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Mind vs Target: Six steps to winning in the clay target mind field
The highly acclaimed SportExcel system is a revolutionary way to win, and it is changing the way clay-target shooters approach their game in North America and around the globe. With Bob Palmer's easy-to-read and easy-to-understand, step-by-step system, you learn to see the target as huge, to eliminate distractions and to stay totally focused. "Great shooters don't think - they just shoot in the Zone." No matter if you're a world-class shooter, a weekend enthusiast, a beginner, a coach or a parent, this book is your handbook to using your very powerful Zone to learn how to win.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Bob Palmer
5 books“Committed to making high performance accessible to everyone, SportExcel’s Bob Palmer has distilled the “game of high performance” into practical, repeatable strategies that participants can immediately understand and apply to their "game" to build success in any area of life---sport, business or education.”
Bob Palmer, BEd, BES, is the founder and high-performance trainer of SportExcel Inc., with more than 30 years of experience developing athletes, coaches and industry leaders to become true high performers, across all areas of life. A 4th-degree black belt, former sensei, and competitive martial artist, Bob has personalized high-performance training so that the athlete or leader becomes the expert and can guide themselves (as well as their team) to a high performance in every type of game or business,
The author of five books on high-performance, Bob’s proven and trusted system ensures that athletes, coaches and leaders enter the Zone on demand and learn and apply the highest levels of skills in sport participation and business/sport leadership. He has helped leaders build a culture of the Zone in organizations such as the US Army Marksmanship Unit and Canada Snowboard. He has guided countless athletes to Olympic, international and national podium finishes, including a recent U.S. international clay-target selection match where all four gold medalists had previously trained with him.
Bob Palmer, BEd, BES, is the founder and high-performance trainer of SportExcel Inc., with more than 30 years of experience developing athletes, coaches and industry leaders to become true high performers, across all areas of life. A 4th-degree black belt, former sensei, and competitive martial artist, Bob has personalized high-performance training so that the athlete or leader becomes the expert and can guide themselves (as well as their team) to a high performance in every type of game or business,
The author of five books on high-performance, Bob’s proven and trusted system ensures that athletes, coaches and leaders enter the Zone on demand and learn and apply the highest levels of skills in sport participation and business/sport leadership. He has helped leaders build a culture of the Zone in organizations such as the US Army Marksmanship Unit and Canada Snowboard. He has guided countless athletes to Olympic, international and national podium finishes, including a recent U.S. international clay-target selection match where all four gold medalists had previously trained with him.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 5, 2026
This was a very interesting read, especially since it’s the first book I’ve come across that focuses specifically on the psychology of clay target shooting. I’ve been shooting regularly for the past 30 months and have improved quite a bit, but I still run into those stretches where things just don’t click. That’s really what pushed me to pick this up—I was hoping it might help me get over some of those lapses.
Palmer’s core idea revolves around getting your mind into the right place to shoot effectively—what he calls the ZONE. His approach ties together how you feel physically with how you feel mentally and emotionally. That connection was one of the more interesting aspects of the book for me. It makes a lot of sense in theory.
That said, after trying to apply some of these ideas for a few months now, I can confidently say it’s a lot easier to write about than it is to actually execute. I’ve even been at shoots where some of the shooters he uses as testimonials have competed, including Mike Westjohn, but unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to talk with him about his experience using this system. I would have been curious to hear how it translated in real life.
Back to the book itself—the physical side of what Palmer discusses is absolutely spot-on. He covers all the fundamentals: stance, mount position (shoulder and cheek), line of sight, hold points, swing, and even how you call for the target. Most shooters who have had some success already understand these basics.
The real issue comes when you focus on them too much. You spend so much time thinking about mechanics that you never free your mind to actually do what it’s supposed to do—see the target and break it. That’s really where the mental side comes in. From my own experience, when I can get out of my own way—when I stop thinking and just let things happen—I’ll hit the target 95 times out of 100, maybe even more. But the second I start thinking too much, I interfere with that process, and the misses start piling up.
That’s where the book started to lose me a bit. The idea of recognizing when you’re “in the ZONE” versus outside of it is interesting, and there’s some value in being aware of those physical and mental cues. But the methods Palmer gives for getting back into that state just aren’t as easy or repeatable as the book makes them seem.
In the end, I do think there’s value here. If you’re a clay target shooter—especially one who tends to be analytical—it’s worth reading just to better understand the relationship between mechanics, conscious thought, and the subconscious side of performance. However, I don’t feel like the book fully delivers on making that transition easy or practical in real-world shooting.
Overall, I’d rate this one 3 out of 5 stars—good content and interesting ideas, but somewhat inconclusive in how to actually apply them consistently.
Palmer’s core idea revolves around getting your mind into the right place to shoot effectively—what he calls the ZONE. His approach ties together how you feel physically with how you feel mentally and emotionally. That connection was one of the more interesting aspects of the book for me. It makes a lot of sense in theory.
That said, after trying to apply some of these ideas for a few months now, I can confidently say it’s a lot easier to write about than it is to actually execute. I’ve even been at shoots where some of the shooters he uses as testimonials have competed, including Mike Westjohn, but unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to talk with him about his experience using this system. I would have been curious to hear how it translated in real life.
Back to the book itself—the physical side of what Palmer discusses is absolutely spot-on. He covers all the fundamentals: stance, mount position (shoulder and cheek), line of sight, hold points, swing, and even how you call for the target. Most shooters who have had some success already understand these basics.
The real issue comes when you focus on them too much. You spend so much time thinking about mechanics that you never free your mind to actually do what it’s supposed to do—see the target and break it. That’s really where the mental side comes in. From my own experience, when I can get out of my own way—when I stop thinking and just let things happen—I’ll hit the target 95 times out of 100, maybe even more. But the second I start thinking too much, I interfere with that process, and the misses start piling up.
That’s where the book started to lose me a bit. The idea of recognizing when you’re “in the ZONE” versus outside of it is interesting, and there’s some value in being aware of those physical and mental cues. But the methods Palmer gives for getting back into that state just aren’t as easy or repeatable as the book makes them seem.
In the end, I do think there’s value here. If you’re a clay target shooter—especially one who tends to be analytical—it’s worth reading just to better understand the relationship between mechanics, conscious thought, and the subconscious side of performance. However, I don’t feel like the book fully delivers on making that transition easy or practical in real-world shooting.
Overall, I’d rate this one 3 out of 5 stars—good content and interesting ideas, but somewhat inconclusive in how to actually apply them consistently.
June 2, 2023
Bob shares several methods to calm your mind and get in the zone, which has been a struggle for me when competing. I don't do well with books that try to implement meditation during sport because it's unrealistic to expect the type of atmosphere that requires that type of quiet mind. His methods take some practice at home in a quiet setting, but can be used at any point thereafter.
This isn't a book you read once, but instead something you use as a tool chest. Read it, highlight in it and make notes. You'll thank yourself later.
This isn't a book you read once, but instead something you use as a tool chest. Read it, highlight in it and make notes. You'll thank yourself later.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews