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I don’t mind excuses, if we could get rid of “1/2 moa all day long if I do my part”
It’s 1/4” on the rimfire forums…. Just saying. :) In the end, a gun is only accurate as we are. Doesn’t do much good if someone else can shoot dinky little groups with my guns.
 
My wife does the same with her cooking. Before anyone takes a bite, it’s an excuse on why it isn’t better than it is. I guess we have to do the same with our shooting. Lol
...some of us know about British cuisine...ROFLMAO...greetz from the Netherlands (where things are only slightly better, lol)
 
Actually no excuses are needed these days. Years ago when I went to bench matches (powder burner), I could look down the line and know the 2 or 3 guys I need to outscore to win. Now days at many matches half the field is capable of winning. More guys with good equipment and more access to good information today. This means you can't go and expect to win, you must earn that win. Enjoy the experience, the competition, and companionship. I tell new shooters to forget the field, beat the target and you will be successful. I know my biggest and most honest excuse......It's ME.
 
Actually no excuses are needed these days. Years ago when I went to bench matches (powder burner), I could look down the line and know the 2 or 3 guys I need to outscore to win. Now days at many matches half the field is capable of winning. More guys with good equipment and more access to good information today. This means you can't go and expect to win, you must earn that win. Enjoy the experience, the competition, and companionship. I tell new shooters to forget the field, beat the target and you will be successful. I know my biggest and most honest excuse......It's ME.
That’s the way I look at golf, I can’t beat anyone there, I have to beat the course and that’s all I have control over.
 
These individual sports / hobbies teach us a whole lot about ourselves. I.e., Singles Tennis, Golf, wrestling, Chess, Competition Bench rest shooting, etc. I liked team sports in HS much better, but DO recognize the importance of “ the buck stops here,” with individual sports. I will say, the BR discipline can be humbling!

Windy at the range today, sinuses acted up, 70 mph winds, too crowded, elevation 10,000 feet, dirty barrel, bad pellets, and with all of that going on….., still could not hit the X dot!

Must be all of the other variables.

Ha ha - time for a brewski.
 
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I think my son was 8 years old. He and I were shooting at the bench, using one of the NRA score targets, and he had a few 10 rings, but more farther out. I was explaining the scoring, and trying to coach a little on the basics, things he could improve. He responded, "or, I could just use a bigger target!" Gotta love the philosophy of an 8 year old. I gave him a bigger target.
 
I’m sure this doesn’t just apply to benchrest shooters. Think of stuff you’d say to women when you were full of testosterone (for men beyond that point in life)... Or fishing tales. Do you talk about your shooting abilities similarly?

As for shooting paper I’ll say stuff to try to make myself feel better sometimes and post photos of targets - good, mediocre, and bad. Sometimes it is crazy windy though. Kudos to guys going out to shoot in that and producing considerably tight groups in attempt to master reading wind. You may be being a tad dramatic on that point Mike, but I’m sure you hear more excuses than some of us.

I don’t want to care much for what many others think about my bad groups, so long as someone can assist me when I need it. The truth is that I’d like to be a better shot than I am. This one reason why I practice. At the end of the day what’s on paper is just what it is. Regardless of what I did or said, the proof is on perforated paper. But when I see improvement, then comes more confidence and I love to take that into the woods with me.
 
I think it’s because no matter how “good” your groups are there is some keyboard warrior with a crosman pumpmaster who will respond that they shoot better.

I am a moderator on several forums and a newbie will post pictures of their groups and get ripped to shreds . Eventually they stop posting pictures or joining comments altogether.
I started with pumpers🤪🤙
I posted my horrible groups that I was happy with. And everyone still seemed happy for me with input to help improve🤷‍♂️🥴 I listened and improved 🤗
*it's about the fun
So if they aren't here for fun, that's no fun😅
 
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Somewhat aware of these tendencies ... when speaking about how good or accurate a shooting session went, I tend to add ..
( With good Trigger breaks or Form etc .. ) admitting to being human and not perfect. ( Still an excuse tho 🤪 )
We as shooters are NOT machine rests, nor do we generally shoot in ideal conditions. Given how well a lot of folks do / can shoot it is quite impressive that the targets we get to see are good as they are .. IMO