Download the pistol shooting journal/log/diary (printable PDF and Word)
This is the first structured shooting journal I came up with. I used it for months before perfecting it to make the improved Target Shooting Journal.
I’ve been keeping my shooting stats from the first day I started shooting. Soon after, when I started to feel the addiction growing, I also started keeping a diary following the wise advise of Jean-Luc (my club’s air shooting director) and what I read in With Winning in Mind.
At the beginning I was just writing notes in a column of the spreadsheet I was using to track my stats, but it was hard to write on my mobile phone. Then I started writing a paper diary which allowed me to write more freely and to read more easily, but it was lacking structure. I downloaded a bunch of shooting journals from around the web and tried them, but they tended to be too cumbersome for me at the time.
When I decided to write my own pistol shooting diary I wanted it to:
- Fit in one page
- Have a simple structure with just a few sections that could encompass all that I thought mattered.
These are the sections I ended up including:
Table of Contents
Header
It contains the administrative data, like name of the shooter (I’ve written my name in my document to have it always printed), if it is a training session or a competition, date… I keep track of when I start and end the session. I track how motivated I am. So far it has always been high except one day when I was really tired and I had not slept well in a while.
After I’m done with a competition I write three stress assessments for the beginning, middle and end (eg: 6/5/5). During training sessions I only write one stress assessment at the beginning.
Goals
I always have at least one goal per session. If I reach it I add a check mark to the right of it. If I don’t reach a goal, I don’t make any marks.
Influences
Whatever I think may have an influence in the session. If there’s pain anywhere I write it here, and also medication, tiredness (I’ve just had a second baby, sleep is random at best), food, long drives…
Exercises
All the exercises I do including warming up at the beginning of the session and stretching at the end. I write the number of repetitions/shots or time first, then the type of exercise. For times I use ‘ for minutes (eg: 10’ warm up means I’ve warmed up for 10 minutes). For reps/shots I use an x (eg: 15 x Dry fire white target means I’ve done 15 dry fire shots using an all white target).
Problems and solutions
Every single problem that I may encounter I write down and follow it with a possible solution (even if it is just ‘research’). The focus is on seeing issues as problems that can be fixed and that you are going to address, not as personal failings.
Positive
Always include something positive about the training session in the journal.
Success Analysis
What happens with the solutions you’ve tried to problems you’ve found. If not successful, what are you going to try next?
If you need to write more, you always have the back of the page.
Downloads
You can download and print this shooting journal in two formats: Word and PDF.
If you just want to print it I recommend you use the PDF shooting journal. If you want to edit it and add your own modificaions I recommend the Word shooting diary.
Download the pistol shooting journal/log/diary (printable PDF and Word)