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July 22nd, 2024

Improve Results by Visualizing Success — the “Mental Game”

shooting bipod Anette Wachter

Anette Wachter Mental Game VisualizationOur friend Anette Wachter, aka “30CalGal”, stars in a smart video from NRAWomen.com. In this episode of Tips & Tactics, Anette talks about the “mental game” in competition. Specifically she explains how to “visualize success”:

I have found that a lot of my success in competition has come through what I call a ‘mental rehearsal’. I actually visualize every stage of the match and I visualize the success of the match and winning the match.

I actually visualize that round going downrange into the target, and the target coming up with a dead-center ‘X’. I visualize this over and over. If you visualize success you will achieve success.

Visualization is a process of mental preparation that is done before you get to the range. Many of the greatest shooting champions have used this technique to get ready for big matches, and to optimize their performance during record fire. If you want to enhance your “mental game” through pre-match visualization, we strongly recommend Lanny Bassham’s book, With Winning in Mind.

As a competitive smallbore 3P shooter, Bassham developed a mental management system. Using this system, Lanny Bassham won 22 world individual and team titles, set four world records, and captured an Olympic Gold Medal in Montreal in 1976. His techniques have been embraced by professional and Olympic athletes in many sports. With Winning in Mind covers a complete system of “mental management” techniques used by Olympians and elite champions.


About 30CalGal

Life is short. Go Shoot! — Anette Wachter
Along with being a talented competitive shooter, Anette created a popular Gun Blog, 30CalGal.com, and she has written for many gun publications including GunUp Magazine, Shooting Sports USA, Sure Shots Magazine, and Wide Open Spaces. CLICK HERE for a lengthy feature story about Anette’s impressive competition history, created for the Women’s Outdoor News. Among her many notable performances Anette remembered a big win in British Columbia: “My favorite, is of course, winning the BC Rifle Championships in 2011. [I was] the second woman and first US woman to win in its 127 year history.”

Permalink - Videos, Competition, Shooting Skills 1 Comment »
March 5th, 2020

Mental Marksmanship — Visualize Success for Better Scores

shooting bipod Anette Wachter
In this video, Anette Wachter (the 30CalGal) offers tips for shooting from bipod.

Anette Wachter Mental Game VisualizationOur friend Anette Wachter, aka “30CalGal”, stars in a smart video from NRAWomen.TV. In this episode of Tips & Tactics, Anette talks about the “mental game” in competition. Specifically she explains how to “visualize success”:

I have found that a lot of my success in competition has come through what I call a ‘mental rehearsal’. I actually visualize every stage of the match and I visualize the success of the match and winning the match.

I actually visualize that round going downrange into the target, and the target coming up with a dead-center ‘X’. I visualize this over and over. If you visualize success you will achieve success.

Visualization is a process of mental preparation that is done before you get to the range. Many of the greatest shooting champions have used this technique to get ready for big matches, and to optimize their performance during record fire. If you want to enhance your “mental game” through pre-match visualization, we strongly recommend Lanny Bassham’s book, With Winning in Mind.

As a competitive smallbore 3P shooter, Bassham developed a mental management system. Using this system, Lanny Bassham won 22 world individual and team titles, set four world records, and captured an Olympic Gold Medal in Montreal in 1976. His techniques have been embraced by professional and Olympic athletes in many sports. With Winning in Mind covers a complete system of “mental management” techniques used by Olympians and elite champions.


About 30CalGal
Life is short. Go Shoot! — Anette Wachter
Along with being a talented competitive shooter, Anette has her own Gun Blog, 30CalGal.com, and she writes for several gun publications including GunUp Magazine, Shooting Sports USA, Sure Shots Magazine, and Wide Open Spaces. She also designs and crafts custom jewelry items, sold through her AW Collections webstore.

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June 21st, 2018

Profile of Anette Wachter, aka the “30 Cal Gal”

Anette Wachter Annette 30 Cal Gal 30CalGal Palma PRS tactical 3-gun

Our friend Anette Wachter (aka 30CalGal) is profiled this month on the NRA Family website. Annette talks about how she got into the shooting sports (though a challenge from her ex-husband), and how she has advanced along the way. She is now one of the top female Palma shooters in the nation. She also now competes regularly in Precision Rifle matches — tactical style competitions. She enjoys the challenge of PRS events, and she also competes in 3-Gun matches, with pistol, rifle, and shotgun.

Anette writes about the shooting sports for many publications. She also offers tips and gear reviews through her popular website, 30CalGal.com.

Anette Wachter Annette 30 Cal Gal 30CalGal Palma PRS tactical 3-gun

Here’s a sample of Anette’s NRA Family interview:

NRA: What type of shooting do you do, and what makes you like it so much?

Anette: Mostly long-range rifle disciplines. I don’t shoot High Power much anymore, but of course I am on the U.S. National Rifle Team and the Palma Team, so that occupies much of my time. My new love is Precision Rifle. This is the new hot and trendy shooting sport that is taking over the industry. It is like a sniper challenge. All unknown distances and usually the matches are out in the field. I also compete in 3-Gun, which is a ton of fun.

NRA: What advice do you have for new shooters who want to get into these sports?

Anette: If you want to get in to any discipline of competition I always suggest going to a local match to watch first. With the Internet you can find out your state competition information. Look for local organizations like the USPSA. See the type of equipment shooters are using and how the sport is run. Ask a lot of questions. Shooters are a very generous culture as well, in my experience. When I started out I was loaned almost everything to try it out.

NRA: From what you have seen, are there a lot more women getting involved in the shooting sports these days?

Anette: I started shooting and competing in 2006. I remember going to NRA Nationals at Camp Perry and, out of almost a thousand competitors, I was one of maybe 20 to 30 women. At local matches I would be one of two. In the past five or six years and especially in the last three, I have seen the numbers jump like crazy. Three years ago a few women in the 3-Gun market decided to put on the first Ladies 3-Gun ProAm in Georgia. We were wondering if anyone would show up. Over 200 women competed. Any of us that had extra guns and equipment were loaning them out. For many of the women it was their first match ever. It changed lives.

In this video Anette offers smart tips for shooting with bipod:

About the 30 Cal Gal
Life is short. Go Shoot! — Anette Wachter
Along with being a talented competitive shooter, Anette has her own Gun Blog, 30CalGal.com, and she writes for several gun publications including GunUp Magazine, Shooting Sports USA, Sure Shots Magazine, and Wide Open Spaces. She also designs and crafts custom jewelry items, many of which utilize cartridge cases or other shooting-themed components. You can purchase Anette’s jewelry through her AW Collections webstore.

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November 15th, 2016

Competition Tips: 30CalGal Talks about ‘The Mental Game’


In this video, Anette Wachter (the 30CalGal) offers tips for shooting from bipod.

Anette Wachter Mental Game VisualizationOur friend Anette Wachter, aka “30CalGal”, stars in a smart video from NRAWomen.TV. In this episode of Tips & Tactics, Anette talks about the “mental game” in competition. Specifically she explains how to “visualize success”:

I have found that a lot of my success in competition has come through what I call a ‘mental rehearsal’. I actually visualize every stage of the match and I visualize the success of the match and winning the match.

I actually visualize that round going downrange into the target, and the target coming up with a dead-center ‘X’. I visualize this over and over. If you visualize success you will achieve success.

Visualization is a process of mental preparation that is done before you get to the range. Many of the greatest shooting champions have used this technique to get ready for big matches, and to optimize their performance during record fire. If you want to enhance your “mental game” through pre-match visualization, we strongly recommend Lanny Bassham’s book, With Winning in Mind.

As a competitive smallbore 3P shooter, Bassham developed a mental management system. Using this system, Lanny Bassham won 22 world individual and team titles, set four world records, and captured an Olympic Gold Medal in Montreal in 1976. His techniques have been embraced by professional and Olympic athletes in many sports. With Winning in Mind covers a complete system of “mental management” techniques used by Olympians and elite champions.


About 30CalGal
Life is short. Go Shoot! — Anette Wachter
Along with being a talented competitive shooter, Anette has her own Gun Blog, 30CalGal.com, and she writes for several gun publications including GunUp Magazine, Shooting Sports USA, Sure Shots Magazine, and Wide Open Spaces. She also designs and crafts custom jewelry items, sold through her AW Collections webstore.

Permalink - Videos, Shooting Skills No Comments »
April 13th, 2016

New TV Shopping Network for Guns and Gun Accessories

GunTV shopping network

TV Shopping networks typically sell jewelry, housewares, and clothing items. Now there’s a new TV shopping network that will sell firearms and shooting accessories. GunTV recently launched with shows airing on cable and satellite networks (and streamed live on GunTV.tv on the web). This video unveils GunTV’s mission and explains how guns and shooting sports merchandise will be sold:

CLICK HERE for Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about GunTV

GunTV presentations combine studio sessions with range time. The hosts begin, in studio, talking about a gun’s features. Next the show may feature range footage demonstrating the firearm. Then it’s back to the studio for the sales pitch. Finally, viewers can bid on the featured item(s). Non-firearms items may ship directly to buyers. However, all actual firearms are sent to an FFL dealer, which performs background checks and handles the required paperwork.

30 Cal Gal on GunTV
One of GunTV’s hosts is our friend Anette Wachter, creator of the 30CalGal.com website. Anette, a top-level Palma and multi-gun competitor, will be testing and reviewing products, as well as selling her signature 30CalGal line of custom jewelry.

GunTV shopping network

Safety is emphasized in GunTV broadcasts. The show’s creators state: “GunTV offers education, information and safety regarding firearms in America[.] GunTV is proud to offer its consumer audience an exciting mix of unique content, a wide range of firearms and related products and services, educational information, resources and entertainment, all delivered via live broadcasting on satellite and cable systems and streaming on the Internet.”

Promotional Opportunities for Manufacturers
GunTV makes money two ways. First it takes a share of sale proceeds from items sold. In addition, it gets promotional fees from product makers. If you have a shooting-related product you want to see featured, you can advertise on GunTV. You can apply online using the Product Submission Application form. GunTV charges fees for its airtime segments and advertising spots and advertising spot production services.

Permalink Handguns, News 2 Comments »
August 14th, 2015

Great Britain Takes Early Lead in Palma Team Championships

Palma Team USA World Fullbore Long Range Target Rifle Championships
Click above photo to view larger image.

Here’s an early report from the 2015 World Palma Team Championships being held at Camp Perry. After Day 1 of the Team Championships (conducted on August 13th), Great Britain is in the lead with a score of 3551-403. That gives the Brits a 30-point margin over their closest rival. Team USA holds second place with a score of 3521-359, followed by South Africa in third with a score of 3512-339.

Today, August 14th, is the final day of Palma Team Competition. We’ll see if Team USA can come from behind, or whether Team Great Britain can build on its Day One lead. Stay tuned for more updates, including the final results after today’s team matches.

Here is Junior Team USA member Dusty Taylor showing off her USA pride. Today is the final day of the Palma Team World Championships. Dusty says: “Go USA!!!!”

Palma Team USA World Fullbore Long Range Target Rifle Championships

Dusty Taylor photo by Anette Wachter of the U.S. Palma Team. Top photos by Berger Bullets.

Permalink Competition, News 6 Comments »
August 13th, 2015

Australian Ben Emms Wins World Fullbore Rifle Championship

fullbore Palma Target Rifle Camp Perry World Championships

Congratulations to Ben Emms of Australia for winning the World Fullbore Long Range Championship at Camp Perry. Nigel Ball of Great Britain finished second, while another Aussie, Mattthew Pozzebon, took third. There was some amazing shooting done this past week by the top competitors. Here is a report from Anette Wachter, a member of the U.S. Palma Team.

How Ben Emms Won the World Championship by Anette Wachter (30CalGal.com)
For a while I thought he was not human. Ben Emms of Australia kept powering through every yard line of the Long Range Championship with perfect scores. When the rest of us got pummeled at the 1000-yard line on day 3 he still cleaned the string. He “finally” dropped one point the last day. I guess he is human after all.

But for some dramatic effect he kept us on the edge of our seats during the shoot off. Two crazy shots (a wide two and a low three) were nail biters. His last round for record had to be at least a four to keep the Gold medal from going to second place finisher Nigel Ball from Great Britain. Cheers came from the crowd and especially his team-mates when the final shot came up as a FIVE on the target. Nigel had a beautiful target of centered shots and won the Silver while Matthew Pozzebon also of Australia took the Bronze Medal. Tom Whittaker and Bob Stekettee were also in the Top Ten shoot-off. Tom came home with many awards last night.

The three top Lady trophies went to Sherri Jo Gallagher for the Gold, Trudie Fay with Silver and Jane Messer of GB with the Bronze. We were rooting for Trudie all week as she also was down only one point. Her last string at 1000 was difficult but she still finished in the top 25 in the world. Sherri almost made the shoot-off. She was in 10th place all day until the final results came in at the end and she was pushed to 11th. Although the 11th spot kept her out of the shoot-off, she did stay for the awards ceremony to receive her High Woman Gold Medal and then hit the road for an all night 14-hour trip back to Golden Knights turf for work. Hard core girl!

READ FULL Story on 30CalGal.com >>


The Fullbore Team Championships are now underway, with squads from 11 countries competing for national honors. Team USA was ready to go on Day One, hoping to win the Worlds on our “home turf”:

fullbore Palma Target Rifle Camp Perry World Championships

Photos by Anette Wachter from 30CalGal Facebook Page.

Permalink Competition, News 4 Comments »
August 9th, 2015

World Fullbore Rifle Championships Commence at Camp Perry

Palma Target Rifle F-TR World Championships Camp Perry .308 Winchester Sherry Jo Gallagher

The Fullbore (Target Rifle) World Championships are now underway at Camp Perry. Held every four years (like the Olympics), the ICFRA World Target Rifle (Fullbore) Championships event is quite possibly the most important long-range rifle competition on the planet. This year the World Championships take place in the USA, at Camp Perry, Ohio. Teams from 11 countries are competing. Here we have some early reports from the August 8th Opening Ceremony…


Report by Ray Gross, Captain U.S. F-TR Team, 8 August, 2015
The U.S. Army Golden Knights parachuted in as part of the opening ceremony for the World Long Range Championships being held at Camp Perry, Ohio. Three of our sister teams, the U.S. Palma Team, the U.S. Veterans Team and the U.S. Under-25 Team will be competing against teams from around the world. Several members of our team, Ray Gross, Steve Hardin, Bryan Litz, and Lane Buxton, are part of the U.S. Palma Team.

CLICK HERE for more reports from U.S. F-TR Rifle Team Blog

Palma Target Rifle F-TR World Championships Camp Perry .308 Winchester Sherry Jo Gallagher

The format is very similar to our own World Championships. Everyone entered in the Individuals will shoot 15 shoots for record at 800, 900, and 1000 yards and they will complete that course of fire three times over the next several days. The team event fires the same course twice.

The main difference from our style of shooting is that they will compete using aperture-type target sights and will be using an arm sling as support compared to the scopes and bipods that we use. The rings on our target are substantially tighter to account for the the greater stability and accuracy of the type of rifles that we use.


Report from Anette Wachter (aka 30CalGal), 8 August 2015
Day One of the World Long Range Championships — we had Opening Ceremonies this morning which had our U.S. Army Golden Knights jumping in and the flag raising of each participating country. Sherri Gallagher, former USAMU shooter and now a Golden Knight, led the team as the first and solo jumper. I was sort of hoping she would land in the prone position with a rifle and start the competition. The rest of the Knights fell from the sky and landed perfectly on the X.

CLICK HERE for more reports from 30CalGal.com

Palma Target Rifle F-TR World Championships Camp Perry .308 Winchester Sherry Jo Gallagher

The U.S. Fullbore Nationals consisted of individuals and various team events as well as the biggest event, the America’s Match. The USA has never lost the America’s Match at home. We won it three years ago here at Perry and last summer up in Canada. Yesterday was not in the cards. First let me congratulate Great Britain for some outstanding shooting. They lost a total of 17 points for 8 shooters all day and took the Gold. Australia came in second, South Africa 3rd and the USA in 4th. Very humbling yes. One of our coaches had to leave at the middle of the match for a family emergency as well. So I believe the kinks are done and we can move on successfully for this coming week of Worlds. We have the best shooters in the U.S. on our team. Things will turn around. Three women were in the top 25 of the Fullbore Nationals: Michelle Gallagher, Trudie Fay, and Jane Messer. Our Veterans and Under 25s had their World Championship team events as well. Our Veterans took the Gold and the USA Under 25s took the Bronze. The GB kids shot very well and received Gold and Silver medals.

Click HERE for Full-Bore Nationals Results

Palma Target Rifle F-TR World Championships Camp Perry .308 Winchester Sherry Jo Gallagher

Permalink Competition, News 1 Comment »
May 19th, 2015

U.S.A. Palma Team Practices at Camp Perry

U.S. Palma Team Camp Perry Ohio World Championships

U.S. Palma Team Camp Perry Ohio World ChampionshipsThe Fullbore (Palma) World Championships will be held at Camp Perry, Ohio this summer. The American squad arrived a bit early — for a few days of team practice. Our friend Anette Wachter (aka 30 Cal Gal) is in Ohio with Team USA and she posted some photos on Facebook. Skies were gray, but that didn’t deter the American shooters who practiced their shooting under the watchful eyes of top wind coaches.

Take a look at the photo above. How many ace American shooters can you spot? Here’s one hint — pulling the black wheeled case is John Whidden, past U.S. Long-Range National Champion.

At right is the first bit of Team USA swag. Anette says there is more to come — team shirts and jackets were sized and ordered for all the U.S.A. shooters and coaches.

(more…)

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May 7th, 2015

Get 3-Gun Fit with Anette Wachter

Anette Wachter (aka ’30CalGal’) is one of America’s top long-range sling shooters. A member of the U.S. National Rifle Team and a NRA High Master (both mid- and long-range), Anette has an impressive shooting resume. She has also recently started shooting 3-Gun and tactical matches. These “run and gun” matches involve rapid transitions, with shooting from a wide variety of positions. To help improve her 3-Gun shooting, Anette has developed a specific exercise regimen, which she calls the 3-Gun Biceps Series. Here’s a short sample:

ANETTE: One thing you can be sure of in a 3-Gun match is shooting from weird positions. I have noticed that the stage designers love port holes [in barriers]. There are many that are on the ground that you have to shoot through. Or perhaps it is not a port hole but just underneath a barrier. Imagine you are running to that spot with rifle in hand and you have to use one arm to brace your fall to the ground, while holding the rifle safely and facing down range in the other, and then get in to position to shoot, then back up again using one arm to push off of. I have an exercise I have been doing for a awhile that works great for this move…

The “Shooting Low Porthole Plank” starts off in a plank position — make sure your back is straight.

(more…)

Permalink Shooting Skills, Tactical No Comments »
December 31st, 2014

2nd Amendment Foundation Challenges I-594 in Washington

vote no I 594 Court Legal lawsuit Second Amendment FoundationReport by Anette Wachter, 30CalGal.com
The ball is rolling to challenge the I-594 bill that passed in Washington state last November. This is perhaps the strictest gun control law out there. Why? Because it is like the Health Care Law. There are too many pages of undefined crap that they said they would figure out after it goes in to law.

Our local Second Amendment Foundation with Alan Gottlieb has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma, WA. The language in the new law is unclear to even law enforcement and the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL). Have you gone to DOL’s website about this recently? There is no advice and the site just pushes you to your local law enforcement or the ATF. Local law enforcement officials do not want to enforce this law and do not know how to do so. And the ATF, a federal organization, is unclear [as to the impact of the law] as well.

The law will not be overturned so don’t get your hopes up. But they have to define it. It is so confusing. We need to get the ridiculous parts about transfers undone. So many people and agencies are affected by this unclear language.

vote no I 594 Court Legal lawsuit Second Amendment FoundationI just had dinner last night with Brian Judy of the NRA and Adina Hicks of the Protect Our Gun Rights Washington group. There will be an organized rally in Olympia on January 15th starting at 9:00 am. That’s on a weekday when the Legislature is again in session. Visits to Legislators start at 11:00. I will be there and I will go to the office of my district’s Representative. We need your support! If you are in Washington please join us out there.

Please call your legislator ahead of time and make an appointment to see them after the rally that day. The Washington Firearms Leadership and Activism Group (WAFLAG), Protect Our Gun Rights Washington, and the Gun Rights Coalition will host the event. Both the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep & Bear Arms and the Second Amendment Foundation are sponsoring the event also. Please read more details and the entire article by Dave Workman of TheGunMag.com HERE.

Permalink News 6 Comments »
October 13th, 2014

Anette Wachter Helps Lead Fight vs. I-594 in Washington State

Story based on report by Lars Dalseide for NRABlog.com
I first met Anette Wachter four years ago at the NRA’s National Long Range High Power Rifle Championship in Camp Perry, Ohio. A statuesque brunette, Wachter easily stood out in the crowd. I just so happened to be a big fan of her twitter feed as well. After a quick exchange of pleasantries, we talked about shooting, life in Washington, and how she could get more involved.

Anette Wachter I-594 NRA Washington

Since then she has become very involved. Her 30 Cal Gal blog has become a favorite of male and female shooters alike. Due to her diligence, she was also about to earn a spot on the U.S. National Palma Travel Rifle Team. And recently, Wachter lent her voice and views to the battle for gun rights in the state of Washington.


by AccurateShooter.com

Anette Wachter, aka “30 Cal Gal”, Helps Lead Fight Against I-594
Below is a video Anette made opposing I-594, a Washington State initiative on the November ballot. This law could have drastic consequences for Washington state firearms owners. Visit www.VoteNo594.com for more information and to learn how you can help defeat this gun control initiative.

The provisions of I-594 are explained in detail on the NRA-ILA website. Here are the key reasons Washington gun owners should oppose this proposed legislation:

Anette Wachter I-594 NRA Washington

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