03/03/2026
Social media is full of perfectly Photoshopped targets posted by precision snipers who āhavenāt shot in six monthsā and yet somehow produce the most magical card known to mankind.
And honestly⦠as a relatively new target shooter, that can mess with your head.
You scroll socials, you see another perfect little cloverleaf with a caption like ājust a quick casual practice, nothing specialā and suddenly youāre thinking:
āAm I even improving?ā
āWhy donāt mine look like that?ā
āIs everyone else shooting 10s in their sleep?ā
So tonight Iām posting something a bit more real.
On the left: a card shot by someone far superior to me with an air rifle on our LSR rage. Absolutely nailed it.
On the right: what I shot this evening with a club .22 R***r.
And do you know what?
Iām happy with my card š
Is it perfect? Nope.
Any excuses? Also nope.
I hadnāt shot in a couple of weeks, I turned up, did the scope, did the safety checks, and put five rounds downrange.
For me, thatās pretty good and Iām proud of it.
Iām probably never going to be the shooter who posts perfect inner-10s all the way through and collects 500 likes and a sponsorship offer from a FB post.
Iām like the rest of us, more interested in showing what ānormal progressā looks like after about a year and a half in the sport, especially when youāre shooting a well used club rifle thatās seen more hands, more ammo, and more opinions than the kettle in the clubhouse.
If youāre shooting air or smallbore .22 and your cards donāt look like theyāve been printed by a laser printer:
Good. Youāre actually shooting š
Post the real cards. Celebrate the real wins:
a steadier hold
a better group than last time
a clean, safe session
learning what you need to work on
You donāt need perfect cards to be happy in this sport.
You just need to turn up, take your shots, and enjoy the process. šÆ (Okay yes, I used one target emoji, couldnāt resist.)
Alex