calmolly

Back Story: I have been shooting for about a month, starting with a GSG5 .22 rifle that kept jamming...2 weeks ago I took a beginners class and subsequently bought my Glock 22 .40 cal. And I'm a girl(or actually midlife woman lol with a disabling disease). Despite all this I really wanted to compete at a shooting sport. The evening I got home with my pistol I got online and found GSSF. Today: We traveled to the GSSF Match at Conyers, Ga two hours from our home. The first people we saw as we entered registration were helpful and friendly and the folks continued to be wonderful all day. The Range Officers were great with helping me stay relaxed (or at least not shaking so bad that I was dangerous) and guided me through each step with knowledge and good cheer. I enjoyed helping paste and pulling the line for the plates. I spent loads of time watching and learning and everyone was wonderful with their tips and encouragement. Although I was very nervous I felt i did fairly well. I haven't really sat down and figured out exactly what my scores were but I concentrated more on being accurate at this stage than fast. As each stage progressed I got faster though so I know it will come. A month ago I never thought this is what I would be doing today but I am so happy I just took the plunge and did it. Now I'm looking forward to more training and practice to prepare for the next Match. I do have some specific questions that i will put to the forum after I've digested all this overnight. Thank you all for your encouragement! Molly

So your are right eye dominant? And the right Rx was for the perfect vision on the front sight? Left Rx for target? I'm asking because I am very long sighted now, and perhaps losing some distance vision too. I was going to make an appt at eye doc to get some shooting glasses and your input is very interesting. How did you explain it to doc when you had them made? Are they standard glasses or wrap around 'shooting glasses'? Thanks for the help. Molly

Thanks everyone, your input is great! Spent some more time on target acquisistion today dry firing and then went to the range...better...but I think my main problem is recoil control. I seem to be trying to control the recoil before firing if that makes sense. Most of my mikes (see I'm learning the lingo lol) were low and left. I am also struggling to get my position right and comfortable, with the correct amount of pressure on my support hand, elbows the right amount of bend etc. With this said I have discovered a few things...A conversion kit for my Glock is proving difficult to find in stock anywhere. AA is only selling thru dealers right now and the ones I called can't get any right now, particularly as mine is a Gen 4. So this avenue is going to have to wait, but I am def going to get one. I think I am also going to invest in a .22 pistol, probably the ruger mark III. because as jar said "He needs to learn to shoot". He's right except I'm a SHE. LOL Another point he made was dealing with FTF, FTE etc...I started shooting with a Gen 1 GSG5 .22 rifle...need I say more? I spent more time clearing jams and the like than shooting it! (It is currently on its way back to ATI.) As for relaoading? Well see. Spent another $30 in ammo today. Molly

I have very recently started shooting (about a month). After taking a class and lots of research I settled on a Glock 22 which I love shooting and want to do GSSF to begin competing. I am having to learn it all from the ground up and it is obviously expensive to shoot 100 rounds a day of .40 cal ammo. I have been doing dry fire practice and ordered one of the books on the drills. My question is whether I should invest in an inexpensive .22 cal pistol like the Ruger Neos to be able to improve my basic skills without breaking the bank? Will this actually help me with the basics like tracking the sight, position etc that will improve my skills on the .40 cal? Or is it better to just keep at it with the Glock? I have no desire to reload my own ammo yet as I would be too worried about getting it wrong. Maybe in the future... Your thoughts would be appreciated.

This definitely describes my experience at the range today. I seemed to forget everything I have learned in the last few weeks...(real newbie here, I have been shooting for about a month, and this gun for less than a week, a Glock 22) I forgot about tracking the sight, stance, support hand,well just everything. I shot off 50 rounds at some paper targets set up approx like the plates in GSSF. I hit the plate size target only 31 times, mostly not where I wanted to hit it. In fact I even managed to hit 'plates' that I wasn't even aiming at at the time. lol But I had a BLAST! The desire to get better is fun in itself and once I got back home I spent most of the afternoon dry firing at targets set up around the house. Maybe tomorrow I'll do better!

Thanks everyone for the advice. I might just bring my range bag et al and give it a try. I would also enjoy 'trying' to help paste and stuff. Be ready for ALOT of questions tho. Also great idea about helping set up stages it might all make a little more sense.

Thanks for the info. South River does appear to be the closest to us...and yes that is where we are going to watch on Sunday! I'm really looking forward to it!.

I am so glad I found this forum, spent hours last night just reading the introduction pages and learned so much. I am a real fresh out of the box newbie...Bought my first handgun 3 months ago (a Kel Tec .380) and then this past weekend, after completing a 2 day handgun course, bought a Glock 22 Gen4. I realized even before purchasing the Glock that I am very interested in competition shooting. Love the control and mental strength the sport requires. I plan to start with GSSF comps, and am going to watch a match this weekend here in Ga. I have EVERYTHING to learn but am already feeling addicted. Any help and advice, including information on clubs and instructors that concentrate on competition shooting in central GA would be very appreciated. Molly