How would you get started?

justeric · Apr 25, 2018

jimbobborg said:
If you intend to start competitive shooting, pick up five or six good magazines, a good holster that is IDPA and USPSA legal, and a few good magazine holders. Practice dry fire and drawing and reloading on top of what you are doing now.

Plus one to what Jim said. Just make sure not to get a Serpa Holsters with a thumb lever to release your gun. Those can be dangerous when you are trying to draw your gun. I don't think anyone will let you use them in competitions.

Practice on drawing safely and reloading safely. Keep your finger outside the finger guard until you are ready to shoot. Always point the gun down range especially when you are moving and reloading.

And don't think about the competitions as a competitive events. They are more like friends getting together to shoot fun stages. The attitude is always fun and supportive at the competitions.

There are plenty of competitions in the area. One I like is the steel challenge at Peacemakers in WV. You will go through around 200 plus rounds. The day goes fast and you don't have to tape targets. It is a great way to start shooting pistol competitions.

Good luck!
Eric

davsco · Apr 25, 2018

justeric said:
Just make sure not to get a Serpa Holsters with a thumb lever to release your gun. I don't think anyone will let you use them in competitions.

One I like is the steel challenge at Peacemakers in WV.

don't really agree about the serpa holsters. a couple of idiots with no finger discipline did some bad things, vs the thousands of those holsters out there. peacemaker, thurmont, etc don't ban them. i'd use one with my sti's in 3 gun if they made one that fits. simple, light, fast. i've seen folks light one off (into the ground and into their leg/foot) with way more expensive holsters than the serpa. you don't want any sort of secondary retention (other than a little friction) anyways if you're shooting uspsa, idpa, steel challenge so moot point there.

super agree on steel challenge. pretty good entry point into competitive shooting. draw, shoot, holster. little to no movement, stage planning, reloading etc.

davsco · Apr 27, 2018

again, i am shooting the morning falling steel match at shadow hawk saturday, and i am off the waitlist and in the uspsa match at thurmont sunday. anyone is welcome to spectate, check out guns and gear, and ask all the ?'s they want.

JoeRinMD · Apr 27, 2018

Smokescreen said:
Its already been said but I don't think it can be said enough but training and practice are the best places to start.
I normally tell new shooters to start with a 22lr because the habits transfer, its a great introductory experience and you can shoot a lot for not much money. Nothing wrong with 9mm, I just feel 22lr is better.
Stick with 1 maybe 2 guns and become very proficient with them. Do not continually tweak and modify them because your results will change. You want the gun and its function to be second nature.
Consistency is extremely important (grip, stance, ammo, distance and target). You want to be able to predict everything that will happen so that you know when something is "off"

If you can join a club that does official matches, you can not only see results of your practice but normally the other shooters will give you advice and pointers too. One club I know of in Frederick county is Monocacy Pistol Club. They do multiple types of pistol matches through out the year. They are normally close to the membership cap but they do get turnover. Here is their website.

In consideration of your other thread about looking for a .22 pistol, I agree with Smokescreen regarding finding some .22 Rimfire events in which to participate. From your signature, it looks like you're not close to Anne Arundel Fish and Game in Annapolis, but we hold monthly Rimfire Action events, where we shoot steel targets, in both 2-gun and Rimfire Challenge formats. They're a ton of fun and you get a chance to practice the disciplines for a lot less $$. At least at our club, if you showed up with just a .22 pistol, I'm certain someone would lend you a rifle to shoot those stages. As a personal anecdote, at my first Cowboy Action event, I arrived with just one pistol...no rifle, no shotgun, no holsters! In about 30 seconds, people were almost shoving things at me so that I was equipped to participate. It was a very welcoming environment.

Here's a link to the official Rimfire Challenge site: http://www.rimfirechallenge.org/about/

Please let me know if you want to come to AAF&G for an event. We're doing Rimfire action this Sunday morning.

JoeR

welder516 · Apr 27, 2018

I would encourage you to get signed up for one of the ranges/clubs . Our club has competitive shooting with various rifles , handguns old and new and different calibers . I may pal up with the guy that sponsored me for the club and have him show me the ropes .

So my advice would be join a club and get involved .Good luck to you .

d33rhunt3r · Apr 27, 2018

BigT5g said:
I'm a big fan of getting new folks involved in practical shooting and would be happy to give you some tips at one of my open guided practice sessions free of charge. (not including range fee).

you could also schedule private lessons of course.

Best,
Trevor

www.targetfocus.net

Depending on how my scheduling is, since Taneytown isn't around the corner from me, I will hopefully be contacting you soon.

VFRgrl · Apr 27, 2018

davsco said:
again, i am shooting the morning falling steel match at shadow hawk saturday, and i am off the waitlist and in the uspsa match at thurmont sunday. anyone is welcome to spectate, check out guns and gear, and ask all the ?'s they want.

I'm heading up to the match on Sunday! See you there
Lori

VFRgrl · Apr 27, 2018

JoeRinMD said:
In consideration of your other thread about looking for a .22 pistol, I agree with Smokescreen regarding finding some .22 Rimfire events in which to participate. From your signature, it looks like you're not close to Anne Arundel Fish and Game in Annapolis, but we hold monthly Rimfire Action events, where we shoot steel targets, in both 2-gun and Rimfire Challenge formats. They're a ton of fun and you get a chance to practice the disciplines for a lot less $$. At least at our club, if you showed up with just a .22 pistol, I'm certain someone would lend you a rifle to shoot those stages. As a personal anecdote, at my first Cowboy Action event, I arrived with just one pistol...no rifle, no shotgun, no holsters! In about 30 seconds, people were almost shoving things at me so that I was equipped to participate. It was a very welcoming environment.

Here's a link to the official Rimfire Challenge site: http://www.rimfirechallenge.org/about/

Please let me know if you want to come to AAF&G for an event. We're doing Rimfire action this Sunday morning.

JoeR

Hey Joe!
Thanks so much! I'm still looking for a 0.22LR and definitely interested in doing some of these matches. Unfortunately- I'm headed up to the USPSA Match on Sunday; I'll try to catch one soon though

Thanks;
Lori

BigT5g · Apr 27, 2018

d33rhunt3r said:
Depending on how my scheduling is, since Taneytown isn't around the corner from me, I will hopefully be contacting you soon.

Great!

davsco · Apr 27, 2018

VFRgrl said:
I'm heading up to the match on Sunday! See you there
Lori

cool, i should be in squad 6, and will be pushing around a converted jogging stroller with a green midway usa range bag on it. david

justeric · Apr 27, 2018

JoeRinMD said:
In consideration of your other thread about looking for a .22 pistol, I agree with Smokescreen regarding finding some .22 Rimfire events in which to participate. From your signature, it looks like you're not close to Anne Arundel Fish and Game in Annapolis, but we hold monthly Rimfire Action events, where we shoot steel targets, in both 2-gun and Rimfire Challenge formats. They're a ton of fun and you get a chance to practice the disciplines for a lot less $$. At least at our club, if you showed up with just a .22 pistol, I'm certain someone would lend you a rifle to shoot those stages. As a personal anecdote, at my first Cowboy Action event, I arrived with just one pistol...no rifle, no shotgun, no holsters! In about 30 seconds, people were almost shoving things at me so that I was equipped to participate. It was a very welcoming environment.

Here's a link to the official Rimfire Challenge site: http://www.rimfirechallenge.org/about/

Please let me know if you want to come to AAF&G for an event. We're doing Rimfire action this Sunday morning.

JoeR

Not trying to be a pain, but I'm not a big fan of 22lr pistols. They jam all the time and didn't really prepare me for shooting a 9mm cartridge. I go out with new shooters that can be very accurate with a 22lr but can't hit anything with a 9mm. I was the same way. I know there are a bunch of really good 22lr shooters that love shooting rim fire but if you want to do 2-gun, 3-gun, steel challenge, uspsa, idpa... why not learn how to shoot a 9mm? I can see the 45 caliber shooters rolling their eyes and saying why not shoot 45's. Not trying to start anything here. Just saying, most action competitions start with a 9mm. Now I am going to duck for the incoming responses.

jonnyl · Apr 27, 2018

If you're interested getting your feet wet while working on the other things there are action pistol matches at Heritage in Frederick on Wednesday evenings. Some of the pros are that it's very newbie friendly. My daughter was pretty apprehensive to go and had a great time and felt very comfortable. A couple cons are that it's more expensive than most of the outdoor competitions ($35), you can only draw from a holster if you take the "certification" class. It's another $35. Without drawing you pick up off a barrel or table which some of the stages call for anyway, so the holster draw isn't required.

Skills to be comfortable with (and to avoid DQs) are:

Keeping finger off the trigger unless ready to shoot (visibly out of the trigger guard while getting gun into position or moving between shooting positions)
Keeping muzzle downrange at all times (while reloading, moving, etc...)
Good familiarity and comfort level with your pistol

Competing is a lot of fun, I've found the folks to be very friendly and welcoming to new folks. Don't hesitate to jump in.

My priority order is:

Safety
Fun
Accuracy
Speed

Mark75H · Apr 27, 2018

justeric said:
Not trying to be a pain, but I'm not a big fan of 22lr pistols. They jam all the time and didn't really prepare me for shooting a 9mm cartridge. I go out with new shooters that can be very accurate with a 22lr but can't hit anything with a 9mm. I was the same way. I know there are a bunch of really good 22lr shooters that love shooting rim fire but if you want to do 2-gun, 3-gun, steel challenge, uspsa, idpa... why not learn how to shoot a 9mm? I can see the 45 caliber shooters rolling their eyes and saying why not shoot 45's. Not trying to start anything here. Just saying, most action competitions start with a 9mm. Now I am going to duck for the incoming responses.

Sell those junk .22's you have and buy some nice ones. I have plenty of .22 handguns that run as reliably as any 9mm you can take to a range.

justeric · Apr 27, 2018

Mark75H said:
Sell those junk .22's you have and buy some nice ones. I have plenty of .22 handguns that run as reliably as any 9mm you can take to a range.

I wish I had enough ammo to shoot until either my 9mm or your 22lr didn't go bang

I have a Ruger 22/45 and I find that I get better reliability when I put a light coating of rem oil on the rounds. I usually put them in my speed loader thing (forgot the name) give it a small squirt of rem oil, give it a shake, and then load the mags. No doubt you can go through 500 rounds in an afternoon with the speed loader and bulk ammo. Much fun!

Since starting to shoot action pistol competitions, my 22lr has been neglected. With the 22lr, I can get bad habits with my hold that will cause problems with my 9mm.

I do love 22lr Precision Rifle matches though!

VFRgrl · Apr 29, 2018

Huge Thanks to Paul and Dave for showing me the ropes at the USPSA match today. It was a lot of fun to watch and learn ..

davsco · Apr 29, 2018

VFRgrl said:
Huge Thanks to Paul and Dave for showing me the ropes at the USPSA match today. It was a lot of fun to watch and learn ..

so give some others who want to jump in the pool some feedback. was it easier or harder than you expected (i think you shot most if not all the stages)? what were you prepared for, what were you unprepared for?

from the two stages i saw you shoot, you did great as a first-timer and surely you'll get better with every match!

VFRgrl · Apr 29, 2018

davsco said:
so give some others who want to jump in the pool some feedback. was it easier or harder than you expected (i think you shot most if not all the stages)? what were you prepared for, what were you unprepared for?

from the two stages i saw you shoot, you did great as a first-timer and surely you'll get better with every match!

Hi Dave okay. I did actually get to shoot every stage except the 8 Target single shot reload station. I think I did pretty well especially since I haven't been shooting that long and only really shooting from the holster for a week. The biggest challenges were reloading and not trying to keep up with the really fast people the small steel targets were a lot harder to hit than I thought they would be but if I took my time I was able to take them out. The hardest stage for me was the 32 shot with complicated problems. I also had a Jam and went through every single one of my four magazines. That's definitely experience and practice that will help. Paul was amazing at coaching me through stuff and I appreciate all the time he took. My biggest violations are keeping my finger too close to the trigger while running around and reloading so I need to practice that. I need to practice the mechanics of pulling from The holster and reloading but I think it went really well today. I won't be the fastest but I'll still be having fun and this was a great way to get introduced and everyone was really friendly. I'd highly recommend any new shooters to go through this new shooter orientation with Paul if you are interested in competition shooting at all.
I would say the other challenge that I hadn't prepared for was shooting at the head targets. I don't quite have my sight picture correct when I'm shooting at the head because I think I've had more practice well I know I've had a lot more practice shooting at Center.
I'll write up a more detailed report when I get to a computer and not on my phone.
Lori

4g64loser · May 2, 2018

VFRgrl,

Peacemaker in Glengary, WV hosts a variety of pistol-only games as well as multigun events if that is something you want to get into later. The Steel Challenge is simple, fun, and not very gear-heavy. Lots of mags (five to six minimum depending on your weapon) so you don't have to reload your mags as frequently and a good holster. Five targets per stage. Super Steel is a blast. Think of a reactive shooting gallery. For this you will need more mags and mag carriers as there can be as many targets as the MD is willing to drag out on a given stage. I am primarily a rifle shooter but every now and then some pistol steel is good for a change.

Good shooting.

jonathanglock · May 2, 2018

Where do you live in Washington county? I'm in Smithsburg. I could take you to the Isaac Walton Range outside of Hagerstown.

VFRgrl · May 2, 2018

jonathanglock said:
Where do you live in Washington county? I'm in Smithsburg. I could take you to the Isaac Walton Range outside of Hagerstown.

I'm in Boonsboro but not LOL my address says Boonsboro but I'm right by the Washington Ag center more like Fairplay

How would you get started?

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