So, while playing sports is included in hobbies, the key word is relax. Nothing about Precision Rifle or any Shooting Sport can be described as relaxing.
I think it could be argued that “you’re doing it wrong.”
For me, shooting is about tuning out the rest of the world. No phone. No email. No traffic. No yappy neighbor dog. No Monday morning meeting. Etc.
Just you, the rifle, the “stage,” the wind, and the target.
Hell, the rest of the squad might as well not be there. Yeah, there’s a guy with a timer. But, he really just limits how long you’re in this zen state.
Kinda like Kevin Costner’s character in “For the Love of the Game.”
“Clear the mechanism.”
…
There are skills that are expected in order to compete in PRS. Reading the wind, building a stable position under time, and self spotting are high on that list.
Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a single arena for which the competition phase is where competitors expect to learn and practice new skills.
Tiger woods isn’t trying out a new grip at the Masters. The 49ers don’t draw up a new play on the sidelines in a playoff game. A batter doesn’t walk to the plate and say to himself “ima try lefty today.”
No, competition is where you exhibit the skills that you have honed in practice. If you can’t read the wind, expect to get skullfucked. If you can’t call your own impacts, expect to get skullfucked. If it takes you 2 minutes to build a position on a prop, well you’ll save a lot of money in ammo; and get skullfucked. Take your lumps and learn from them. Go practice the skills that are eluding you and come back. Test the effectiveness of your practice in competition.
Clint Smith says something like “Don’t try to learn new shit in a gun fight…”
But, that’s not what this thread is about, or at least that’s not how it started. I looked up the definition of “contrived” and am not sure it is appropriate for the phenomena being described.
1
a
: DEVISE,
PLAN
contrive ways of handling the situation
The prisoners
contrived away to escape.
b
: to form or create in an artistic or ingenious manner
contrived households utensils from stone
Native Americans
contrived weapons out of stone, wood, and bone.
I think a better description would be “devolved and ossified.” The phenomena being described is a lack of creativity, art, and ingenuity in stage design. Every stage is some form of “drop bag on barricade, drop rifle on bag, support rear with tripod, finger fuck 4 oz trigger…). There are very few skills being tested. The stages are watered down and boring. Yeah, the targets are small and the par times are aggressive. But, that only magnifies the devolved nature of the stages. MDs could hang “meatball” targets but use stage design (as opposed to target size) to increase difficulty. But, [some] shooters would complain that stages were “unfair.” And, it is just easier to hang a smaller target in front of the same tired barricade array.
And, at the end of the day, the customers are the shooters. And, in any market, repeat customers are the “bread and butter.” As it stands now, it appears that the repeat customers want stable props, minimal movement, and a test of individual skill. (I intentionally left “skill” singular.)
When you practice for PRS, you’re practicing for PRS. You’re not practicing for a hunting trip, or a deployment. Maybe some aspects carryover, but PRS competition only tests those skills applicable to PRS competition.
Could it be more? Yeah, it could be a lot more. But it’s not. And, this thread isn’t going to change that.