Going on "Tilt"

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For those not familiar, "Going on Tilt" is a poker phrase when your get put off your game and your concentration is broken so you make stupid mistakes. It's common enough that it has a name. Maybe similar to "bonking" in sports. You just hit that wall, and that's it. It takes a lot of skill to recover. Anyone familiar with such a thing in shooting?

I notice after a couple of hours, I just hit a wall. I'm physically tired. I can be prone, not moving anything but my trigger finger. And then the concentration of shooting out to hundreds of yards and minding errant movements of a fraction of an inch just exhausts me. Errant movements a non-shooter wouldn't notice, but that I can see as stupid mistakes. Then I start making bigger mistakes, skipping checklist items, not minding my breathing, jerking a trigger and just being DONE. Anything I do past that point is a waste of ammo and it's time to pack up for the day. I might switch to bore sighting a new weapon or something less impactful. But anything needing significant concentration is off the table.

Re: Going on "Tilt"

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sig230 wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 1:29 pm That sounds more like wisdom than "Tilt".
Hence why Kenny Rogers knew when to walk away. Not being aware of being on tilt and continuing to play just makes you shark bait. So, my curiosity is whether this is common among shooters as well. Where there's a physical/emotional state where following fundamentals just ain't gonna happen.
Last edited by 58Hawken on Mon May 18, 2020 9:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Going on "Tilt"

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It’s normal. I shot target in high school, and used to spend many hours in my garage shooting precision air rifles. Just like anything else, you’re worn out after a while. On my bicycles I notice my handling skills and attention to traffic going before my legs or lungs.
'Sorry stupid people but there are some definite disadvantages to being stupid."

-John Cleese

Re: Going on "Tilt"

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After about 2 hours, particularly standing at an indoor range, I know I'm worn out, and aware it's not the getting old that sucks, it's all the parts going 'way past their "use by" date! (Back, knees, wrists, shoulders, etc.)

I made many a pinball machine go 'TILT!" in my mis-spent youth!
Last edited by YankeeTarheel on Mon May 18, 2020 9:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Going on "Tilt"

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senorgrand wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 1:30 pm once it becomes work, it's time to pack up. YMMV
Agreed. Too many of us keep pushing through and expect a different result when we should pack it up.

Too competitive to quit, too hardheaded to remember it isn't a competition.
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: Going on "Tilt"

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If it isn't enjoyable, it must be golf! (I caddied as a teen and hated every minute of it, giving me a lifetime aversion to "shit"--oh! Wait---that 4-letter word was already take by ...shit :shit:)
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Going on "Tilt"

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K9s wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 7:14 pm Agreed. Too many of us keep pushing through and expect a different result when we should pack it up.
This weekend it was working on a new old scope for the SKS. It's really just my kids' plinker and I usually encourage them to use the iron sights, but I'd like an accurate scope on it. I overcompensated the adjustment somewhere and then started getting flyers, my math started going screwy, and I said, "That's it. I'm done."
Too competitive to quit, too hardheaded to remember it isn't a competition.
Love that.
senorgrand wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 8:34 pm Shooting is my alternative to golf. If it isn't enjoyable, I'm either doing something wrong (like fighting bad ergonomics on a rifle) or I'm done.
I have co-workers that talk about hitting a bucket of balls. I usually feel things out by saying I prefer a box of shells.

Re: Going on "Tilt"

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A golf course or "driving range" is actually the deliberate and willful misuse of land that could make a perfectly good rifle range.

There outta be a law.
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: Going on "Tilt"

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Merle wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 4:57 pm yeah, sadly I see it as related to aging... :(
I didn’t run out of focus back when I didn’t know how to focus. I run out of “it” sooner, but that’s cause I’m actually using “it”. I can blow through many hundreds of rounds in a session, but when I’m really on, I can shoot less than fifty and be exhausted.

It comes with age, but it isn’t decreasing ability so much as increasing.
Image

Re: Going on "Tilt"

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Marlene wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 11:39 pm
Merle wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 4:57 pm yeah, sadly I see it as related to aging... :(
I didn’t run out of focus back when I didn’t know how to focus. I run out of “it” sooner, but that’s cause I’m actually using “it”. I can blow through many hundreds of rounds in a session, but when I’m really on, I can shoot less than fifty and be exhausted.

It comes with age, but it isn’t decreasing ability so much as increasing.
I like your attitude!
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: Going on "Tilt"

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Marlene wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 11:39 pm I didn’t run out of focus back when I didn’t know how to focus. I run out of “it” sooner, but that’s cause I’m actually using “it”. I can blow through many hundreds of rounds in a session, but when I’m really on, I can shoot less than fifty and be exhausted.

It comes with age, but it isn’t decreasing ability so much as increasing.
Hear, hear. When I'm on, I can make a box last hours. When I'm not, I can blow through one in minutes.

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