The art of shooting is an extremely demanding exercise. It demands great concentration, skill and precision to deliver the perfect shot under enormous pressure. A winning performance depends on a number of different aspects.
Things like wind condition, lighting, equipment or just the way you feel that morning can affect your performance.
Any good shooter will tell you that to maximize the chances of success in this sport; you have to minimize the variables. Knowing exactly how your gun and ammo will respond when you pull the trigger is just one of these aspects.
The Gun
Very few professionals will change their gun manufacturers through a tournament. In fact, they will stick to one gun for training and the actual event itself. This is because even the same make of the gun made by the same manufacturer will behave a little differently.
This minute difference is all that separates the winners to the also-rans.
Depending on the shooting event the guns vary. Some of the top manufacturers of guns for professional shooters are Beretta, Dan Wesson, Remington. There are a number of other top quality gun manufacturers as well.
However, their popularity among the pro athletes is much lesser.
Role of Ammunition
The gun and the ammunition inside have to be of top notch quality to provide the best performance to the shooter. There are many considerations to be taken in mind when judging ammunition like ballistic co-efficient, premium propellant powder as well as bullet design and cartridge quality.
A top notch shooter will be well versed with the physics of projectile motion, wind drag and aerodynamics to really understand the sport and its equipment performance.
Of course cost is also an issue here as the art of shooting requires a large amount of ammunition to be shot. Not an issue if the sports federation is paying for it, however if you are an independent performer, then it can quickly start burning a hole in your pocket.
A lot of shooters prefer to use quality product from a big name manufacturer, Hornady ammo in particular is extremely popular on the professional circuit.
The Mind
Olympic medal winners often speak of how getting their mental focus right for the sport was their biggest challenge. The athletes need to make a cocoon for themselves isolating themselves from the intense pressure and go into the zone at will.
This is a task that often proves to be much more difficult than perfecting the physical skill of shooting.
These three form the areas over which the shooter must have complete mastery and control to reach the summit of their sport. Once there, everything but the target disappears.