This is my third article about the different fundamentals needed to become proficient in bullseye.

BREATH CONTROL

To shoot well one must become motionless. Breathing causes motion, so it must stop....but in doing so you are robbing your body of the oxygen it needs to perform well. Lack of oxygen causes muscle fatigue and loss of vision (in fact, the eyes are the first thing in your body to go). Fortunately, these effects are not felt immediately because we have a reserve of oxygen in our system to sustain us for brief periods, and the more aerobically fit you are, the longer you can last.

To insure that you have enough oxygen in your system to last for the 10 to 20 seconds needed for a slow fire shot or timed fire string you need breath control.

Taking two deep breaths (inhale slowly nose, exhale quickly mouth) before a shot or string does two things....lowers your carbon dioxide blood level (which tells the brain when to breathe), thus reducing our urge to breathe and also gives you sufficient oxygen to avoid eye and muscle fatigue.

Then take a third normal breath as you bring your gun on target and exhale half the air to leave your lungs in a "neutral", comfortable state (too much or too little air in the lungs will cause an uneasiness to inhale or exhale to relieve the pressure). Some listers have proposed having a little more air than you need and slowly letting it out as you shoot. Try it and see if you like that method. But remember, your chest must not move.

Since your body is accustomed to pauses between breaths you can stay motionless in this state until you begin to run out of oxygen. Hopefully, you will have finished shooting before that happens. If you run out of air in slowfire, put the gun down and start all over again since you are definitely holding too long and your eyesight is losing focus and your wobble area is increasing. In sustained fire, you can take a quick inhalation of air during recoil to revive yourself (the effect is almost instantaneous for your eyes and muscles).

If you cannot hold your breath for timed fire, even after taking two deep breaths prior, you are not aerobically fit and need to improve your aerobic capacity by walking or jogging exercises. If you are a smoker...well, duh!

This is the easiest fundamental to master since your body "knows" involuntarily how to do it. Just help the process along by remembering to oxygenate first and then leave the lungs and diaphram in a relaxed state while shooting.

I know it seems as if I went into a too long explanation for what amounts to just "take a couple of quick breaths and hold it", but understanding the mechanics of "why" is, in my opinion, a reinforcement in understanding how important subtle things are when you are trying to something as difficult as precision shooting. Plus, I like to "hear myself talk".

Ron Steinbrecher