But i wanna shoot competitively!

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  • camo556

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 29, 2021
    2,634
    Oh beats me. As long as its steel. Ive gotten to the point where i hate paper. And i prefer long distance right now. I have to shoot off a bench for awhile, cant shoot prone due to being 3 months post op for my back. If all goes well, Ill be allowed to lift more than 20lbs this Friday.

    And practiscore...never heard of it but im curious. Is it a red dot dry fire system? If so Kicken Wing wants that or something similar to put in our hallway!

    https://practiscore.com/dashboard/home

    most competitive matches are now using this site.

    you can find matches here.
     

    photoracer

    Competition Shooter
    Oct 22, 2010
    3,318
    West Virginia
    I don't know about others but for me I have been good at every sport or activity I have ever put forth any effort at. Except one and that was intentional (Golf). Well two technically because in one my younger brother made a serious effort to be good at a sport I decided to not compete with him (he was a former ranked 18 and under tennis player as a result). It would take too long to list them all, but one thing I discovered was that once I got really good at something it lost some of the fun factor that attracted me to the activity. So sometimes I looked for another challenge. In general I have found that people who have the abilities to be good at one thing can also be good at other things. Sometimes it's because the same skills are required. Driving a racecar and speed shooting have more similarities than differences.
    Don't worry about how you may do at the start. Study the things you need to do automatically, which in competitive shooting is the safety rules. The only people who don't get welcomed in the shooting sports are those that are an accident waiting to happen (and never learn) Look at the rulebook of every type of shooting sport, you can download them and study. They are all basically the same with only a few differences. Get with someone who is really experienced. Go over what you need to be constantly aware of and practice that. The actual shooting skills will come. And like anything else the more you practice the better you will get.
     

    Magnumite

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 17, 2007
    6,561
    Harford County, Maryland
    One of the best things about competition I noticed...is it will sharpen you shooting and your equipment.
    You will notice every bobble, jerk, heel, bumble, jam, missed mag replacement...and every millisecond.
    Some of my fondest moments shooting competitively is when I told the RO, "Better check your timer...I think its broken".
    A new personal best...or match best.
     

    DanGuy48

    Ultimate Member
    Hey y'all

    So how do you handle nerves shooting a match? Im really hard on myself being a retired competitive skater and as im sure many of you do, you expect yourself to do well. Im scared to consider signing up for a match for fear of failing. I know im still aways off from signing up for one but just sitting here thinking about the potential of failing eats me up. Kicken wing and i want to watch some official matches coming up so i will be doing that. I always try to go in with the attitude of im competing against myself which sometimes works sometime not. Anyone wanna share their first match fail story with me???

    I shot 4 position smallbore competitively many years ago. I never thought about winning, never looked at the scores or who was ahead (until afterwards). I was just completely focussed on what I was doing and really didn’t pay that much attention to others. One step at a time, this follows that…

    The formality of so many things now makes me sad. I used to just grab a rifle and go shooting. Now there are a gazillion rules, you need to belong to a club and even then, the majority of activities are around organized events. I wish I had land and privacy.
     

    BigRick

    Hooligan #15
    Aug 7, 2012
    1,140
    Southern Maryland

    Mike OTDP

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 12, 2008
    3,318
    Back to the OP...

    It helps to have a goal that is realistic. Reach that goal, set a higher goal. Especially if you intend to be seriously competitive. I'm deadly serious about black powder pistol and air pistol...rifle is quite another matter, I'm not serious about it.

    WRT match nerves, experience helps. It took me ten years before I felt comfortable shooting at a World Muzzle-Loading Championships. The more you compete, and the higher the level, the better. It also helps to have a pre-shot mental routine. I highly recommend Lanny Bassham's book, "With Winning in Mind". Considering that he retired as World and Olympic champion, I'd say that he's got serious chops.
     

    Belgian Bad A$$

    Tired of being ignored, living the single life!
    Feb 18, 2018
    68
    Washington County, MD
    Competitive skating huh. Did you win your first skating competition? How many years of training did it take to get to where you could win? Assuming you didn't win all the time, how did you deal with loosing?

    Basically I'm saying you'll be fine. Sure you'll be nervous, just like I'm sure you were nervous skating. That'll never go away.

    Come shoot, it'll be fun.
    Been skating since i was 7. Believe it or not, took 3rd at my first meet which was regionals that led to a crash and burn at nationals, 1993. Spent many years in a rink practicing. Did go on to win a handful of regionals and 1 nationals in compulsory figures.

    When i lost, i congratulated my friends i skated against and ultimately lost to, then chewed myself out for not doing my best. Went home laced up skates and practiced. Theres that word again: practice.

    Youre right im gonna be nervous. I think what concerns me is im worried about breaking a rule and being DQ'd. And we are talking about shooting whereas the worst that happens in skating is i fall. Ill get over it. Who is my biggest competition? Me. I am.
     

    AlBeight

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 30, 2017
    4,371
    Hampstead
    Been skating since i was 7. Believe it or not, took 3rd at my first meet which was regionals that led to a crash and burn at nationals, 1993. Spent many years in a rink practicing. Did go on to win a handful of regionals and 1 nationals in compulsory figures.

    When i lost, i congratulated my friends i skated against and ultimately lost to, then chewed myself out for not doing my best. Went home laced up skates and practiced. Theres that word again: practice.

    Youre right im gonna be nervous. I think what concerns me is im worried about breaking a rule and being DQ'd. And we are talking about shooting whereas the worst that happens in skating is i fall. Ill get over it. Who is my biggest competition? Me. I am.
    Dealing with losing is one thing, any athlete develops a way to handle a loss, but I’m not really sure how in the heck to deal with “loosing”. I imagine skate wheels and “loosing” would be a bad thing?;):innocent0
     

    davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    I think what concerns me is im worried about breaking a rule and being DQ'd.

    for the most part the only thing that will get you DQ'd is A) not keeping your muzzle pointed downrange, incl while reloading or clearing a jam or B) not keeping your finger clearly and visibly outside of the triggerguard while moving between target arrays, reloading, clearing a jam, anything other than while being on target and intending to shoot.

    if you want to start with something pretty uncomplicated, find a "steel challenge" match and sign up for that. basically no movement and they'll even let you start at low ready if you're not comfortable drawing and shooting. look up some youtubes, easy peasy.

    i'm doing a 2 gun match (AR and handgun) at Thurmont (just above Frederick) tomorrow, 9-2 or thereabouts, and a USPSA match at ShadowHawk (west of Inwood, below Hagerstown) on Sunday, noon-3 or thereabouts. great way to see a real competition and i'd be happy to give you the skinny on everything. pm me if interested. if you're good with A and B above, there's no reason you couldn't even shoot the USPSA match but at a minimum i should be able to let you run a stage after the match.
     

    Thwack22

    Member
    Aug 8, 2012
    54
    NoVa
    If you own or can borrow an accurate .22 try shooting an NRL22 or PRS rimfire match. Same safety rules, similar challenges/course of fire, often see the centerfire shooters there and it's cheaper and easier to find events nearby.
     

    dclutts

    Member
    Dec 26, 2021
    1
    I'm new to competitive shooting and the responses you all have given are very encouraging. Just joined the AGC range and am looking forward to learning all the disciplines. Hope to see you out there.
     

    photoracer

    Competition Shooter
    Oct 22, 2010
    3,318
    West Virginia
    There is a sanctioned Steel Challenge match at Thurmont on Saturday from about 9 AM till around 3:30 or so. There are 13 firearm divisions in Steel Challenge, targets are all steel with max distance being 35 yards and minimum of about 10 yards. All stages are 5 targets each including 4 field targets and one stop plate target that is shot last. Most shooters will be shooting 22 handguns and rifles and pistol caliber carbines, usually 9mm. There are divisions for both open sights and iron sights, open in this case means you can use anything you want but 99% use red dot sights of one brand or another. Iron sights allow fiber optic sights but nothing with a battery in it. Each stage is shot 5 times with the slowest time dropped and except for a stage called Outer Limits which requires movement of about 10 feet which is shot 4 times and one is dropped. One reason rimfires and PCC are so popular is because unlike all the other divisions they shoot from low ready and don't require drawing a gun from a holster.
     

    photoracer

    Competition Shooter
    Oct 22, 2010
    3,318
    West Virginia
    Hi y'all that post on my thread! Thank you!

    First and foremost, i want yall to know that i know my range rules and always practice safe handling. My daddy taught me well over 40 years ago.

    I was an office manager for a private security firm back in the day where i had to go through armed and unarmed training which meant qualifying to stay registered. That was my first experience on the line. I qualified but felt i should have done better.

    Everyones advice is spot on! I appreciate each of you! I will be at a range day on oct 2nd and will be paying close attention.

    I think one of my fears is not hitting the steel. I dont want to feel like im not good enough to compete. Someone said it takes practice and even more practice. I just need to get out there and do it! You guys and gals rock, you know that??

    If anyone will be at PNTC on oct 2nd find me and say hello. Ill be there with Kicken Wing! Yall be good!

    Lock n load!
    Ducky
    I used to shoot a lot at PNTC when I was a member. But they stopped running the events I like except Super Steel. Now I mostly shoot at Shadow Hawk Defense around the other side of the hill from Peacemaker because they shoot Steel Challenge which is my primary event along with Rimfire Challenge. Thurmont's TCSC shoots a lot of Steel Challenge.
     

    [Kev308]

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 23, 2020
    3,797
    Maryland
    just do it.

    You won't come in first. Go slow. Take your time your first match and focus on safety and avoiding procedurals. Try not to DQ. If you don't DQ by dropping your gun or breaking the 180 (for example) it's a W for the match. Go slower than you think you need to and try to avoid procedural (like make sure to hit targets in the correct order and learn where your feet should be). Slow is fast because there is lots to competitive shooting besides shooting your race gun fast.

    the way to get through the nerves imo is the same as in other sports... practice and let muscle memory take over.

    If you've been a competitive skater you know all this so you'll kick ass.

    Usually my goals are not to DQ and beat my last time.

    Also, you'll be doing a lot of pasting and standing around watching other ppl. It's always good to see how more experienced ppl run stages.
    ^^^^^ This

    Just get thru the course safely and build upon the experience.
     

    10xclean

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 23, 2008
    358
    Kingsville
    Suggested read - With Winning in Mind by Lanny Bassham - former olympian turned shooter and faced same obstacles. Lanny was a hi power shooter.
     

    wolfdad

    Older Shootin' Geek
    Mar 2, 2011
    657
    Earth, I think..........
    Hey y'all

    So how do you handle nerves shooting a match? Im really hard on myself being a retired competitive skater and as im sure many of you do, you expect yourself to do well. Im scared to consider signing up for a match for fear of failing. I know im still aways off from signing up for one but just sitting here thinking about the potential of failing eats me up. Kicken wing and i want to watch some official matches coming up so i will be doing that. I always try to go in with the attitude of im competing against myself which sometimes works sometime not. Anyone wanna share their first match fail story with me???
    My friend, I have found one "key" point in shooting IDPA matches. First, it doesn't matter whether it's "major" or small "local" match, but shoot it like it is the last match you will ever shoot.

    My one "key" point is to "be in" the evolution (stage) you are shooting. Don't look forward and don't look back. You can't do anything but learn from the last stage and you haven't gotten to the next stage, so shoot the stage you're in. Live and learn from what you've already done and don't project yourself into the next stage. Take your time when you first get started and make your shots count. Speed comes with experience, but, above all else, live in the moment you are in.
     

    Magnumite

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 17, 2007
    6,561
    Harford County, Maryland
    My friend, I have found one "key" point in shooting IDPA matches. First, it doesn't matter whether it's "major" or small "local" match, but shoot it like it is the last match you will ever shoot.

    My one "key" point is to "be in" the evolution (stage) you are shooting. Don't look forward and don't look back. You can't do anything but learn from the last stage and you haven't gotten to the next stage, so shoot the stage you're in. Live and learn from what you've already done and don't project yourself into the next stage. Take your time when you first get started and make your shots count. Speed comes with experience, but, above all else, live in the moment you are in.
    Yep, Brian Enos…”Shooting in the present tense”.
     

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