Breathing

It is hard to imagine how exhausting bullseye shooting is until you try it. I can hold my breath for 30 seconds easily while sitting in a chair doing nothing. However, if I do it while shooting, by the end of 30 seconds I need to take a breath.

I suspect we do not realize how much effort we expend holding that gun steady and carefully pulling that trigger. All those big muscles doing such little work, how hard can it be? Well, when you think about it, it probably is very hard. Your muscles related to shooting are used to big, relatively speaking, massive moves with minimal control. During the shot process, you are making really small, highly controlled moves, very quickly. I believe that this tires the body more so than big movements which your body is used to.

Most shooters will take a deep breath at their specific point in time during the range commands. They then exhale to a point of comfort and hold their breath at that point till the shot or string is over. This works for nearly everyone but sometimes that isn't enough oxygen to make it through the shot(s). I am a former smoker who never had a lot of lung capacity (even as a kid). On certain days I have to take 2 or 3 deep breaths so that I can make it through the entire string of shots. I suspect the environment might contribute to this variability, allergies, pollen, smoke, dry air, humid air, etc.

We have to train ourselves to be flexible with breathing. We know that if we take a breath during a shot, our point of aim will be changed. So, on days when I can't seem to get enough oxygen with a single breath, I will alter my shot process to take two or three. I don't make a big ordeal out it, I simply take a few more breaths. The thing to keep in mind is that we must be able to hold our breath long enough to make it through the shot (slow fire) or string of shots (sustained fire). If we fail to do this, we will begin rushing the shots so we can take a breath and that usually results in lost points.

How much does this affect the score? This would vary from person to person depending on how you react to running out of breath. For me, it can be pretty significant.