Shooting While Sick.

[Jeff B]

I was almost thinking today, and i thought about this. Shooting when your sick. I remember my son did last year with Strep Throat and got a 7th place /12 finish and wasnt very pleased. Is there a pausitive for shooting when sick? I really doubt it but i was thinking, with a shallow pulse and a stuffed-up nose makes it a lil harder to exhale or inhale when holding a shot. but then i was thinking about fatigue. that would be a nagative i suppose. I was just wondering what everyone thought about shooting when they are sick.

Jeff.

[Martin H]

Hi Jeff,
Some of my best scores have been shot while I have been suffering from some form of illness, usually a really bad head cold etc. My memory of the match is usually hazy, usually only trying to concentrate on breathing or a clear front sight and that about all.

Which all goes to suggest I think far too much when I am shooting while healthy and well :-)
Cheers
Martin

[RobStubbs]

You can't choose when you're sick and unless it's real bad, I'll shoot through it rather than pull out of a competition. I can't remember doing especially well with a cold but it's not the sort of thing I think about or remember.

Rob.

[wrc]

If you're fatigued, it may not be worth it, if you'll just be shooting poor shots and reinforcing the bad habits. And for pete's sake, don't infect your fellow competitors! Snuffling, sneezing, coughing, sniffling shooters should definitely stay off the firing line - it's a distraction, if not a health hazard! :^)

[Richard H]

I've shot well when sick or injured and I've shot terrible when sick or injured. Not really much you can do about it's sort of a moot point. Maybe had I been well when I shot those good score they might have been even better, so I wouldn't attribute any success to being sick, but I'd blame failures on being ill ;)

[rjl227]

Thats funny that this post came up. I've had a cold for about a week now and had the state championships for th Connecticut High School League on Wednesday. I didn't think much about it, just trying to concentrate on shooting the perfect 10. I came out with a perfect 200, first one ever shot in the championships. So what I'm trying to say is, I don't think it hurts much, if you just concentrate on what you're trying to accomplish.

[hb10mshoter]

I KNOW i shoot better when i'm sick. Several of my team mates are like this also. I think you don't think about your job or whatever and just get the job done in a good way

[Snookie]

I actually shot my highest Kneeling score ever when I had a bad cold, although the rest of my targets pretty much sucked.

[2659 Plus]

I shot many times while sick Only had to withdraw from one match where I ciuld not get into sitting in a high power Match. My scores were within normal range as long as I avoided medication. Something in even aspirin caused a slight disruption in how I interpited visual information to the detrimint of my performance. Good Shooting Bill Horton

[HOSER]

My deceased shooting coach once told me that the Eastern Block shooters would actually give their rifle shooters the flu a week or so before a major competition. This was in the Late 70s.

Not sure if that were true or not.

Frank Briggs might know more...he was a teamate of my coach.

Hosè R.