u/Odd_Muffin2706

I’m new to the hobby (have been shooting for only 2 months) and I’m having some consistency issues. I’ve watched as many tutorials as I could find and have (I think) done a reasonable job following the advice. I have had success making small adjustments and getting nice tight clusters.

In the last week or so, however, something has changed and I seem to be really struggling with consistency. Sometimes I seem to be right on target, other times I’m all over the place. For example, in the picture with the fruity pebbles box, I was shooting at Fred’s head from 10m and I was able to hit it most of the time. In the picture of the pizza box, which was shot just 2 days later and using the same equipment/distance, I was unable to hit anything (I was shooting at the circle). I feel like the few hits I got were more luck of the spread than skilled.

I have filmed myself shooting, but honestly can’t tell a difference between most shots. What should I even be looking for? My first assumption was that my release has gotten thrown off by the calluses I have developed, but I seem to be missing even when the release feels pretty good and I’m quite sure there was no speed bump. My concern is that I’m developing some bad habits that will hinder further progress.

What I’m hoping for is advice on how to practice well as opposed to just flinging stuff down range - I’d be interested in any specific adjustments folks made when they were starting off to boost consistency, but what I’m really interested in is ways to build a solid foundation. As a super novice, I’m much more concerned with building good habits and muscle memory than my day to day performance.

There is an old crumbling chimney on my property in rural North Carolina. I know very little about it and was wondering if anyone could estimate when it was built based on constructing materials and style?

Aerial photographs confirm that there was an active homestead here in 1955, but that it was not in use by 1971. I plan to metal detect the area as well to see if I can learn anything about when it was built.

Any insights or observations would be greatly appreciated.

I’m pretty new to growing grapes, but am working with some well established (though neglected) vines. I’m seeing some spotting on the underside of some of the leaves and a quick search suggests that it’s brown spot caused by a fungal infection. The suggested treatment was repeated anti-fungal spray (and possibly just cutting everything off?).

1. is anyone able to confirm or dismiss this google image diagnosis?

2. does anyone have treatment recommendations or a preferred treatment product?