A long time ago now in 2012, I watched the Archery in the London Olympics. One thing stuck in my mind from watching back then: most of the teams wore a bucket hat that keeps the sun away from the eyes and does not interfere with the bow string. This hat doesn't look very fashionable but it does a great job.

However, one team came out to shoot, all wearing more fashionable baseball caps with long curved brims. This team was very well funded and spent four years meticulously planning for four years to deliver success in 2012 however one simple thing caused a problem - the brim of the baseball cap got in the way of the string meaning they had to move the hat back, so the sun shone in their eyes.

Should style supersede performance?!

In air pistol, more so than other shooting disciplines, we are affected by our condition during the shoot. We can do our best to reach peak performance but sometimes things happen we do not have much control over.

What we do have control over however is our kit. Is yours in the best shape to contribute to your success? If not, what can you do about it? Points mean better scores, better scores mean PB's. Don't lose points because your kit is not working for you, it is there to make you awesome!

Few of us have the finances to get the best equipment all the time, but with what budget we have, we must very carefully look through our equipment and make sure it is in a position to help and not hinder us. If we can't replace everything we must draw up a plan to allow us to make our equipment work for us and a dedicated plan to upgrade when we can. Taking time out from an expensive competition and using the money saved to upgrade can gain points in the long run. Can you do some overtime? Is there second hand kit available to provide a more affordable option?

Why spend £300.00 + to shoot a competition only for your score to suffer because you did not buy a £30 grey filter to deal with bright targets?

Important parts of your kit obviously start with your pistol; it is very common to look at all the shiny new pistols and want to change ours. This is usually the wrong course to take. Better spend your money refining your kit rather than buying the latest air pistol. Virtually ANY air pistol is more accurate than you; once you have a decent one just focus on keeping it in shape and serviced.

Keep the barrel clean as per the manufacturer's instructions.- most say to use dry cleaning pellets for the barrel.

The grip and a good trigger are essential parts of the gun often overlooked! It is really important the grip fits you - I would recommend keeping the normal walnut grip and shaping it to you rather than buying a fancy grip; it will still not fit you perfectly and you will be less inclined to cut it up and cover it in putty if it looks pretty.

Talk to your coach or shooting team/club mates to help set up the trigger and grip for you.

Ideally your pistol should be serviced once a year by the manufacturer's dealer but failing that you should try to get it done at least every three years. If you are going to a big competition, you can often arrange for the dealer to be there and service your gun over the weekend.

Having a spare gun is obviously a good thing, but that is expensive. If you are going to a big competition and you don’t have a spare gun, make a deal with a shooting friend who has the same gun type, so you can swap the grips and use it if something breaks.

If posting the gun in the UK, take it to the local gun shop and they can send it for you. They are very experienced at this and it greatly reduced the risk of losing the gun.

Clothes: too hot or cold?

There are many things in competition that we do not have control of, but we do have control of having our equipment on top form. In this, air pistol shooters have an advantage over others in our target shooting family. We need very little to shoot a ten consistently. One of the main things about shooting in Scotland is the cold; even if you are slightly cold you will not perform at your best, so you must have a pair of over trousers and a jacket that does not interfere with your shooting. I have found a puffer style jacket with a small collar and light sleeves is ideal. If the jacket does get in the way, you can take your shooting arm out of the sleeve and zip up the jacket to leave your arm free.

A body warmer is a great part of your kit as it keeps your core warm but does not interfere with your shooting arm; it can be worn over or under a jacket.

Note your head loses the most heat so a hat is a great insulator.

Ear defenders can help to keep you warm, but in hot weather they can get uncomfortable so have ear plugs as well as ear defenders that you can swap over.

It's not so often in Scotland the heat affects you, but it can happen, and it happens more often down south and in Europe. Because we are not used to the heat we tend to be affected by it more. A damp towel hung over the back of the neck will cool you down due to evaporation, wearing shorts and loose t-shirts helps as well. A sun visor instead of a hat and ear plugs instead of ear defenders are also potential adjustments to consider.

Why should you lose points because you are too cold or too hot?

Have you shot next to someone who bangs the gun down on the bench or makes noise by not having a cloth to rest the gun on? Make sure you have a soft cloth or mat to rest the gun on so it is not knocked about or scratched on the bench, it is a precision bit of kit!

A guitar foot stool is also really important to rest the gun on if the bench is low, it is adjustable and is allowed on the bench during a final. Having one saved my life on several occasions; without it I would have been leaning forwards for the whole shoot and potentially damaged my back!

Why lose points because you have bashed your gun on the bench and altered the zero or damaged the gun?

Recently I watched the pistol shooting during one of the World Cups. Manu Bhaker had a normal screw top water bottle. During the final, she kept her gun in her hand and used her left hand to pick up the bottle and unscrew the top, then drank from it and screwed back the top, all with one hand!

What would have happened if she had dropped the bottle, spilling the water all over the floor? In front of the world's cameras, she risked a huge amount of her credibility just to avoid putting the gun down!

Have a bottle that will spill if knocked over, this could ruin your final!

An insulated bottle is a good alternative; it can have a warm drink in it during the cold or cold drink during hot conditions. I drank hot decaf tea during the Scottish free pistol championships because it was freezing outside.

The following are suggestions of kit for you to consider and rank whether you need to upgrade, repair, replace or purchase from scratch: