactly in the center of the aiming area, the shot that you just know has punched through the middle of the x-ring without even looking, is just a fluke and is bound to happen every once in a while just from the law of averages. Why do we assume that for that shot we were more responsible for the outcome than for the 7 that preceded it? Why are we convinced that our subconscious worked for that shot and was out to lunch for the not-so-exciting shots?

I guess my main reason for cynicism stems from a physics problem. In my experience the main culprit for poor shot result is a trigger release that alters the alignment of the gun, ever so slightly, but of course this has a far more dramatic effect on the path of the bullet by the time it reaches the target. You jerk the trigger, you pull the shot away from the center of the target. And by making a definite decision to make the shot break, that minute physical movement can wreck the smooth release of the shot. Is there any earthly reason why we should assume that if that same movement is initiated by the subconscious, that the result will not also be affected? Okay, so the same rules for reaction time don’t hold, the subconscious works with a fraction of the lag time, but the physical movement must still be made to make the shot break. Unless you can tell me you can make the sear release by mind control I find the concept fairly dubious.

Linking Physical Tasks
It is not my intent to fly in the face of convention. I am not claiming that all the coaches are wrong in contending that shooters can attain a mental state that allows them to perform at a higher level than normal. I seriously doubt, however, that a little entity in the back of the brain is responsible for "automagical" shot release. The "zone" as it’s so often called is many different things to many different shooters. My own experience I can only describe as being the ability to link two separate physical tasks and create a new one. Those tasks being to take up a gradual but steady increase of trigger pressure that actually steers the front sight and holds it exactly in its position within the rear notch. Sight control and trigger movement become one physical action in your mind. If there is anything mentally difficult about this it’s not allowing the target to become a distraction, or anything else for that matter.

Our capacity for thought becomes one of our greatest enemies. For this reason we need to attain a different level of consciousness, not so much to be more aware of what we are doing, but to be more channeled toward two simple tasks that must be performed as one. And not only is thought something to be avoided, emotion can also destroy what we work so hard to achieve.

Complacency can take the edge off performance. As can anger, dwelling on a poor shot, or allowing yourself to be distracted by a neighboring shooter. Fear of failure. Any number of mishaps can occur. This is normal human behavior. This is what makes shooting so difficult, the de-humanising yourself for a period of a couple of hours to create a thing, a work of technical excellence in motion.

The Slippery Slope
I believe that by glorifying that lucky shot, the one where the sight picture lines up perfectly as the shot breaks, as the ideal (that MUST have been caused by the subconscious), we reinforce the need for perfection in every other shot. We hunt for it, we do everything we possibly can to make every shot a perfect ten. In doing so we overhold, we abort, we gnash our teeth in frustration until we finally make a conscious stab at the trigger. All for the sake of making a better shot.

To play the game smarter we have to accept our own limitations. We have a certain hold, and the best we can hope for is to have our shots fall within that area. If we can release our shots with perfect trigger control, that is having a surprise shot release every time, not only will all shots be within a much smaller than normal area, a high percentage will have broken while the pistol was crossing the target center. As we become more skilled in our hold, the score will increase accordingly.

Maybe the secret is to take away the importance of the actual shot. Instead of considering the release of the shot as the actual task, we lessen the significance of the shot and make it an almost incidental byproduct of a process. This process being the combination of physical movements linked together with mental adhesive that results in a trigger release that also controls line of sight. The process continues until such a time that heightened awareness has passed – so that it may or may not have concluded in the firing of a shot. An unconscious shot.

I don't profess to have all the answers. Honestly I don't think there is one path to enlightenment in this sport. If you've managed to get this far through my flight of fancy I hope I've given some food for thought about the way this game is played. I've gone full circle over the past 27 years, from a beginner learning the physical basics to an intermediate searching for secrets to a high level performer experiencing spiritual highs through single minded focus. These days I think the whole process is too complex, and we're our own worst enemies. If we can keep the shot process simple, and find a way to turn off most of the circuits in that supercomputer in our heads, we'll all be thumping the center out of our bulls.

But I guess that would take the fun out of it...

Membidik dan menembak...

Setelah 1 tahun lebih gw menggeluti olahraga menembak, ternyata baru tahu olahraga ini tidak segampang seperti mengangkat senjata membidik dan menembak targetnya.. wih.. sampe pegel-pegel tangan di bulan pertama latihan, dan dengan hasil?? hehehe perasaan yg gw bidik bulatan hitam pada kertas target koq yg kena bagian kertas yg berwarna putihnya terus. hm... ternyata tidak segampang ini menembak, akhirnya gw putuskan utk masuk ke kursus pelatihan menembak yang waktu itu saya daftar di Club menembak Plaza Blok M shooting Club, yaitu salah satu club menembak target yang ada di jakarta, di club tersebut disediakan shooting range dengan jarak 10 meter , range ini khusus untuk jenis senjata Air gun (rifle match, rifle hunting, air pistol) tidak menutup kemungkinan untuk bidang olahraga tembak jenis senjata api, tapi latihannya harus di Lapangan Tembak Senayan, seperti beberapa anggota club Plasa Blok M yang juga bermain di tembak target Senpi, dan saat ini gw sudah 1 tahun menjadi anggota club dengan hasil score tembakan rata2 545-550. masih jauh dari target gw yaitu stabil di 560, karena MQS (minimun Quality Score) untuk atlet menembak target adalah 555. ternyata utk menaikan sedikit demi sedikit score itu tidak gampang ya.... pokoknya PON berikutnya gw harus bisa menjadi salah satu atlet yg lolos seleksi hehehe... hayoo latihan yg lebih giat lagi !!!

Review Steyr LP1 - Late Model

Sight Adjustments
Clockwise down (left hand knob).
Clockwise left (right hand knob).


1 click = 1.2mm @ 10m.

Rear Sight Width/Depth
See diagram below. Turn screw on right hand side clockwise or left hand anti-clockwise to increase sight aperture width, opposite to decrease. Adjustment is 0-7.0mm.

Depth may be adjusted by loosening screws (#8 in diagram) and positioning cover plate to desired position before retightening. Adjustment is 1.5-3.2mm.





Trigger Stop
1st vertical screw behind trigger (I).

1st Stage Weight
2nd vertical screw behind trigger (II).

1st Stage Travel
Before adjusting loosen trigger stop screw a few turns (I). 3rd vertical screw behind trigger (III). Readjust trigger stop when finished.

2nd Stage Weight
Remove grip. 4th vertical screw behind trigger (IV).

Sear Engagement
5th screw behind trigger (V). Manual recommends that this screw NOT be changed from factory setting.




Grip Adjustment
The grip is adjustable and pivotable to the frame in all directions to suit many different hand shapes and positions. To achieve this grip must first be removed.

Adjustment is made by means of six countersunk allen screws in the bottom and rear of the receiver housing. When adjusting these screws only move in 1/4 of a turn increments before replacing grip to see if enough adjustment has been made.




Regulating Pellet Velocity
Remove the grip.

Turn slotted screw in rear of receiver housing clockwise to increase velocity, anti-clockwise to decrease.

Review Steyr LP1 - First Mode

Steyr LP1 - First Model






Sight Adjustments
Clockwise down (left hand knob).
Clockwise left (right hand knob).


1 click = 1.2mm @ 10m.

Trigger Adjustments

Trigger Stop: Turn Screw B clockwise to reduce after travel.
Sear Engagement: This is adjusted at factory. Should readjustment be necessary, remove grip, cock action and turn Screw E clockwise slowly until trigger releases. Recock trigger and turn Screw E counter clockwise - until a second stage can be felt in the trigger before it releases.
First and Second Stage Weight: This is adjusted by Screws A and C in tandem. Screw A is essentially the takeup weight, Screw C is an eccentric which has three positions that alter the second stage (or letoff) weight. The following table shows the three variants of settings.

Trigger Weight Balance
Factory Setting
This shows roughly how the trigger was set in the factory, with approx 350g on the first stage, and 200g on the second. Screw slot on Screw C runs across the pistol.
Variant 1
This shows the heaviest first stage and lowest second stage weight. Here setscrew C is turned in such a way that the facet located on the setcrew - corresponding to the highest point of the screw - is positioned at the left side (as viewed in firing direction). In order to achieve 500g Screw A will need to be turned clockwise. Readjust trigger stop after this adjustment.
Variant 2
This is exactly the reverse from Variant 1. When the facet on the setscrew C shows to the right (as viewed from firing direction) the second stage weight is set at its maximum. Screw A can thereby be turned counter clockwise to reduce to 500+g.
Note: Setscrew C can also be set at intermediate positions giving variable ratios of first and second stage weight.

Grip Adjustment

The grip is adjustable and pivotable to the frame in all directions to suit many different hand shapes and positions. To achieve this grip must first be removed.

Adjustment is made by means of six countersunk allen screws in the bottom and rear of the receiver housing. When adjusting these screws only move in 1/4 of a turn increments before replacing grip to see if enough adjustment has been made.




Regulating Pellet Velocity
Remove the grip.

Turn slotted screw in rear of receiver housing clockwise to increase velocity, anti-clockwise to decrease.

menembak Pistol SIG SAUER Kaliber 9 mm

Tan Zongliang

DOHA, December - Chinese marksmen shot down the 10m air pistol team gold here at the Lusail Shooting Complex on Sunday.

China's Tan Zongliang (left) shoots during the 10m air pistol team final of the 15th Asian Games in Doha, December 3, 2006. [Reuters]

World Cup winner Tan Zongliang, Lin Zhongzai and Pang Wei totaled 1,744 points for China.

The South Korean team, led by Olympic silver medalist Jin Jong Oh, took the silver medal with 1,739 points. Vietnam was third on 1,730 points.

"Pang Wei is out of form today," said Wang Yifu, head coach of the Chinese rifle and pistol team.

Pang, the 20-year-old newly-crowned world champion, collected 574 points in the 60-shot qualification round, placed 14th.

It was China's seventh shooting gold medal at the Asiad as the Chinese sharpshooters made a clean sweep of the top podium on December 2, the first competition day after the opening ceremony.

Air Pistol World record

Men's Air Pistol
Olympic Record	590/600	Yifu Wang, China	Sydney 00
	590/600	Franck Dumoulin, France	Sydney 00
with finals	688.9 (590+98.9)	Franck Dumoulin, France	Sydney 00
World Record	593/600	Sergei Pyzhianov, USSR	Munich 89
with finals	695.1 (593 + 102.1)	Sergei Pyzhianov, USSR	Munich 89

Women's Air Pistol
Olympic Record	390/400	Marina Logvinenko, Russian Fed.	Atlanta 96
	390/400	Luna Tao, China	Sydney 00
with finals	490.1 (389+101.1)	Olga Klochneva, Russian Fed.	Atlanta 96
World Record	393/400	Svetlana Smirnova, Russia	Munich 98
with finals	493.5 (390 + 103.5)	Jie Ren, China	Munich 99

A Do-It-Yourself Guide to your First Air Pistol Session

If you’ve never shot target pistol before, you have no local club or experienced shooter to give basic instruction and you want to give it a whirl – you’ve come to the right place. In this article I'd like to outline all the basics from safety to sound shooting technique. Follow these steps and you can begin a sporting career of distinction, or at least find out what Olympic style shooting is all about.

Safety

This is and will always be Number One on the list of priorities. Remember that there is NO SUCH THING as a shooting accident. Follow these simple rules and live by them – you will see what I mean.
1. Always point your pistol in a safe direction. On a range (even a basement range at home) this means down range towards the target. Always MEANS always – when taking your grip, cocking the action, sighting, dry firing – ALWAYS. Even when casing your gun, there is no reason not to be aware of where it is pointing. A short firearm like a pistol is so easy to swing into an unsafe position. Never forget it.
2. Always assume your pistol is loaded until you have proven otherwise – by opening the action (NOT by pulling the trigger!). This includes when you first take it from its case; it doesn’t matter that you KNOW you put it away unloaded, PROVE it to yourself. This is a good rule t

o adopt for any firearm you ever pick up, even if you are handed one, NEVER assume it’s unloaded, ALWAYS assume it is loaded until you prove otherwise.
3. Never attempt to use any firearm if you don’t understand how it works BEFORE you pick it up.
4. When your pistol is loaded you will retain complete control over it. Never lay it on the bench and walk away unless you first open the action to make it safe. There is no possible use for a safety catch in target pistol shooting. Your pistol is either loaded or it is not, there is no “safe” halfway point between.
5. When you walk forward of the line to change targets the pistol should always be on the bench, untouched, pointed downrange and unloaded with the action open.

Responsible use of your pistol means it is used as a tool, not a toy or weapon. Pointing it at anything but your designated target is a cardinal sin. Target shooting is one of the safest sports in the world because the rules are always followed. Failure to do so results in immediate expulsion from the range. Feel free to check out our safety record – accidents on ISSF ranges around the world are unheard of.

What do you need?

I’d recommend starting with an accurate air pistol with adjustable sights. Match pellets probably aren’t necessary for a start, but at least use a good brand of flat-nosed wadcutter pellets. They are the most accurate at target velocities, plus they cut much cleaner holes in the target than round nose. You will need a space about 36 feet long, with provision for a pellet trap. It also should be certain to have no human traffic crossing or appearing anywhere in front of the firing line. A basement or garage is ideal. A hallway may be safe if you live alone. The target trap should be designed to retain the pellet with no chance of having a ricochet come back towards the firing line. If you have nothing made specifically for this purpose, take a deep wooden box and stuff it solid with compacted newspaper. The immediate area around the target trap should also be rebound proof – something like plywood is great for a safe backer.

Regardless of this you should have some eye protection, ideally something that is optically correct. A bench is handy to rest your pistol on between shots. And of course regulation targets for 10 meter (33 feet) ISSF Air Pistol would be nice, but for your first outing they aren’t really necessary. The black bull measures about 3 inches across (this is the 7 ring), anyth

ing that comes close would be fine. Hang the pellet catcher around 55 inches from the floor and you have something pretty close to what they shoot at the Olympics.

How to hold the pistol.

It’s important that you grip the pistol the same way every time you take aim with it. Slight changes in the position of your hand, gripping tension, thumb pressure and even the positioning of your finger on the trigger will make a big difference to where the shots end up on the target.

Hold the unloaded pistol in your left hand (assuming you’re a right handed shooter) somewhere around the trigger guard. Push your right hand firmly so that the web of your hand between thumb and first finger fits against the upper rear recess of the grip, centralizing as best you can so that the pistol will become an extension of the line of your arm. An othopedic grip will make it easier to reproduce your hand position, but with care and by paying attention to detail you can do okay with even a basic molded grip.

A lot is said about how tightly you should hold on to a target pistol. There is no need to try to squeeze the sap out of the wood, neither will you be able to control the beast if you relax your hand. Firm enough to take control is best. The second and third fingers should do all of the gripping, and this should be limited to straight rearward pressure of the middle section of these fingers between the first and second joints. The thumb itself should have no sideways pressure as such on the pistol, although it is necessary to press forward a little with the very base of the thumb to give a contra pressure against the gripping fingers. Again, it must be stressed that the pressures exerted are straight back and forward.

Of course this will feel quite awkward at first. With practice it will start to feel natural. When the pistol is gripped in the shooting position, the wrist should also be locked. This means you make a conscious effort to make your wrist rigid to prevent the wrist from swiveling in any direction. The reason for this is simple when you think about it – imagine letting the wrist move freely – this will allow the line of the pistol’s barrel to deviate in an arc. The area that you might hit will be the size of a dinner plate, or larger, at 10 meters. Lock the wrist and you will of course still be moving about on the target, but by keeping the line of the barrel constant with your arm you will greatly reduce the probable impact area.

How to Stand

There is no perfect stance for pistol shooting. Your own stance will evolve as you become experienced enough to recognize your natural point of aim. So for a comfortable starting point, place your feet at about shoulder width apart, not too splayed and not too pigeon toed, about 45 degrees from the line to the target. Body shape may dictate a slight modification to this, a slender frame may start facing a little further from the target while a more full figure will probably need to be a little squarer to the target.

Within a short period of time you should be able to find a natural point of aim by assuming your grip on the pistol, straightening your arm, closing your eyes (or looking away) and raising your pistol as if to shoot. When you then check the line of the pistol against the actual position of the target you can adjust the position of your feet until a “blind lift” consistently brings your pistol in line with the target. If a slight adjustment is needed, try moving the rear foot a little at a time.

Balance is quite important, as if you are swaying while aiming you have another handicap you really could do without. Try to keep the balance equal between the balls and heels. If you allow the weight distribution to be too far one way or the other you will be quite unstable. It's also a good idea to anchor your non-shooting hand in a trouser pocket or hooked into your belt, this will be another aid to steadying the ship.

How to breathe.

Bet you never expected to be told how to breathe. After all, you’ve been doing it for years. But good breath control will make holding the pistol much easier. A good supply of oxygen to your body will improve muscle control, give clearer vision and keep the mind clear of minor distractions like having your face turn blue while you wait for the shot to break.

Rest between shots. You don't gain any bonus points for being the fastest to throw ten shots down range, so you might as well rest your arm and take a couple of deep leisurely breaths. As you raise your arm to shoot, take a full breath. As you lower the pistol into the aiming area, expel about a third of the breath and hold it there. You will receive the maximum benefit from your oxygen intake without the discomfort of holding full lungs. Take advantage of the next five to seven seconds, this will be about as steady as you will ever get.

What to look at.

It's most illogical and hard to accept for a new shooter, that the last thing you want to focus on is your target. After all, you want to see where you hit, and how can you hope to hit something unless you can see it clearly?

But you'll have to abandon your natural instincts and take a different tack. When playing golf, don't you look at the ball instead of the pin as you take your shot? It's the same for all ball games, you must keep your eye (and attention) on the ball, not the target area. You'll find out soon enough where the shot lands. With pistol it's so much more important to watch the sight picture because if your attention wavers for just a second or two you won't even see the misalignment that results in a shot missing the target.

So look at the sights. You'll know you're doing it right because the target will be fuzzy (it's physically impossible to have both sights and target in focus). Then when you squeeze the trigger smoothly you'll be surprised when the shot breaks, and pleasantly surprised when you see the results on the target.

How to correct your sights.

Sighting in your pistol may take a little time. It's best to shoot for a group when you first start, don't be tempted to go whirring on the sight adjustments as a result of a shot or two. Fire a minimum of ten shots, then take an average of the group and make your adjustments accordingly, to move the center of the group to the middle of the target. Always consult the manual to learn which way to turn your adjusting knobs as some of them can be a little tricky. Just about anything German will be backwards, you will turn the screw towards the R if your shots are going right - this is the opposite to what most of us expect.

How to score your targets.

A useful format to start with is a 40 shot match, shooting four targets of 10 shots. When you become used to the weight of the pistol you might extend it to a 60 shot (although for women 40 shots is their regular course of fire). You should comfortably fit 10 shots on a single bull, although if you're shooting paper (rather than card) targets you might have to limit yourself to five shots per target.

Better quality targets will cut a clean hole and allow for easy scoring. If the arc of the pellet hole cuts or touches the line of the next higher scoring ring, it scores as the higher value. It's a good practice to score down rather than up if there is any doubt - that way you will likely gain points in matches when it's scored using gauges. There's nothing so bad as feeling as though you've been cheated.

Why is this so hard?

For the same reason that it's such a satisfying sport. It is challenging, you're holding a weight in a completely unnatural position, fighting your base instincts to concentrate on seemingly unrelated factors in order to hit the same spot time and time again. It goes against our logic to shoot this way, and it goes against our nature to concentrate on performing the same task over and over without allowing stray thoughts to distract us. If it were easy, then possible scores would be commonplace, but a 100/100 in air pistol is extremely rare and I doubt a 600/600 will ever happen.

Your first concern will be how much your sights move on the target. It is very disconcerting to see them wavering all over the place like a drunken sailor. As you get used to holding this weight in such an unnatural position your hold will improve. But even the best of shooters have movement. It's really a good thing. The day you stop shaking will be the day you die, so feel good about it!

So just how well should a rank novice perform? If you are an average beginner you might keep all ten shots in the scoring rings of the target. If you have done some target shooting before and take careful note of what is written above, you may get close to holding the black. Most beginners will take some time to get to this stage, however.

The great thing about pistol shooting is the fact that almost anybody can become competitive at the highest levels. If you are reasonably fit you will be able to learn to hold nine ring within a relatively short time. If you can learn enough self discipline to perform well under pressure there is no limit to how far you can go.

Interview with Mikhail Nestruev

Mikhail Nestruev is one of Russia's top shooters. He has been European Champion on several occasions in numerous disciplines, and most recently was the winner at the 2000 Munich Airgun Matches in Air Pistol.

How old were you when you started shooting?
14 years old in 1982, I was in a sport school and I shot one time a week.

How did you progress up from there?
Just after two weeks I got a trainer and this trainer gave me the orders to train every day. There was a system if you were good at shooting you get more ammunition for training. I earned ammunition and also for the trainer I used my own ammunition in my rifle and I was like a hooligan and I shot through the window at my house.

And you started out shooting with the rifle or the pistol?
I started out with a rifle, after 6 months I turned to pistol. My first big success was to win the Moscow championships. After that I went to a special sport school for juniors just for shooting every day and then my results growing up every time and I was a lot of times in the European Championships Team.

What was your first major win?
The first time I was a European champion was 1986 in Standard Pistol in Budapest. The world championships for juniors in 1987 or 1988 I was second place.

Are you training for shooting at the same time you're doing army stuff?
Yes I'm still in the army in the army. I'm training twice a week. I believe smaller training is better results, I mean too much training you train also the faults and mistakes.

Did you get serious at the beginning or did it take you a while?
First I just shot for fun and then I became better and better, then shoot good. I can't decide, business, sports, school and I can decide what I will do with the time. I decide to train twice a week or so and the rest I'm learning for the future, I mean in the future my job will be a gunsmith. There are not so many gunsmiths in Moscow and I believe it's a good possibility for the future to be a gunsmith. I have a friend and he makes drills and also engravings and I'm also going to learn the job from the engraver.

What's your most valuable practice drill? What do you do for training do you dry fire or shoot, or point at a wall?
I never shoot dry fire. I have a fitness program and then I shoot with bullets, but I make a big mix. Sometimes I shot free pistol, sometimes air pistol, sometimes sport pistol, big bore. All of them are good for shooting. Shooting and training free pistol is good for holding, and shooting with big bore pistol is good for holding the pistol for the recoil, and so on, so I make it mixed.

How do you handle the mental game during a match?
Nothing special, just shoot.

How do you know when to take a break during a match, how do you know when to sit down?
No, normally I don't make a break.

What do you think about during the match?
I'm just thinking I must do all that I can to hit a ten every time. I'm not thinking for some mistakes, what I can do, I'm thinking what I can do to hit a ten. I am even thinking that ten is big enough I want to hit the middle, the center.

Do you prepare for a match differently at the beginning of the season verses later in the shooting season, like we've got the Olympic tryouts coming, will you prepare for a match differently?
I just train at the same style two times a week or so. Three weeks before the competition comes I start really hard to train.

Do you train with weights, weight lifting or anything, or running, cardiovascular exercises?
I have a small fitness program like all the other people, normal people. Just a little bit weight for the arms and a little bit run also, nothing special, not too much, not every day. When I'm in the sporting school I play football every day one hour and I go also to the sauna.

What one thing do you wish you could have learned earlier in your shooting career?
Difficult to answer, maybe I wished to start completely from the beginning. Nothing special, maybe it would be better to start from the beginning.

How do you select the front sight for your gun and the rear sight width? Do you make it special for each match?
So the front sight for every pistol is the same size as the black. With my pistol only I can shoot, the gap is too small for most people. Sometimes I change the position from the bulls-eye in sights, sometimes I have more, I go down, sometimes I go big (light gap), it depends on the light. I shoot on a lot of different shooting ranges of course, but my sight, the measurement of the front sight and the rear sight is good for me in each shooting range. It doesn't matter, bright light or dark light, just distance. I tried to train one time in the morning then next time in the evening, to change different shooting ranges, different times, all of that. The view of the sight is the same in every pistol, so free pistol, air pistol, doesn't matter, it looks like that.

I know years ago some of the Russian books I read on shooting used to advocate a U shaped front sight, but now do you like the square?
Long time ago, there were some shooters in Russia that used this sight for standard pistol, but not for free.

What is your funniest shooting experience?
Also nothing special. I have a good feeling every time I smile every day.

But you've not had something happen that was very funny? Somebody did something and everyone laughed?
No, I tried to make a joke. I live in Moscow and I have an absolutely normal face from Moscow. People I look like a Muscovite. That was like a joke; so if you can see a very honest people looking like that, he's from the Ural Mountains.

Do you make many changes between air pistol and free pistol and lift pistol? Any thinking?
Absolutely. I mean every kind of shooting is good for some technique. Air pistol is good for sights, sport pistol is good for my mind because I can shoot many times a ten, and free pistol is good for holding. The difference between free pistol and air pistol is free pistol I concentrate on the rear sight and the front sight at the same time. Air pistol I concentrate just only on the front sight and the differences also is if I has some moving with my body it's much more difficult with the air pistol then in sports pistols 25 meters, because the ten is bigger. So if the same movement I have in air pistol it's a bad nine, it's the difference.

Do you shoot your trigger on air pistol with over travel or not?
Probably normal trigger (right out of the box). And also 25 meters on the sports pistol. Important to trust the trigger, the point is very dry. It's important that the trigger is very very dry otherwise during the time I'm pulling the trigger I make errors up and down.

Do you when you're looking at the target do you want to know when the trigger breaks, cause you want it very dry, or you want it to surprise you because you are holding very still?
It's a surprise. The trigger weights for each discipline. For example 500 grams air pistol I take a minimum of 550, and if it needs 1000 grams I take 100 more over. In Centre Fire I go 300 grams over, and the last time after the competition they say the trigger is too heavy, and they tested the trigger and it was 2 kilograms! I mean the trigger weight is not really so important. The first time I tried to shoot with electronic trigger I didn't like it, I use a mechanical trigger. I am not sure the trigger weight is faulty, I believe I never had it tested.

Tell me about what air pistols you have shot?
All the time I shot with Feinwerkbau, all models, the 65 and the 90, the C20 and so on. As far as I shot every time Feinwerkbau since many years, the P34 has a very good feeling, I like the balance but I don't like the sights. The rear sight is too much in this position, too far to the rear. I didn't like that position, I shoot also very good with the P34 but I need too many times for training. I must much more train with the P34. And if I take too much time to train with the air pistol, the results with the free pistol are bad. I want to have the same sights for each competition in every kind of pistol, and in the Steyr I can move that, and that's it. I need less time to shoot good with the LP10. The most differences that I don't really know with the Feinwerkbau, I don't really know why the ten is left or right, up or down, I can't say why. The feeling for to hit the center of the ten is just the same for left ten or so, and the Steyr pistol is much easier to call from the shot (you know what I mean) so if I am thinking I shot a 10.2 on the left side then it is on the left side and not in the middle. The best (score) with the P34, that I have been shooting since nearly two years was a result of 589, and with the Steyr (LP10) pistol the best result was 591 even when I have only been shooting for two months, so it's just easier to shoot.

So you have only been shooting the LP10 about 2 months now? (January of 2000)
Yes, only a small time, but it's a very good pistol.

What do you think about the recoil absorbers that the P34 and the LP10 has as compared to say a P30 or an LP1?
I am not able to feel the shot absolutely, no movement at all. I just hear the ping and next I see the hit on the target and no feeling.

Do you think the LP10 or the P34 with no movement is better to shoot than the unstabilized guns?
Absorbers and stabilizing systems are good for shooting but I have my own special kind of thinking. I change the movement from the absorbers in the Steyr. I can do this as a gunsmith, and also in the free pistol I want to have a small, very small recoil. Absolutely no recoil I am thinking is not so good and the reason is if I have a small, a very small recoil, but it must be the same from shot to shot, but I like to see the point I am shooting. That one moment when I have a very, very small jump from the barrel so I can see that point, that moment, when leaving the bullet from the barrel. So I know but it must be from shot to shot the same, and I have made a change from the position of the absorber, but it must be the absorber, not the compensator. In that case it maybe is not so good. It has an influence in the groups. I like to have a good result and I have good training, so I can shoot good, very good with any kind of pistol, it doesn't matter. But in bad days or not so good days, it is important to know (when the shot breaks). In the competition today, I have only made two good tens 10.8 and 10.7. By this I mean, every other ten was 10.2, 10.3 and so only two really good tens, but they were tens. So that means I was really not so good but never the less I can hit the ten, even by shooting this way I can win even on a day when I'm not so good. I am always thinking to hit the center of the ten for each shoot, center of the ten, center of the ten, each shot and I am always waiting when does it come, that shot, the center of the ten.

Do you train any with like a SCATT, Noptel, or RIKA?
I train sometimes with the SCATT system but not so often. I think there is a big difference shooting with SCATT or RIKA system and real shooting because sometimes in the SCATT system I can see the holding is very good or at the last moment when the shoot breaks the shot comes right or so and I don't know the reason. It's not exactly know that point is, when I shoot. That is the difference between a real shoot (Editors note: it could be an older version of the software, or the unknown variables of pellet/bullet variations in flight, since the electronics systems use a perfect straight line, that is not possible in the real world).

Going into the standard pistol a little bit, since you have shot so many Feinwerkbau air pistols, Do you shoot the AW 93 as opposed to the IZH 35 (the Russian made gun that he the FWB is a copy of)?
The sports pistol, you mean the FWB pistol as a small bore pistol? I have the original pistol from Russia, same as the FWB. It is a very good pistol and this pistol does a lot for the shooter. It's easy to shoot the pistol FWB or the Russian that's the same and I also was testing of course Walther pistols and all of them are good pistols, but they really don't compare or, compete with the last Hammerli pistol. I think that's also a good pistol. A very good pistol. For the standard pistol discipline I am the holder of the Russian record with the Hammerli (SP20).

Another question, kinda odd ball. In America, a lot of air pistol beginners use the IZH46. Do you know it? The advertising claim is it has won many Olympic gold medals for the Russian team. Is this a popular beginners gun in Russia and what do you know about the IZH46?
In America? Really? It's the same in Russia a lot of people use this pistol when they start to shoot and I know a very good Russian shooter who is using only that pistol. And that shooter sometimes has the same score, like as mine. I don't understand this. I mean that it is very, very hard to shoot with this pistol because the speed is very low and so must always pump it, but this other guy has nearly the same results like me. And this guy I am speaking of was the European champion 1992 with that pistol. But I know that now he has a Steyr.

Do you shoot with a lot of junior shooters or do you help train young shooters and what if your were telling them to start out? What would you tell them?
I train two juniors, one of them has very good results the last time, he's not here but I suppose that he will go to the European championships already.

What would you tell a junior shooter starting out that they should concentrate on?
Each time the same. The most important thing for good shooter is the same for juniors It's a kind of thinking. I would always tell them what they have to do, not what they not have to do. Important is what you have to do to hit the ten, that's it, the most important thing. I know that most of the beginners want to shoot a lot (shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot) but that's completely wrong. The most, much more important thing is to shoot, but shoot slow and good (shoot,....shoot,...shoot, ....) is to shoot not so much but good.

Do you recommend dry firing for juniors or not, since you don't dry fire yourself?
I think most of the juniors want to go the discoteque or so and have not so much time. (Because) they doesn't want to spend much time for shooting and this small time when they shoot, it's better they really shoot and have fun and not so much dry firing. I think especially for the juniors, very important is the feeling of the guy after training. Does he have fun? Is it OK or not? Or was it boring? Therefore I mean shooting with ammunition is better than dry firing because after training they feel better. When I train juniors, it is really very important they have good feeling and they have fun. If one guy not have fun and stop shooting, then after that, another always stop shooting, and the next, and the next, so you must have a good atmosphere, shooting is nice. It was the same when I started to shoot. It was a very good atmosphere. It was in their shooting club that local men and women would get together, drink coffee and make themselves plans to go to the mountains and do something that had nothing to do with shooting.

Yes, that camaraderie is a very important thing, that we need to emphasize more in America.
. There is a interesting story, in my shooting club there was a woman, and this women came from the United States to Russia during the second world war, and then she live in Russia always until now. This is the person in the shooting club which I can a have always the most fun. She makes a very good feeling, She always was the optimist and so I had a very good relationship, and now she's gone back to the United States, to New York.

How old is she?
About 70 or a little bit more.

Did she marry a Russian or why was she there?
After the second world war she became a member of Russia, Soviet Union with her passport. In1990 the US embassy told her if she wants, she could go back to the United States. She wasn't married in Russia so she had a lot of relatives in the United States of course and she hadn't seen them in fifty years.

ISSF World Champion video

Interview with Jasna Sekaric

Yugoslav Jasna Sekaric has been one of the world's most successful woman shooters in ISSF over the past fifteen years, with European, World Championship and Olympic medals as well as being a former world record holder.

How did you get started shooting?
At school we had air rifle shooting. It was a start and then I went for two years to a shooting school.

When did you move from rifle to pistol?
I was shooting for three years with air rifle and small bore. Then there was the European Championships in Austria, 1985, I wasn't the best in air rifle, and I changed to pistol because we didn't have any competitors for the team and it was much easier to get in the pistol team, so I changed. I'm happy that I did it.

Were you happy at the time?
No, I was disappointed because I liked to shoot rifle. But now I think it was much better.

How old were you when you started shooting pistol?
The end of 1983 I was 17 and a half. A little bit late.

You've done well with it.
Yes, I learned it very fast, because in 1984 I was on the National Team, and in 1985 I took a medal, the only one for Yugoslavia. I was junior then, this was in Sport Pistol. Then in 1986 I was European Champion in Womens Air Pistol, and in 1987 World Champion, 1988 Olympic. It was very quick. But I was working so hard. Training every day. I like it very much. I was doing everything I needed to do exercises, I'd spend half my days on the shooting range.

What kind of physical activities did you do?
Every training session I would start with weights. A different kind of exercise, those that are important for pistol shooting, and then I would shoot. And shoot a lot. Because I liked it. Not so much now.

You don't do so much physical work now?
No, I am doing it, everything like I did at the start, but not so special (intense). I had a break for two years and now it's really difficult going back. So I was very happy to get a medal (at the Sydney Olympics).

Are you a famous person in Yugoslavia?
Yes. Almost everybody knows me. It's really fun. Yugoslavia is not so big. Our nation likes sport very much.

What is your favorite training drill?
I am trying to do different training, like I already told you, I don't train as much. From all those years of shooting I kept a diary. I am still doing it.

So does your diary tell what you need to concentrate on even today?
Yes, I think so.

How do you handle the match pressure?
It's very difficult for me to explain this in English. These days when I'm shooting I don't think about anything but shooting. I try not to concentrate on any other things that are not so important. But mental training, I never do anything. I was very quiet when I was a child. I used to play for hours alone. I was very quiet and shy. I am able to become this island. It is important to be able to be alone. To be calm. When I started, I became Yugoslav Champion. Then I thought, "Okay, now I will be European Champion". It was so normal for me to think that way. I have this inside of me, I never was satisfied, because when I was first in Europe I wanted to be first in the world, and then I was used to winning. I didn't think about it but in the competition I wasn't nervous at all. Now it's a little different. I didn't shoot for two years, when I had a baby, and then the bombing, so it was two years without real shooting, without normal training. This year I wasn't doing anything special, my shooting was not so good. But now I want to be the same again.

How do you like shooting the LP10 versus the LP1?
Not a lot of difference. But when I changed to the new model, it was like I told you, I needed something new in my training to bring me up.

What's your funniest shooting experience?
After the World Championship, my first one, I lost my pistol. It was not so funny. One day after my shooting I gave all my bags and stuff to my trainer and he was so excited but he lost the bag. Can you imagine? I was shooting with a Feinwerkbau Model 65. I was the only one in the Final with one of them. I was in first place with 8 or 9 points difference between me and second place.

Really? And what year was this?
1987. CO2 was just starting.

What do you shoot for Sport Pistol?
A Hammerli 215. I was forever trying to change but I couldn't shoot too well with any other model. My precision is very good, or it was very good. This year I didn't shoot so well in Sport Pistol. If you're shooting good with one model there is no reason to change. But for two years I tried other models but came back to the 215.

Do you use any of the electronic trainers?
Yes I started this year. The SCATT. It's helping me. Sometimes when I'm shooting, I shoot something that I can't recognize. You think the pistol went there all by itself, that you didn't shoot that. But with the electronics you can exactly see what happened. It's good.

What advice would you give a junior shooter starting out?
That talent is not so important. The only thing that is important is to work. If you work hard from the start you will work less in the future. It's also very important to make some competition every training session, right from the start. Make a game of it. Our trainer would at the end of every training session make a competition. This was where I first learned to win, and this is very important. The wish to win.

We wish you all the best for the future.
Thank you.