“Natural” skill and your limiting factor to becoming a better shot?

What is your limiting factor

  • Time

    Votes: 52 29.9%
  • Money

    Votes: 40 23.0%
  • Motivation

    Votes: 13 7.5%
  • Equipment

    Votes: 2 1.1%
  • Physical Limitations

    Votes: 30 17.2%
  • I can't get any better because I am already perfect

    Votes: 12 6.9%
  • Other or multiple (please explain)

    Votes: 25 14.4%

  • Total voters
    174
  • Poll closed .
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holdencm9

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In another thread I made the comparison of shooting to sports. And shooting is a sport, so that makes sense! But the essence was that you can be excellent by any objective measurement, and still pale in comparison to the pros. However, some people are just “naturals” and others…well, have to work a lot harder. Likewise, some people will NEVER make elite status no matter how much time and money they invest. The common mantra is that with enough time and effort, anyone can reach any level at anything they want, but is that really true? I know it isn’t PC to tell your kids they likely don’t have the chops to go pro in their favorite sport, but it is probably realistic and for the best a lot of times. I don’t think I do myself a disservice by recognizing this.

I think it is safe to say we all feel we could improve our skills, and I definitely know I am steadily improving, but for one reason or another, we are held back. Right now, for me, it is time. I am busy with work and studying and other social endeavors, so I only get to the range every few weeks. If I won the lottery and could dedicate 100% to the shooting sports I would be the happiest guy alive, but still doubt I could reach that top level. And for me personally, that is fine. So I guess you could say motivation is also an issue because I am content to steadily improve and continue besting myself. I consider myself proficient with my carry guns. At some point would like to start in competitions but more for fun and experience than to “compete” per se.

So what about you? What holds you back? The poll is just for curiosity. I am fully aware that there is overlap. For instance, “time = money” and no matter how busy you think you are, you could make time for practice if you had more motivation. Likewise “if I had more money I could probably buy better equipment,” et cetera. Also, please don’t flame me for having a “defeatist” attitude or anything like that. I don’t think it is defeatist to be realistic. And I still strive for improvement all the time. That said, I don't think we should flame anyone who says they just shoot for fun and nothing more.
 
For me it's time,,,

I work a normal 8 to 5 workday,,,
Now that daylight savings time has kicked in,,,
There are no more after work range trips for a while.

It's weekends only for me,,,
Unfortunately that's the only time I can get other tasks done.

Aarond

.
 
I voted money, but time is a killer sometimes too. I just don't have the money for ammo to get out there and shoot as much as I'd like.

I'm not saying if I win the lotto I'm going to be able to be a pro shooter. But if I were able to practice more I'd be better than I am now.
 
I answered Physical Limitations simply because my distance eyesight isn't what it used to be. I do have a few scoped rifles and one pistol but I prefer to shoot with open (mostly peep) sights. I probably need to get my prescription upgrade but I have trouble seeing a standard target center at 100 yds, which is probably why I enjoy shooting gongs at 300 and 500 yds more than paper targets at 100. Time is the second factor. There are just not enough hours in the day for family, work, cleaning guns, reloading ammo, or shooting......
 
Money and Time are both well up there, not surprising. For me it's kinda both, but while I could find more time to go, I can't find more money, so that's my biggest limiting factor.
 
For me it is becoming age. :)

I enjoyed DCM matches for many years but with some added weight and age getting into the positions is not quite as easy as it once was. The visual acuity is also not quite what it once was. While I do shoot a few scoped rifles I always enjoyed iron sights at the 500 meter line in a good tight prone position. Maybe this winter while loading ammunition a few exercises would be in order?

Should be fully retired in a few years so time will not be an issue. :)

Ron
 
Physical limitations. Hand tremors messes with handguns. Poor eyesight makes iron sights difficult for rifles. I've been able to shoot scoped rifles fairly decently.
 
for me, it has ALWAYS been money. I will admit that I have learned good money habits the hard way over the years. Now I have a monthy budget of $100 for ammo, I started reloading to make the most of it. (Just hand-counted 1167 9mm and 671 .45s currently primed, belled, and waiting for bullets.)
 
A degenerative eye disease limits my ability to shoot. I can still shoot alright, but I'll never be a 2600+ bullseye shooter like my dad. Kinda bummed me out, because he was very supportive of me competing and it was a goal of mine to be that good, but that's life.

Strangely, it's one of the things that has pushed me more into collecting and admiring the aesthetic side of firearms.
 
The OP is missing one important question, which specific shooting sport are you talking about? NRA Highpower? 3 Gun? Cowboy Action? IDPA?

I only pay $90 a year for range membership, but this is at a range where no rapid fire is allowed and certainly no shooting on the move, so 3 Gun practice is out. They do have IDPA pits and I could and do practice NRA Highpower style shooting. If I wanted to get into something like 3 Gun I don't even know of a range that allows it, and don't even want to know how much it'd cost. So I have to settle for only doing 3 Gun style stuff at work where it's free and the range allows it.

Apparently there are rifle ranges out there that don't allow shooting from anywhere but the bench, so for some people even NRA Highpower is out.
 
I voted other/multiple:

Money (for training classes and ammo, mostly)
Time (for traveling to classes)
Equipment (counting the range as equipment, don't have proper range access for many things locally)
 
I voted that I'm perfect just for the helluva it... :D

I'm not sure about rifles yet but I do know that for me good handgun skills are very much a perishable skill. If I don't shoot about once a week I do notice a downturn in results. More often than that over a few weeks and my skills ramp up. Once to twice a week and they stay about the same.

I include my matches for various styles as part of my weekly shooting.
 
The OP is missing one important question, which specific shooting sport are you talking about? NRA Highpower? 3 Gun? Cowboy Action? IDPA?

I intentionally left it open, and put it in "General Gun Discussions" to garner more responses and overall I figure that no matter what shooting sport you want to get good at, it will take time and money and dedication to get there.

+1 for being a broke college kid!

I hear ya! I think I shot about 10 mags through my Beretta my entire college career.

I voted that I'm perfect just for the helluva it...

I figured that would snag a few votes :)
 
I've got shaky hands so it's kinda hard to make bullseye shots when the front sight is dancing all over the target! :rolleyes:

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one here with shaky hands though. It's not an age thing (30s) or physical problem per se, my hands have just always tended to shake. More so when I'm fatigued, excited, etc.
 
You didn't list range access, so I'm an "Other". Only two local ranges. One range close to me is a private club, but open to the public. But half the time it's closed to the public for a competition, preparation, clean up, maintenance, or whatever. The other range is a 180 mile round trip.
 
Its time for me as well. I work full time, on second shift, over an hour from home. That leaves very little time to spend with the family as it is, but I'm also a full time college student, with most of my classes being on one of my two days off. My other day off is for church and dedicated family time. When its all said and done, I take the time to hit the range about an hour or two per month - and even then, its hard not to feel guilty doing that instead of spending the time with my wife and daughter.
 
For me my limiting factor is time, money second. I can practice all day by dry firing, but there is only so much sunlight each day.
 
Time and money. I've got a family, work all the overtime I can get (which isn't much lately) and spend most of my time and money with and on my family. I spend enough of shooting to stay proficient, but I'm not fooling myself into thinking I'm getting any better right now.

However, I'm planning on another class in 2013, so maybe that'll help me get back on my game a little.
 
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