# When you can't hit a darn thing and you have no idea why.... what do you do?



## Byudzai (Aug 31, 2013)

What do you usually decide is the problem? What are the elements of technique you are most likely to let slip?

For me it seems to be 1) left arm steadiness, 2) relaxed pouch hold hand, 3) overall body tone/stance/posture. But I'm not sure, because it's always a bit of a mystery. Would love to hear what y'all do in similar situations.


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## Blade (Jun 5, 2014)

I walk away. Sometimes you just need a break. If i'm working with metal, wood, etc. I can't force myself to do it or else I mess up. You just gotta be "feeling it" you know? (Except working on my truck... I ALWAYS have to force myself to do car work.)


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## S.S. sLinGeR (Oct 17, 2013)

Yup stop shooting for a bit and recoup. Hapens to everyone.


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## squirrel squasher (May 17, 2013)

Stop before you bust a fork haha. It's just one of those days if not change your shooting stlye for a bit explore something new


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## erniepc1 (Jun 7, 2014)

I stop. Go work on a new target box. Cut some bands and string up some sets. Work on a new tying setup. Continue shaping a new hand grip. Anything related but not actually shooting. Just to relax and think of something else. I even cut the grass occasionally.

shoot straight and enjoy life.

Ernie


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## Greavous (Sep 29, 2013)

If I want to miss what Im aiming for all I have to do is hold longer than normal and think about it for an extra moment. So make sure you arent simply over thinking things. There really isnt just one thing that makes a shot on the money or a miss. Its several things such as anchor point, how you hold the frame square to the bands, how you hold your head to see down the bands..... Change one of those and you wind up off the mark again. Its called shooting form in my book, just like archery. Do the same thing the same way over and over. I think the one thing I can over look and compromise a shot is to hurry loading a ball in the pouch and not grasp the ball by the sides like I always do when im thinking. Uniform let-off counts too!

And I couldnt hit squat for a couple weeks when I started. And shooting has always come rather natural to me. Once you start noticing how changing how you did this or that makes this or that difference you will be on the way to hitting more stuff.


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## Urban Fisher (Aug 13, 2014)

I'm still perfecting my skills and have a long way to go, but I do notice when I first start shooting is usually when I shoot at my best. Not sure if that is normal. Example...I come home form work and pick up my SS. I usually shoot the first 10 or so pretty good. Then it seems the more I shoot the worst I get. And as that happens, sometimes I get frustrated and I shoot even worst!!!


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## Drhanson (Jul 2, 2014)

I am new to shooting SS but I did shoot archery for 25 years both for hunting and competition, I have found that shooting a slingshot requires the same disciplines as archery.

With me when I am shooting, if I am shooting left, right, high or low consistently then I usually just stop and try to determine what specific thing I am doing wrong, if I determine

what the problem is I will continue shooting. If I find that my shots are all over the target, then with me it is one of two things, I am tired or my mind is some place else, and in either case I will stop shooting until the next day. It is too dangerous to shoot when your body or mind are not working properly.


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## Pebble Shooter (Mar 29, 2014)

I used to shoot a recurve bow at a club range, and liked the challenge of getting my arrows to group very tightly on red plastic coke bottle caps at 20 to 30 yards. Some days I would perform top notch, whereas other days, well, the arrows went everywhere on the target. I have found that when shooting any type of weapon, one has to be totally concentrated on the task i.e. not have one's mind wandering off on another subject, or worse, personal worries about something.

Of course there are also the physical issues i.e. body alignment like in archery (see Drhanson), correctly holding the slingshot without too much force, holding one's breath before the shot (this also applies to firearms), and shot follow-up, but how one feels physically and mentally on any given day will have a tremendous impact on results.

A slingshot will generally shoot accurately if it was made with a minimum amount of attention to basic structural details.

Bottom line: shooting a slingshot accurately ? Well, one has good days, and days where it's probably better just to pack up and do something else before getting utterly frustrated.


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## poekoelan (Jan 1, 2013)

I would try this:

Have a shooting session, knowing that you will miss quite a bit going into it so that you won't get frustrated. Enjoy it if you should should hit your target. But when you miss, keep track of where your misses are going. Most likely you will see a pattern. For example 70pct of your misses are to the right and 30pct are to the left. Tackle the biggest chunk first. Figure out what is happening to make those shots go right and work on bringing those shots more to the center before working on anything else.

I did this with archery and it took time and patience but it definately improved my shooting. Just an idea.


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## An Evolving Ape (Aug 16, 2014)

I usually hold my breath before I release... If I need more accuracy, sometimes I time my release so that it occurs in between heart beats... kidding!


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## JonM (Aug 17, 2013)

The yips can affect anyone. Similar to buck fever. Practice w/o expectation once in a while, Make your targets larger, try to get a video of how you shoot parallel to your body or use a mirror to glance at you stance & hold. Take a break & step away for a bit are all things to try. You'll get dialed in & may not even figure out what was going wrong. Most of all, don't let it get you down, as we all go through times like that. :wave:


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