How do you guys get out of a gunnery slump?

[Nifty]

I can't hit the broadside of a barn anymore!  It's starting to get frustrating.  It might be that I'm just not playing much anymore, but I've never had problems taking mini-breaks and coming in and just totally whiffing left and right like I have been recently.  I'm missing on every gun too.  doesn't matter if I'm using a .50 cal bird, a hispano bird, or the Axis cannon birds (jap and german, heck, even the best accuracy I've had recently was in a C205, and still didn't get the kill, only an assist.)  Snapshots, rear quarter D250!!! shots, it doesn't matter.  

So what do you long time vets do when you hit one of these gunnery problems?  (It ain't nose bouncing either, it's just me being "off")

[Dead Man Flying]

Originally posted by Nifty
So what do you long time vets do when you hit one of these gunnery problems?  (It ain't nose bouncing either, it's just me being "off")

Change something.  If tracers are on, turn them off.  If tracers are off, turn them on.  In my experience, the best way to improve aim is to get so close to the enemy that you can't possibly miss.  Try lowering your convergence settings substantially and firing only under 200 yards.  Believe me, your hit percentage will go up at these distances no matter how bad your aim.

-- Todd/Leviathn

[Gunthr]

Just off the top of my head, I'd say you are probably trying to hard, Nifty.

If you shoot skeet, go out and run some shells through your shotgun if you have one. Shoot until you can powder those birds 25/25, or at least with some regularity. The skill will transfer, and its fun in its own right.

If that isn't possible, just go in the H2H games where the ammo is often unlimited, and pick your favorite plane and just stay with it until you get good. Be consistant with the conversion distances. Then just shoot shoot shoot. Do it without "thinking" it to death. Try to go for an automatic "feel" when you shoot.  Do what ever works. Practise makes perfect! Don't forget to have FUN!

 Outfly them before you try to outshoot them

[Soda]

Pick one type of gunset (don't flip between planes with different guns), go offline, set the ammomultiplier really high and shoot at the drones at strange angles.  Don't try tail chases.  Shoot off several 1000 rounds and get some kills.  Try and make engagement ranges typical of what you are used to seeing (ie, if you tend to take long shots, then practice at some distance, if you are used to taking point blank shots then go for those).

I usually take something like the P51 when I do this since I know the .50's practice will also help me with just about every other bird that packs .50's (P38, P47, P51, F6F, etc).

-Soda

[Nifty]

heh, I had fun.    just want to get back into seeing those hit sprites more often!  I'll turn tracers off, at least that way, my whiffing won't alert the enemy to my presence!  

heh, haven't shot skeet since I was about 14 or so.    maybe I could get Dad out one weekend and do that.  

[Don]

Nifty:
Lately I have been experiencing similar problems. I always check the net settings because I have found some correlation between what my conn is doing and how my a/c and gunnery is reacting to control input; I may be dead on and not even register a hit. In such cases, there may not be anything wrong with me but, I should log off and back on again.
Also, At times I find that I am trying too hard. I may shoot too early or push or pull on the stick too much when I have a guns solution on an nme. Getting too anxious can mess up a good thing almost as much as taking a bad shot.

[gavor]

My gunnery improves 100 fold when i dont drink and fly. Thats just me though.

[Mino]

I will go to the TA.

At first I will warm up by shooting drones by going in the circle the same way.

Then I will shoot drones by flying in the circle the opposite way.  This improves my deflection and also helps me get my timing back.

GL!

[Soulyss]

I would offer the opposite advice of our friend gavor here, drink, and drink plenty.  That way when you miss not only will it seem more comical and funny but you have the built in excuse of being inebriated.  

[K West]

Fly the "Chog."

 Westy

[gavor]

I never said flying drunk was baaaad. Just easier.
I think i flew around last night for about an hour, a huge battle going on around me. I ended up landing with almost no fuel and about 1 round of ammo missing. The beer was good though. And i crashed the CV somehow.

[GunnerCAF]

This may sound strange, but I shoot off-line drones for a bit to get the feel again.

Gunner

[Dead Man Flying]

Originally posted by GunnerCAF
This may sound strange, but I shoot off-line drones for a bit to get the feel again.

When I get in a shooting slump, I go shoot GunnerCAF on-line for a bit to feel better again.  

-- Todd/Leviathn

[Nifty]

it was trying too hard.  I just flew and had some fun last night.  The gunnery came back on it's own.  Was hitting deflection shots with the Ki-61's cannons (rare for me!) and even the C205 cannons were being good to me.  (I fly CT 95% of the time, and lately only Axis.  I'll do Allied coming up this week tho.)  It felt good to make those Spits pop on high deflection shots again!