I'm addicted

BCFred said:
Hello Shawn! Nice to have you here. I think it is extremely brave of you to start coming out of the closet!!! It is kind of you to say I sound like a character too, but it is a pretense. I have no character and no money left after starting to shoot clays:(. I said brave things like Claybuster at first, but I'm beyond that now and am working on accepting that there is a problem. I just hate to see a brother in denial, hopefully he will make it through. I've tried prayer. I've tried talking about the problem. I've even tried promising to quit and I've tried 37 different forms of therapy (bit of a lie here...I've only tried 26). I tried reassuring myself by citing the prayer about walking down the street and learning to walk around the hole in the street I keep falling into. I tried not hanging around other shooters. I even tried weaning myself off them by shooting by myself like the guy who spent $10,000 on individual equipment and was having trouble buying food. To give you a measure of just how difficult the problem really is, I even tried the taper off route in shooting and have gone down to 7/8 oz loads in skeet. I haven't had the guts to go below 1 oz in trap. All I have to show for the effort I've made is an increase in shooting and my scores didn't even drop (They didn't get all that much better either). You see...no character at all. Maybe accepting the problem will start me on a healthier and more socially acceptable route. On the other hand, I might hit more clays... I really didn't say that did I!!!:eek:
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Not to worry Fred, C'mon over to my place, we'll throw a dead piece of meat on the grill, do some shooting, and enjoy some bevvies afterwards.
 
I took out one of my hand throwers the other day with a buddy. It was a great time.

#1 advice- Take your time to shoot. You have more time than you think.
 
My goal is 25 out of 25, I am somewhat of a newbie shooting trap.I shoot a REM 870TB and an old Parker SXS Yesterday I shot a 24 out of 25 and I fear now the sickness has really begun,Damn I only needed to to hit just one more and I could quit,honest I really would quit, just one more
 
lyktohunt said:
My goal is 25 out of 25, I am somewhat of a newbie shooting trap.I shoot a REM 870TB and an old Parker SXS Yesterday I shot a 24 out of 25 and I fear now the sickness has really begun,Damn I only needed to to hit just one more and I could quit,honest I really would quit, just one more
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My advice is to quit for a few weeks, then go back at it, and forget about the 25 - before you realize it you will be halfway through your first 50 straight!:cool:
I worried about it constantly when I was a kid, and would pooch about the 2nd or 3rd bird EVERY time on my last station.
During handicap squads it never bothered me because it was so far out of my realm - I shot my first straight doing it in handicap BEFORE my 16 yard straight came !!LOL!
Cat
 
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lyktohunt said:
My goal is 25 out of 25, I am somewhat of a newbie shooting trap.I shoot a REM 870TB and an old Parker SXS Yesterday I shot a 24 out of 25 and I fear now the sickness has really begun,Damn I only needed to to hit just one more and I could quit,honest I really would quit, just one more
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The sickness is deceptive. I have no doubt that you will soon get your 25, but I also doubt that you will quit. You may relax a bit and even start to think you are normal. For a while the odd miss will not seem to be a big deal and 25s will start to come on a regular basis and without even trying you will do a 50 and maybe even 75 then the sickness which you thought was gone will whisper in your ear "Dude you are awsome! You were created to shoot clay! You can prove this by notching 100". It's the same voice that haunted you to your 25. It's time to face the fact, that resistance is futile. At this point you may think about selling your soul, to be great, but you can't do that because you sold it long ago. Might as well accept yourself with all your imperfections and enjoy a few sins along the way.
 
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Covey Ridge said:
The sickness is deceptive. I have no doubt that you will soon get your 25, but I also doubt that you will quit. You may relax a bit and even start to think you are normal. For a while the odd miss will not seem to be a big deal and 25s will start to come on a regular basis and without even trying you will do a 50 and maybe even 75 then the sickness which you thought was gone will whisper in your ear "Dude you are awsome! You were created to shoot clay! You can prove this by notching 100". It's the same voice that haunted you to your 25. It's time to face the fact, that resistance is futile. At this point you may think about selling your soul, to be great, but you can't do that because you sold it long ago. Might as well accept yourself with all your imperfections and enjoy a few sins along the way.
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I found the drug to get me off of the clay drug , it is the methadone of drugs called Cow Boy Action shooting, now I can quit both anytime, however I do not have time to think of ways to bring myself down as I am to busy working two jobs to support my habits. What is it with gunpowder and lead anyways?
 
I'd like to acknowledge Covey Ridge for the wonderful step he has recommended by going beyond acceptance. I kept struggling with acceptance but had no idea what I was supposed to do after it happened. Now I can just accept the problem and go out and enjoy it!!! I think this one is going to work for me and I think it is a brilliant resolution.:) I'm going to try it tomorrow at practice. Lyktohunt has also contributed brilliantly to a new approach by introducing cowboy action shooting as a possible deflection strategy. I'm sure he could quit either at any time, just like he says. It's just possible too that if any of us started both and could quit either of them we might get the confidence to try and quit the other. I think some real progress is being made here in building confidence.
(Just as a footnote to an earlier comment that one doesn't have to rush to take the bird. I think this has helped me get out of a recent slump, but I think one should use the extra time to get a good look at the target or taking more time wont help all that much.)
 
BCFred said:
(Just as a footnote to an earlier comment that one doesn't have to rush to take the bird. I think this has helped me get out of a recent slump, but I think one should use the extra time to get a good look at the target or taking more time wont help all that much.)
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Very good point. See the target, then shoot the target. Speed does not come by hurry, but by efficiency of your move, mount, and shot. Taking the time to see the target clearly should come before any gun movement.
 
Hi my name is Burke I started trap shooting in 1993/94. With in 2 months I was shooting PITA compatition. Yes I am a trap junkie, and not afraid to addmit it. It all started as a get away, and to become a better wing shooter. I would hate to geuss how much I have spent and won while particapatting in this game, or how many 1,000's of targets I have shot.

Good luck to you and your son.
 
bearhunter338-06 said:
Hi my name is Burke I started trap shooting in 1993/94. With in 2 months I was shooting PITA compatition. Yes I am a trap junkie, and not afraid to addmit it. It all started as a get away, and to become a better wing shooter. I would hate to geuss how much I have spent and won while particapatting in this game, or how many 1,000's of targets I have shot.

Good luck to you and your son.
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There are some genetic underpinnings to addictions. Maybe that's why yours progressed to competition shooting so fast. It is encouraging to us all to see someone unafraid to admit their junkie status too. I can help with the amount spent (lots:)) and how much won (Just a little less than the amount spent, unless you factor in the fun of doing it and you're working as a professional.:)) As a guess, since you're competing bearhunter, you probably shooting over 7K a year, probably more like 10 to 15K.

Would like to second your wish for good luck for the man and his son. It's important to learn to handle addictions when young. Some of the better memories I have are shooting with my dad when I was a kid. One learns a lot of important things doing it too...
 
:runaway:its defenitly an addiction i started shooting hand thrwn targets said i think ill try trap big mistake now i shoot trap every sunday sprting clays everyweek rifle when i can and now people are sayin why dont u get a 9mm handgun im like shhhhhh the addiction will here u:rolleyes:
 
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