10,000 Hours?

Yes, there's a playing card on edge down there!

65 yards, offhand, one shot - no problem!

I recently spent the day on the range with 22Plinkster and was able to witness firsthand some of his amazing trick shooting ability.

Like you, anytime I watch a video of an incredible shot, I always ask one of two questions:

How many tries did that take?

or

What sort of editing was done to that video?

I found out for myself that sometimes the answer to those questions is - none! This playing card was split on the first shot at 65 yards using our Summit 22 LR Rifle. No editing, no tricks, just years of practice paying dividends.

Practice, practice, practice - that word kept coming up over and over again over the course of two days on the range. My wife would tell you I am a little thick-headed, but even I was able to put together that these trick shots requiring incredible precision are not luck and don't just happen - they take relentless practice.

You might be familiar with Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000-hour rule which claims that the key to achieving world-class expertise in any skill, is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing the correct way, for a total of around 10,000 hours.

There's some debate as to the validity of that rule. However with the number of hours 22Plinkster has spent on a range, I would guess this rule may fit in this case.

This same rule applies to our mindset in manufacturing. We are always practicing, always learning, and trying to master our craft. Mastery will never be achieved but it's sure fun trying.

22Plinkster would be the first to tell you that not every trick shot goes as smoothly as this playing card one did. In fact, I was able to witness an attempted aspirin shot that well….let's just say still is a work in progress and a story for another day.

Another lesson taken away over the course of two days was the reminder to try something new and step out of your comfort zone. 22Plinkster informed me he will be competing at the 2019 Rimfire Challenge World Championships coming up on October 11 through the 13th. This is a complete departure from the precision shooting he has made his name on. He was very candid in tell me that this match scares the heck out of him. In fact, he said several years ago he may have been reluctant to even put himself in a position to possibly fail.

His approach is very similar to the way we look at our business, always trying to improve, always willing to put in the work, and always willing to fail. We look at failure as a chance to start over again, only this time with more experience.

Committed to Building it Better,