Get Practical Firearm Training by Getting Involved With Competitive Shooting
Morgan Rogue 04.15.22
The very first time I ever did competitive shooting, I wasn’t very comfortable with my firearm or shooting in general. I was very much a novice, but I heard about competitive shooting from the greats like Julie Golob and Gabby Franco, and I thought it sounded like fun.
To get started, I did a search online and found several local competitive shooting leagues across the city that took place at various ranges. I contacted one and he was super excited to get me involved and I was excited that he was so encouraging towards my getting involved, especially since I had zero experience.
But he told me this, “Set yourself up to just have fun, because I guarantee, you’ll come in dead last. We all do our first time.”
And he was right! I came in dead last, but I also learned a lot, met a new friend, and had a ton of fun.
Here are three reasons you should try competitive shooting:
Accuracy
This is probably the number one reason to go. They give you all kinds of targets to shoot at and they’re all varying in size and distance. I don’t know if my accuracy would improve with just a stationary target at a range. The stages offer variations for you to shoot at which allows your brain to adjust between variable targets instead of just one stationary one.
Obstacles
There are also obstacles to overcome. There were a few obstacles I had no idea how to overcome and I probably looked real dumb trying to figure it out. But I didn’t care. It made me realize how I could do it better for next time. From barrels to holes in walls, train your brain to shoot around obstacles.
Experience
This gives you a ton of experience with variable “real world” scenarios. Shooting from sitting, shooting around walls, shooting and moving, etc. It’s not just standing there shooting at one target 25 yards away. It gets you to critically think about your position in relation to your target.
And a bonus reason: community! I loved getting help from the others who were more experienced. Many of them would do it every single weekend and were happy to offer advice to a newbie like me. Nobody ever judged me, they were just there to help and have fun.
Don’t worry about whether you’re the best of the best, just go in and have fun. I went to several matches and though I never DQed (disqualified), I definitely struggled on many of them and almost always came in dead last. On the last one I did I came in around the middle, which was pretty dang cool, since it showed I was obviously improving.
A few final tips:
- Be safe, always know where the barrel of your gun is pointed and make sure it’s always pointed in a safe direction.
- Follow instructions for each stage and always ask questions or ask to walk through the stage first before getting started.
- Be real with your abilities and if you just can’t make the shot, move on.
- Take advice from everyone, guaranteed these people have been doing it for years and know what they’re doing and are eager to offer advice.
- You don’t need the expensive gear to get started. I had a belt and a cheap outside the waistband Fobus holster along with my Springfield XD 9mm and it all worked just fine. If you want to upgrade later, you can always do that.
But seriously, go in with zero expectations but to have fun. You get to meet fellow shooters, gain experience and improve your shooting skills.
