Hopefully you all had a happy holiday season with as much (or as little) family as you like. Maybe you even got to unwrap a long box or a particularly heavy one.

Now, the New Year is upon us. I've never been one for resolutions, though I did share one in the Stumper a couple years ago to step outside my comfort zone and shoot a handgun match. I did and proved to all that I'm a pretty good shot... With a rifle!

I would like to be a great handgun shooter. (OK, I'd settle for decent.) I'd also like to be a great offhand rifle shooter. Those are fine goals but goals aren't what make one a better shooter. To be a better shooter requires a plan. Olympic shooters plan their entire season (and beyond.) One can't cram for a shooting match like a history test, the training plan is followed and the matches “happen” in the course of training. If the training is effective the match will go well.

Lanny Bassham, 50 Meter Rifle Olympic Gold medalist and mental training coach, calls it “Process and Result”. Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, calls it “Systems and Goals”. As different as those two individuals are, they both attribute their success to making and acting on the same distinction.

My “goal” of being a great offhand shooter isn't enough. I need to resolve a “system” to shoot offhand every chance I get. I'll shoot every offhand match I can. I'll shoot air rifle offhand when I can't get to the range. I'll dry fire practice offhand. And when I shoot standing for High Power, I'll see if I hit my goal.

So, if you do make a resolution this year, resolve a system and you will be far more likely to achieve your goals.

Good luck in the New Year!

-Alan Richmond