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Specialist Or Generalist Shooting


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Reading various postings, I'm curious.

It seems there are two different camps of shooters:

1. Those who specialize heavily and seem to have (largely) one (class of) gun

2. Those who seem to have one (or more) of everything and are interested in anything involving projecting lead with gunpowder.

I know most are somewhere in between the two extremes but for the purposes of discussion, would you classify yourself in camp 1 or camp 2?

Would most people would classify themselves as specialists or generalists?

Kevin

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the only type of shooting that i do is USPSA and 3-gun. Other than the guns required for those types of shooting i dont have much other. I have a few hunting rifles and shotguns, but those dont get used very much. I have done some CMP matches but that was on borrowed guns.

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I guess I am a generalist, having played various games with about anything that goes bang. I am migrating towards the specialist camp. I think I am going to concentrate on Open and shoot a lot of steel.

Shooting all five divisions and shooting them well takes an incredible amount of resources, especially human resources in the form of time.

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If it goes bang... :wub:

Guess that makes me a generalist. While most of my recent "collecting" has centered around IPSC and 3-gun I do have other interests. Been having this powerful itch to build up another black powder rifle.

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The question that needs asking is "Is a generalist somewhat who has not found something to specialize in yet, or is a specialist someone who needs more contact with the rest of the games?"

I guess I count myself as a specialist, though I spend more money on USPSA then the rest combined. Of course, buying milsurp Mausers whenever you see a deal, and shooting them with 60year old ammo (almost as cheap as .22) is a cheap game. Plus they are fun to restore on cold winter nights.

Vlad

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I don't count myself among the specialist although I do try to limit myself to one type of gun for a 6 month period or so. For example, I am concentrating on improving my revolver skills now and am trying to restrict myself to that gun only for competition.

Of course I still play with my other guns. :D

dj

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To make this even more specific, at one point in time I had 3 Open guns that were totally different. I had a Para an STI and a Tanfoglio Gold Team. Each weekend I would choose one and do battle. About halfway through the match I would get really comfortable with the gun and shoot pretty well. I took a shooting class and took all of the guns. I asked the instructor which I should use. He said that, as long as they all run 100%, just pick one and sell the other 2. You want to "become one" with your gun and that will never happen if you are constantly changing what you shoot. I followed his advice and it made a noticeable difference. I can only imagine that being comfortable with Open, Limited and Revolver (all at the same time) is far harder than what I was trying to do.

Leo

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Even more interesting!

Some people consider it generalizing to shoot 2 open guns, say, with different calibers. Others consider it specializing if they don't shoot black powder explosive cross bow as well as .{bow,revolver,auto,riflre,shotgun,...} :D

I'm thinking that I'll tend to a generalized specialist: I'm interested in IPSC Open class pistol but I will end up with a safe full of guns in the search for the perfect toy :rolleyes:

Kevin

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If generalist incorporates collecting also then I've been branded.

Althought I will say that during the time that I've been playing the game I have touched my other toys nill. I've actually considered selling all but the needed crap. But thats very Twix like and I'd have to reconsider immediatly!!! LOL,,,

In use I'm very much a specialist. The rest is just fodder...

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Generalist

I compete in USPSA open and limited and most of the local 3-gun stuff plus ICORE. I shoot sporting clays and skeet when I have time and have the gear for Cowboy, IDPA and steel but just havn't gotten around to making many matches.

As far as gun interestes go I have from a compact titanium carry revolver to WWII rifles to black powder guns. I with Vlad on the old surplus guns and ammo, Mausers and Mosin's are so cheap to buy and shoot its hard to pass up, plus some come out real nice after some restoring.

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I try to be a "specialist", although different firearms seem to find their way into my hands.

If there's a big match around-the-corner, I feel it's very important to handle that specific firearm ONLY. Sometime I'll stretch the around-the-corner to several weeks of not touching any other gun.

I don't own an Open gun, so there's no temptations.....

(I wonder if the $3000 price tag has something to do with it?)

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Generalist...sort of. I've noticed that I own many different guns, but virtually all of them are competition specific. A trick STI for IPSC open, a Pardini for ISSF Rapid Fire and NRA Bullseye, a Remington 1100 for skeet, etc. I don't have very many guns that are just for plinking anymore.

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Generalist.

If it goes bang, I NEED it.

That is why I have 2 Colt 1911's for L10 and a Charles Daly 1911 in case those break. Then there is the Glock 22 with 17 round magazines for Limited that I threw an Optima on for Open.

Then there was 3 gun and I bought a .45ACP Camp Carbine but the found out I NEEDED an AR-15 if I wanted to stop being last. Or the Mossberg 500A was ok but the modified 1100 held a couple more rounds and was a little quicker.

The 11-87 was ok for trap and marginal for skeet so I NEEDED a Browning Superposed so I could put in a tube set and shoot all 4 gauges.

I really NEEDED the Beretta 92FS Vertec for my basic pistol students and of course the NEED for a U22 NEOS for indoor shooting.

The 4 inch Model 29 was so I could go walking in the woods but a 10 1/2 inch barrel Super Blackhawk made a better hunting gun.

The customized 300 Apex & 12 power scope is a great open country Elk & Antelope gun but the Marlin 444 with 300 grain bullets is better for mean critters.

Sounds like some little kid, Daddy I NEED that. :lol:

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Definitely a Generalist. I like all types of shooting including small bore, black powder, shotgun, pistol, and revolver. I tend to spend a lot more time shooting my limited blaster right now but often I take a long rifle and a shotgun along just to mix things up a bit.

Jim

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