Why Don't You Shoot In Local Matches?

[Sam1911]

are most of the guys who shoot competitively married or single.

Married. Three (and a half) kids. Competitive shooting (and being a Match Director in support of that locally) is my one solitary hobby. My wife is very understanding of that, and knows that everything else I do beyond work, I do with the entire family or as many as are able.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Matches are on weekends and I can't count on weekends off , or being on a shift that I'd be awake on a weekend day...
Been working every weekend this year so far.

 

[shootr]

Deleted.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I understand I have what it takes to win prizes. I have to work and spend more time at home too though. Back when times were good and I had a day job and no weekends things could happen. Not so anymore.

 

[SuperNaut]

I've got to add that I don't think that the ultimate goal of training is to compete. I don't want new shooters to think that competition is anything other than what it is. Just because you jog doesn't mean that you need to compete in a marathon.

 

[gym]

shooter, I quote you,
"interesting read. Personal insecurity manifests itself in different ways and is a show stopper for many. Probably everyone's been there at some time but most figure out it's best to push on through"
That's a bold statement to make considering you don't know most of these fellas.
Speaking for myself,To eqaute Personal insecurity to shooting a gun on weekends, is a stretch that is intergalactic, being that you have no idea who many of the people that you are speaking to are quite accomplished even though they don't have the same hobbies you do. They just don't brag about it.
I can't fathom any other way to take a comment like that other than as an insult to every member who was polite enough to answer the post.
If I misread something please let me know. how many people have you encountered who shot back at you, many of our members are serious gunmen .Just because they may not enjoy what you do doesn't give you the right to be rude. Calling members insecure, because they don't play the same games you do is just not acceptable. Nor is it the High Road.

 

[sawdeanz]

I'm a new shooter still.
After my most recent range session with my neighbor and mentor, he seemed impressed with my progress and started mentioning the Macdill (sp?) AFB and the tactical pistol courses and 3 gun matches they have there, so now I'm really excited that soon I might be able to participate in something like that.
Then he mentioned the annual machine gun shoot and that really caught my attention too
If my friend didn't have so many connections though I'm not sure how I would even be aware of these matches.

 

[btg3]

FWIW, a 30-something single female showed up at IDPA with a brand new .45 Kimber which was her first gun. She wanted to learn, period. She was safe, accurate, and slow. I saw her again at a couple more matches. Her speed and confidence were amazing.

We've got a great IDPA group that would help any new shooter. Come on out!

 

[Mike OTDP]

I grew up shooting among very serious competitors, so I never understood the issue. Yes, you'll do poorly the first time out. But you'll get better. That's the point. Improving your skills.

As for distance, I drove 3 hours each way to a black powder match Saturday - then drove an hour each way Sunday to shoot free and air pistol. The furthest trip? 10,500 miles. The World Muzzle-Loading Championships.

 

[GEM]

We had three IDPA venues. Now we have two. The remaining are great folk and very supportive of new shooters. As far as not doing well, my theory is that I compete against myself to do better. It's like weight lifting, do I make progress? Then I'm happy. We have national champions that shoot with us and all are nice folks.

The one venue that failed was because it was a joint IPSC/IDPA venue that was at war with itself. While a club, the IPSC side had no business sense and IDPA attendance folded and the IPSC guys were happy. There are also more friendly IPSC venues around.

The steel folk are also nice. So go out and do your best. If a club becomes an incestous Children of Corn clique - find another.

It's a problem with all clubs - becoming a clique.

 

[Slamfire]

Because I suck at competitive shooting and I hate to embarrass myself in public.

I totally understand, but having embarrassed my self for a couple of decades, I promise you, the more often you suck, the less it hurts.

I used to shoot a lot of IPSC, the guys were great, but it became an equipment race and I had too much down time between relays. You would shoot for 30 seconds and wait an hour.

I got into rifle matches. If you are shooting highpower you are either on the line or you are in the pitts. You are always busy, and when you are in the pitts, you get to BS with the best of them.

We love our new shooters and pump them so full of advice it comes out their ears.

Smallbore has been fun and at my range it has really taken off. With one relay you shoot from 900 to 1215, when it is hot we put popups for shade, the only downtime is changing targets and scoring.

At the Small Bore Nationals it is more of a vacation, shoot for one hour, sit around for one hour. It was very relaxing and the first year I finished a book about Concrete, (concrete is far more complicated than you ever thought!) and the second year a book on Gettysburg. When I get tired of reading, I go bother buds, or spend money on Commercial row. Which is always fun!

 

[Jim Watson]

There are reasons and there are excuses.
Work long hours or have no competitive urge in your psyche? Reasons. So don't do it and don't feel you have to defend your decision.

Most other posts are excuses, "id like to shoot comps but..." and can be overcome if you try.

No spare time? Most of us have more spare time than we think. Turn off the tv or pc and do those chores you were leaving until Saturday.

Not good enough? Nobody cares as long as you are safe and can follow instructions on what and when to shoot. Competition isn't practice, it is a test of what you have practiced and a guideline to what you need to practice more.

Don't know where to go? That is what the gunboards are for. Say where you are and somebody in the area will tell you what and where he shoots.

Too expensive? Don't be afraid of your sensitive side, shoot .22s. There are all sorts of things you can do with a .22. My club has a different .22 activity every Saturday. In contrast, we shoot IDPA and CAS each once a month and Highpower maybe twice a year.

Too far to go? A matter of priorities. I am 700 miles from home, having just completed an IDPA state championship. I do have friends in the area to crash with, though. Otherwise, my guideline is that I will travel to shoot wherever I am on the range longer than it took to get there. Usually means a 2.5 hr drive; which gets me to a match of some sort every week.

 

[ny32182]

Regarding "down time" at action pistol matches, if you have much of any real down time, you should be using it to help reset the stage, and everyone would then have less down time.

 

[Sam1911]

Regarding "down time" at action pistol matches, if you have much of any real down time, you should be using it to help reset the stage, and everyone would then have less down time.

That's something I don't really see. "Downtime?" Yes, there is time between the moments when you are shooting, but I don't find a lot of actual downtime. Pasting, resetting, prepping, loading mags, and watching/analyzing the other shooters work through the stage (I learn a LOT from that, both from the tricks and efficiencies of the Masters, and from the snares and pitfalls discovered by the less adept) takes up just about all of my time. At smaller club level matches you can add helping with score-keeping to that list.

But, when I'm at 'home' I'm doing the M.D. thing, and when I'm elsewhere, I probably work as an S.O. at more than 2/3rds of the matches I shoot so match days for me are always intensely busy.

 

[kd7nqb]

The biggest thing that keeps me out of local shoots is that I work weekends However I could take a day or two off. But most matches take several hundred rounds of ammo and ammo aint free. So overall expense is the biggest hurdle for me.

 

[pockets]

Just because you jog doesn't mean that you need to compete in a marathon.

My sentiments exactly.
I shoot for my own relaxation and enjoyment.
To me personally, competition with others is not relaxing nor enjoyable.

 

[Justin]

The biggest thing that keeps me out of local shoots is that I work weekends However I could take a day or two off. But most matches take several hundred rounds of ammo and ammo aint free. So overall expense is the biggest hurdle for me.

In my experience, even a large six stage local match will require no more than 200 or so rounds.

Bullseye pistol matches won't require more than 270 rounds, and 90 of those are .22.

High Power matches require less than 100 rounds.




Sent from my Android smart phone using Tapatalk.

 

[swingpress]

WHEN I don't compete, it's mostly because of the travel, expense, and because I like to do things with my wife who is no longer enthusiastic about competing.

She got tired of having everyone and their brother trying to tell her how to shoot and is now less interested. She liked to shoot USPSA single-action with a revolver and did fairly well, considering, but didn't like the advice of people who correctly advised her that she would do better shooting double-action - she just didn't have the confidence yet. Now, she may never. The icing on the cake was the day someone challenged her holster.

I really wish these guys hadn't ruined it for us.

 

[Texas Moon]

One of the things that bummed me out was the small amount of shooting I would actually get during a match.
Get up at 5am, drive 70 miles, truck full of gear, stand around waiting for hours to actually get to fire 80-100 rds, get back at 6pm.
No thanks.
I want to shoot not B.S. all day.

 

[oneounceload]

One of the things that bummed me out was the small amount of shooting I would actually get during a match.
Get up at 5am, drive 70 miles, truck full of gear, stand around waiting for hours to actually get to fire 80-100 rds, get back at 6pm.
No thanks.
I want to shoot not B.S. all day.

Perhaps you should try sporting clays - lots of fun, you get to take a nice stroll through the terrain, and then get your butt kicked by a crafty target setter who makes you think the target is doing one thing while it is really doing another..........

 

[jfdavis58]

This is quite long as forum threads go--four pages and still strong

I have a bunch of reasons:

Crabby shooting widow. Wife has alternate weekends off, she doesn't care for matches or getting a husband home after one completely exhausted.

Poor match organization. I want to shoot. I'll take my turn with brass clean-up, scoring, taping and resetting steel, but only my turn. It takes a lot out of the several people who participate even if only one person stands around looking 'special'; having several 'specials' in a squad is pure hell. Having a 'shoot-through' is an even higher burden.

Challenge. I want variety and some physicality. One short field course and three long technical 'standards' is excruciatingly boring. From the other side, it's tricky and problematic to score too (file under been there, done that).

Excessive politics. I could tell a story too strange to believe but still true, about this topic. In short, I needed a lawyer, spent upwards of $1500.00 and still couldn't completely restore my reputation after being slandered by other club officers. In the end I stayed married, kept my home and car (and guns). One of them went to prison and drug rehab, the other does well trying to ignore the past and refusing to discuss the problems created.

You learn a lot about character when shooting competitively--your own and that of everyone around you. That's pretty heavy stuff to wade into and through every couple of weeks just to shoot a handful of rounds, get a score that reflects nothing about reality, a sunburn and possibly a bunch of dirty or broken gear.

The BS factor. Everyone who shoots competitively has a story-most embellish freely and repeatedly. The more stories I heard the more quiet I became, the more I realized it was ALL a game and mostly BS. For a while you will notice some improvement. Especially improved will be your gun handling skills and safety. Your marksmanship will also gain some, as will your ability to work under stress. And it will be fun.

But at some point you will either quit to regain your own sense of life balance or you will get sucked into some official duty. Once you're appointed or (worse) elected the fun stops and the real work starts. It's (for me) too big a price to pay.

I had the foresight to acquire a considerable stash of targets and related equipment. I have a few close friends who shoot and we can hook-up the trailer of stuff, go to the range, set-up, shoot, clean-up and come home in about 1/4 the time spent with an organized or club event. We all know what to do and there is no BS.

That's my nickles worth...

 

[merlinfire]

Some of the events I'd be most interested in happen during church time on Sundays, or too early in the day for people who work 1st shift.

Guess I'd have to be retired to participate to the fullest?

 

[armoredman]

I checked those links - no matches/clubs nearby, and with today's gas prices, "nearby" shrinks every day. Great local, free, and well maintained city range is not too far away, love shooting there. I have seen people doing things that look like matches, (one time they had a barbeque going on at the same time - do you know how hard it is to concentrate with aroma of barbque wafting through???), and some other guys doing what was obviously a match of some kind on one of the pistol bays - but have been thoroughly and completely rebuffed, politely, but very obviously disinvited to watch, much less participate. "Good ol Boy" club in full swing, oh well.
We used to do "IDPA style" at the indoor range I worked at 10 years ago, as we had no sacntion, but tried to run it like IDPA. Employees could play, too, which was cool. Won exactly one match the whole time I did it, most of the time I was bad to adequate.
Worst experiance was being RO for a bowling pin match many years ago, when a VERY lightly loaded 38 bounced back off a pin and smacked me square in the groin. Down I went. Peanut gallery in full guffaw. Hurt a tad at the time, hilarious in retrospect - saved the bullet somewhere. Shooter apologized for a week.
Back to subject at hand, if there was a club close that would let me try out, as some of them obviously shoot during the week, I would be happy to try again, though I will probably be a bit rusty, more like rusted shut - annual Qualification has nothing to do with an action match.

 

[shootr]

shooter, I quote you,
"interesting read. Personal insecurity manifests itself in different ways and is a show stopper for many. Probably everyone's been there at some time but most figure out it's best to push on through"
That's a bold statement to make considering you don't know most of these fellas.
Speaking for myself,To eqaute Personal insecurity to shooting a gun on weekends, is a stretch that is intergalactic, being that you have no idea who many of the people that you are speaking to are quite accomplished even though they don't have the same hobbies you do. They just don't brag about it.
I can't fathom any other way to take a comment like that other than as an insult to every member who was polite enough to answer the post.
If I misread something please let me know. how many people have you encountered who shot back at you, many of our members are serious gunmen .Just because they may not enjoy what you do doesn't give you the right to be rude. Calling members insecure, because they don't play the same games you do is just not acceptable. Nor is it the High Road.

Gym,

No offense meant, my comment wasn't directed at any one person and I didn't call anyone anything. Think you read a lot into it that wasn't there. Quite a bit of irony in your assertions concerning me. That said, not my intent to stir anything. Post removed.

 

[gym]

Thank you for doing the right thing