What Do/Did You Miss

[benos]

Many times I've been asked - "Don't you miss shooting"? Just stopping after devoting 20 years of my life to the sport is just too much for most people. Well, if I missed it I'd be doing it, so that's easy to answer. But it wasn't an easy decision. I thought about it constantly for months, and on and off for years. Like about 10 years.

For me, "turning pro" was the beginning of the end. My dream of having the latest, trickest equipment, and unlimited time to train with it, evaporated like the steam from a boiling pot of promises. (I'm talking about S&W here, not S.A., EAA, or SVI.) I thought constantly about quitting in the months before I was dropped from the S&W team. At first I was a little freaked, because they were paying me so much money I'd come to depend on, but once that wore off I realized it was one of the best things to happen to me. At that time I thought I was done with the whole thing, but coincidentally, USPSA happened to create a stock class, and EAA was looking for someone to campaign their pistols. So I signed up and was back at it, with my true love, stock, for 10 more years. Eventually, as the industry declined and I was basically forced to assume management duties if I wanted to continue being sponsored, I realized I'd had enough. You could say at that point I was just burned out on the whole thing. I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I knew I didn't want to be on anybody's schedule again. Early on I loved the traveling, but later I came to hate the schedule it demanded.

Why didn't I keep up shooting locally? I really can't say exactly. I just didn't feel like it. I felt like my life in general was changing, and some things needed to end so others could begin. I never regretted quitting for one second.

My Temperament's another factor. Even though I'm extremely competitive once I'm engaged in an activity, I don't seek out competition. My favorite part of the whole shooting thing was the training. I so much enjoyed the hours, days, and years on the range, in the books, and training at home - figuring it out. And also sharing that with a dedicated training partner. Later in life I realized that is what I thrive on - figuring things out. Not necessarily in order to conclude, but more to understand, which opens the door to more understanding.

I'm not the kind of person who misses much. Although hardly a day goes by that I don't think of and miss my best friend in the world, Rondy Neil. (From whom I got the phrase - "Keep your eyes moving." He said that one day while we were practicing for the Steel Challenge. He felt it captured his most valuable lesson.) But if I had to say what I missed most about the matches - it would absolutely be the camaraderie and companionship shared with good friends. Even though you may only see some once a year, just hanging out with like minded folks is the shit.

Thanks for the question TL.

be

[rhino]

I've had several forced layoffs from shooting, a couple of which lasted more than a year. I never thought much about what I missed about shooting so much as I missed the shooting myself.

Right now, I think one thing that I missed was the positive reinforcement of actually hitting the target. Over time, my confidence in my shooting skills wanes more quickly than the skills themselves, and I begin to doubt whether or not I can make the gun put a bullet where I want it to go. Being able to shoot helps keep that tendency at bay.

Most of the match-related things (like seeing my buddies) I missed at first, but over time those feeling waned and I just missed the actual shooting itself.

[schmitz]

TL,

awesome this thread! really loved reading all these postings. Shooting IDPA/USPSA/IPSC etc. etc. creates a bond between people. We can't stop, I never want to quit shooting; talking, writing and reading about it.

Extraordinary

Henny.

[tightloop]

schmitz

It transcends simply shooting. It is about the essence of what we are about. It means different things to each of us. I am still trying to get my mind wrapped around a couple of individual posts here, people are saying and revealing some truly amazing things. Wow, wish I was better schooled in understanding and expressing what I am reading and personally getting from the responses. I never anticipated people would be so open and reveal so much of themselves, feel like I just discovered the combination to the vault which holds the answers to some of life's questions... Very Cool...

[George D]

But eventually I left and three days later, under penalty of 10 years imprisonment for non-compliance, I drove to the Police station and handed over my guns. The process took about an hour, then I drove home, sat in the sofa and stared at the wall for at least an hour. I kept thinking to myself, "what just happened ?"

The answer ? I along with about 60,000 others had been punished for a crime we did not commit.

My wife and I had a similar experience in Australia with the handgun confiscations implemented by John Howard. We had spent over ten years pursuing this sport together and we had a sense of numbness at the loss. It appears that politicians are un-able to discern the difference between gun crime and gun sport, and cannot empathise with the loss to dedicated sports-people of an important part of their lives. My wife has lost heart in taking up any other shooting sport but I'm contemplating returning to Trap shooting. My only reservation is the rumour that all shooting sports may be removed from the Olympic program afetr Athens.

[2tap45]

The reason I searched this topic is that I need to understand why I haven’t gone to a match in over a year and not fired a single round since last October. It really bothers me that I haven’t had the desire to go, although during the ’01 and ’02 seasons I went to AT LEAST four matches per month. It isn’t that I was terrible at the sport (rated ‘B’ in Limited, L10 and Revolver and breathing on ‘A’ in each division). It is pretty unexplainable; I would pack everything up the night before and plan to go to the match, only to opt out the next morning. Seems that I have always gone whole hog in any competition I have participated in the past, Hobie 14 Champion in Division 14 in the mid 80’s, motorcycle enduro competition in the 70’s, benchrest rifle shooting in the 90’s. At the time of each endeavor, that was the only thing on my mind (including IPSC). When that desire left, I wondered if I just have problems with attention span or what? Due to keeping up with this forum (lurking?) I think about shooting more and more. Even started dry firing again. Brian, thank you for this forum and all the people involved here.

[dv8]

... When that desire left, I wondered if I just have problems with attention span or what? ...

Nuh, it's not a problem, it's just how it goes: breath in, breath out... there is even a special word for this thing - Life.

Hope you come back and compete again.

[2tap45]

Thanks, dv8. You can never now how much I appreciate your encouragement right now....

[38supPat]

Wow, this is something I have thought much of lately.

Like Jack and BE, there are many reasons I stopped. I still love the sport but I needed a change for a bit.

Some of my reasons were because I was not happy with the sport, particularily locally. Stages being designed for the lowest common denominator. Too many targets too close, no shooting challenge. Stages that had the sole design purpose being to max out the round count limits.

Like BE I like to challenge myself and learn, I'm not saying I wasn't learning anymore about shooting, just that I needed a different challenge to feed my drive to learn.

I also think I just needed a break from it to gain a new outlook. Once upon a time I couldn't understand how great shooters and good friends that were at the top of their game, like BE could just give it up. It seemed so contradictory. Now I get it. No matter how much you love something, sometimes your life needs to follow a new path. And you have to leave the old path behind. I'm sure Brian has many incredible memories, but I'm also sure he is enjoying his life now. I am at the point where I still love shooting and am ready to return...I'm just not sure if its ready for me

[dv8]

...

No matter how much you love something, sometimes your life needs to follow a new path...

So true. And that "something" can be anything at all, even "someone". But let's leave that stuff to Dostoevski and such. I much prefer the combination of good attitude and observation - gives you wings!

[ajm]

I do not post much, but this one gets to me too. As a one handed lefty, my shooting experience varies much from the norm. I stopped shooting three times.

First at age 18, I blew my right hand pretty much off in an accident with a 12 gauge, pretty much missed guns, shooting, competence and friends.

Second time was in Graduate school, missed money to shoot (or eat for that matter) and friends.

Third time was actually in this decade and I tore the tendon from my left bicep to my forearm off of the forearm moving a heavy popper. That layout finally convinced me, while I get confidence, competition, focus, and accomplishment from shooting, it is the folks that I miss. There is nothing in the world that I have found that feels the same as being at the range, in competition with people who can understand me, who have similar values, who (for all their faults) are SHOOTERS.

[Kory]

The feeling I get when I am "on" when you pleasantly surprise yourself by exceeding your own expectations. It is just much more satisfying when I get that from shooting, compared to say golf or bowling. That and the people

[blackdragon]

I quit shooting for about 2 years, just started back last year, as so many before have said for me it is the people, places and the sport that I missed the most.

Ivan

SCS Vegas