...Applying Mr Whitman's maxim is the 1998 SSAA Practical Pistol National Champion Darren Pateman. Like most shooters, he does not have a shooting coach but says training regularly with other top standard gun shooters helps him considerably.
   Mr Pateman lives in Perth, Western Australia and is a member of the Pine Valley Pistol Club and the Orange Grove Shooting Association.
   In addition to shooting 500 rounds every Saturday to improve his skills, Mr Pateman trains the muscles that benefit his shooting four days a week with the assistance of a personal trainer.
   "For me, shooting is an escape from a stressful week. I find when I am on the range all my thoughts are on my shooting.
   "I am focused on one task and rarely do I entertain thoughts from outside the range. It is a fantastic meditation for me."
   Mr Pateman started shooting when he was 18. "A few weeks before my birthday, my terminally ill grandfather gave me his much loved Australian-made Sportco rifle."
   The moment he had the gun licensed is the moment he took a keen interest in "throwing lead down range".
   Even though he only began shooting practical pistol in 1997, he has established himself as one of the disciplines best.
   He chose practical pistol because he likes the excitement it offers. "There is a physical challenge of mastering the use of the pistol while moving through a course of fire as quickly as possible. It gets your heart pumping."
   As Mr Whitman, Mr Pateman's ambition is to continue to enjoy the sport and comradeship as long as possible. "My enjoyment of the sport is what got me hooked in the first place. The day he enjoyment stops....is the day I quit."     Another one of his aspirations is to compete in the IPSC World Shoot. Past performances considered, it is a goal that is well within reach.
   Mr Pateman believes that it is his speed that sets him apart from the other shooters. "Practical pistol scoring is a combination of the time taken to complete the course of fire and the score on target.
"I'm not as good a shot as some of my competitors but I make up for that with my double tap speed and my speed through the course."
   His biggest competition comes from other state and Team Adrenalin members but he admits that if he's gonna get beat "it isn't that bad to get your backside kicked by a buddy".