nfh, Pretty interesting reply there, i have couple thoughts to share...
There is a ton of difference between a "fun" and a "serious" shoot.
Those long ago Bacon shoots that i got to be labeled as a ringer, were fun six shot rounds. Intimidation and trying to distract a guy off his shot was part of a lot of guys game, maybe they thought that they couldn't win any other way.
When i had that shooting Coach though and was shooting 200-250 serious practice birds a day, he tried to teach me to concentrate on nothing else other than what i was doing, get a system going and keep it, and not to be distracted by what others might say or do. The plan was to get into a "automatic" See the bird, Bust the bird, deal and if anything breaks your concentration, anything, don't call for the bird until you are again back in that mindset.
As an example, i could be going straight thru 80 or so birds when i might notice a ant packing a bigger dead ant crawling on the ground in front of me. If when my turn came around and i hadn't gotten that bug out of my head and got back into my groove, i'd be sure to miss that bird every time, every time, it was uncanny but true.
The Bacon shoots were fun. All the practice birds i shot were fun too but in a different way. I'm not sure that the two ways of having fun go together very well but it's nice when you bust birds however which way you do it.
Joey
"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"