One of the most challenging aspects of PRS is making on-the-clock adjustments and corrections. If you’re like most shooters, your mind tends to blank out everything you’ve prepared before the timer starts. Before you know it, the stage is over, and you’re left wondering what happened. If this sounds familiar, then this article is a must-read.

Here, we’ll dive into how to effectively use your dope card to stay on target and make accurate wind calls beyond the first target.

First, let’s understand why we often forget everything once the stage timer starts and performance pressure kicks in.

The reasons listed below explain why all those fancy techniques you read about online do not work under pressure. They demand too much thinking when thinking is the last thing you should be doing. Instead, you should rely on muscle memory, and your wind process needs to be as simple as possible yet effective. This is a key reason why military and law enforcement training emphasizes simplicity for effectiveness. With over 10 years in law enforcement, it’s also why I’d never take training or advice on performing in a life-or-death situation from someone who hasn’t been there. They simply cannot grasp the effects of extreme pressure on the mind and body.

Experiencing performance pressure in competition is common and can trigger various cognitive and physiological responses, including forgetfulness. Here are some reasons why individuals may forget things under performance pressure:

• Stress and Anxiety:
  • High-stakes competitions often induce stress and anxiety, which can interfere with cognitive processes. Stress hormones, such as cortisol, may impact memory and attention, making it more challenging to recall information accurately.
• Cognitive Load:
  • Performance pressure can increase the cognitive load on individuals. When the brain is dealing with a high amount of information or tasks, it may become overwhelmed, leading to difficulties in recalling specific details.
• Nervousness:
  • Nervousness and tension can contribute to forgetfulness. The heightened state of arousal may cause individuals to focus more on their anxiety rather than the task at hand, leading to lapses in memory.
• Attentional Narrowing:
  • Under pressure, individuals may experience attentional narrowing, where they focus intensely on specific aspects of the task while neglecting others. This tunnel vision can result in overlooking important details or forgetting crucial information.
• Impaired Working Memory:
  • Performance pressure can impair working memory, the system responsible for temporarily holding and manipulating information. Forgetfulness may occur when the ability to retain and process information in the moment is compromised.
• Inhibition of Retrieval:
  • Anxiety and pressure can interfere with the retrieval process of memories. Even if information is stored in long-term memory, the stress of the situation may inhibit the ability to access that information when needed.
• Task Complexity:
  • Complex tasks or those requiring a high level of concentration may be more susceptible to forgetfulness under pressure. The added stress can make it challenging to manage intricate details.
• Physiological Responses:
  • The body’s physiological responses to pressure, such as increased heart rate and shallow breathing, can affect the flow of oxygen to the brain. Reduced oxygen supply may impact cognitive functions, including memory.
• Overthinking:
  • Overanalyzing and overthinking due to performance pressure may lead to cognitive overload. Individuals may become preoccupied with potential mistakes or outcomes, diverting attention from the task at hand.
• Lack of Mental Rehearsal:
  • Inadequate mental rehearsal and preparation for the competition may contribute to forgetfulness. When individuals haven’t practiced sufficiently under conditions similar to the competition, they may struggle to retrieve information.

To mitigate the impact of performance pressure on memory and cognitive functions, athletes and competitors often engage in stress management techniques, visualization, and consistent practice under realistic conditions. Developing coping strategies and maintaining a positive mindset can also contribute to improved performance and reduced forgetfulness in high-pressure situations.

Moving on to using your DOPE card

Now that we comprehend why mastering complex and highly specific tasks under pressure is challenging, we can appreciate the necessity for a straightforward and simple process once that stage timer starts.

The use of dope cards with multiple wind columns has worked well enough to win multiple PRS Golden Bullets and will work just as well for you if you learn and commit to it. Like most new PRS shooters or those that have not figured it out yet, you have spent countless hours learning to read the wind rose or studying how to use gun MPH. These are all effective methods for figuring out your initial wind calls and making your DOPE cards; however, it is not something you should try to memorize and use after the stage timer starts. They are too complex and require way too much thinking while under pressure. There is a reason most military manuals are simple; it is about finding the simplest process requiring the least amount of brainpower that is effective enough to get the job done.

I am going to lay this out in steps, starting with making the card up to what you should do once you are done with the stage. I am only going to cover the wind portion of prepping to shoot a stage and then during the stage. This assumes you are making all the other adjustments to shoot a stage as well.

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Step 1: Making Your DOPE card.

• I like to use a quarterback wrist coach as my DOPE card holder; it is big enough to add 4 or 5 wind columns and still be readable.
• If the wind is semi-constant, you can get away with 3 to 4 wind columns.
• If the wind is consistently gusting, then you should make 4-5 wind columns.
• Use a Kestrel or another environmental meter to input current environmental information into your ballistics calculator, like Hornady 4Dof.
• Observe other shooters and determine if there are any hidden wind blocks or funnels.
• Once you are satisfied with your wind calls, write them on your DOPE card. Your starting wind calls should be in the center wind column.

Once you make your DOPE card, it should look something like this:

• In this example we have 5 targets:
  • T1: 418 yards and is 9:30 to a 14 MPH L to R wind.
  • T2: 524 yards and is 9:30 to a 14 MPH L to R wind.
  • T3: 615 yards and is 9:30 to a 14 MPH L to R wind.
  • T4: 789 yards and is 11:30 to a 14 MPH L to R wind.
  • T5: 861 yards and is 9:30 to a 14 MPH L to R wind.

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Step 2: Standing with all your gear, ready to shoot the stage.

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Step 3: Shooting the stage and making corrections.

On this simulated stage, we will fire two shots at the first three targets and one shot each at the last two targets (total of 8 rounds).

BEEP! The stage has started:

T1 418 yards:

You are on the barricade; you have .9 mils of wind dialed for T1 at 418 yards and fire the shot.

• The bullet hits the center of the plate, and you send your second shot, which also hits the center of the plate.
• Move to the next target (T2).

On the example card below, your starting wind for the T1 target is highlighted with a yellow box.

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T2 524 yards:

You look at the DOPE card for the next wind call. Since .9 mils hit center on T1, you just go directly below it. Your next wind call should be 1.2 mils (highlighted in yellow below):

• You fire the 1.2 mil wind hold at T2 and hit the left edge, meaning the wind slowed down while moving to the next target. You measure the impact from the center of the plate and see you need .2 mils less wind.
  • You make an adjustment to 1 mil (about 12 MPH wind), and your second shot hits the center of the plate.
• Move to the next target (T3)

In the picture below, you can see that the correct wind call was about a 12 MPH wind. The green box highlights the 11 MPH wind box since we did not have a 12 MPH column)

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T3 615 yards:

Moving on to T3. Paying attention to the current wind conditions you make the determination that the wind is still around the 12 MPH range.

• Since 1.1 is 11 MPH, you dial a 1.2 mil hold which is closer to a 12 MPH wind hold.
• You fire the first shot, and it hits the center of the target. Then you fire the second shot, and it also hits the center.

As you can see on our dope card below, we were still in the 11-12 MPH range. Moving to T4, you will dial a .9 mil wind call. Remember, T4 has a 11:30 wind, so the wind call is less.

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T4 789 yards:

We move to target 4 and change positions on the barricade. This took more time, and the winds have picked back up. Remember, we are only shooting one shot each at the last two targets.

• Noticing the wind picked up, either through feel, mirage, or foliage moving downrange, you decided to go back to a 14 MPH wind. In this case, you would dial up to 1.1 mils.
• You fire the shot and notice you hit the right side of the plate.
  • Since you are not sending a second shot you must get your correction before moving to T5.
    • You observe the difference from center and notice you would have needed a 1.3 mil hold to hit center. Because we are only sending one shot, you cannot confirm.

On the dope card below, you can see you were going to start with a 0.9 mil hold but noticed an increase in the wind (yellow box with red X). You decided to go with a 14 MPH wind instead (yellow box). After the shot you noticed you needed 1.3 mils (green box).

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T5 861 yards:

We move on to T5, and because we would have needed 1.3 mils to center up on T4, you decided to go with 2.6 mils on T5.

• You fire your last shot at T5 with 2.6 mils of wind and hit the center of the target.

On the card below, you can see all the corrections you needed to make while shooting on the clock in order to stay on target and mitigate tricky wind conditions. This is very common in the Midwest and other high wind ranges.

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The dope card below shows all the corrected wind call adjustments (green boxes) needed to stay on target and clean the stage. Once you learn this technique, you will get very fast at it, and it will take very little brainpower to clean a stage.

• If you did not have a DOPE card with multiple wind columns and make shot-to-shot corrections, you most likely would have missed T4 and T5.

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Finished with the stage:

• Take the wind calls that worked and carry them to the next stage. On most ranges, you will be shooting in the same direction. Use that information to make a good initial wind call. Once you master this process, you will increase your match scores and move up the leaderboard. Practice this repeatedly at the range until it becomes second nature, requiring no effort to complete the process. Ditch all those complicated methods and stick with what works.

In conclusion, mastering the art of on-the-clock wind adjustments is crucial for precision shooting, particularly in challenging conditions like those commonly experienced in the Midwest. As demonstrated through the detailed analysis of wind calls on the dope card, a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluating wind conditions, making real-time adjustments, and learning from shot-to-shot feedback is essential for success. With dedicated practice, shooters can develop the skill to quickly and accurately adapt to changing wind scenarios, ensuring they stay on target and achieve clean performances on the stage. As this technique becomes ingrained, the mental effort required diminishes, allowing for more efficient and confident execution in high-pressure situations. Ultimately, the journey towards mastery in precision shooting involves continuous learning, refinement, and the application of proven strategies to navigate the complexities of the ever-changing shooting environment.