feederic Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Hi all, I am trying to glean some more precious information on this wonderful board and those that have walked the long shooting sports road. My question is this: After going through your career, what do you wish you would have done differently at the very beginning to help improve and develop yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingchef Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Started at age 15, with lots of bullets and real good coach. Starting at 40 with some good coaching, not enough to play with the big boys. but sure is fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reshoot Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Yeah, what he said! Should have started 30 years ago, instead of 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biloxi23 Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 What they both said, but I waited until I was 58 to start. My first match and already I was a Senior. It was still a blast, and maybe in 5 years when I get to be 65 I'll havee obtained enough skill to be an adequate Super Senior. But when I look at the skill levels of some of the Super Seniors, maybe not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feederic Posted November 16, 2011 Author Share Posted November 16, 2011 I keep telling myself it doesn't matter, as long as I shoot often enough. I'm 26 right now so that might be a good enough start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel1212 Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Start when I was about 14 years old and get some solid coaching. I would have been able to participate in a sport my grandfather and I both would have loved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Yeah, what he said! Should have started 30 years ago, instead of 3. Me too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 I keep telling myself it doesn't matter, as long as I shoot often enough. I'm 26 right now so that might be a good enough start. 26? plenty early enough to be fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Antichrome Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 I would have picked one gun, and practiced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aglifter Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Just to have stuck w. production, where I started - and where I'm, probably, heading back to... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waktasz Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Dry fire more. Especially when I started, as a self taught college boy, I couldn't practice very often. I never even knew about dry fire until much later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Learn how to call shots a lot earlier. Took me years and I still don't do it 100%. IMO, this is the most important skill to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jollymon32 Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Not be cheap and buy the best equipment from the get go. Took a circuitous route and spent twice as much as if I had just bought correct from the get go. My advice to any ones starting out is buy it right from the start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Start much younger......instead of 3 years ago.... But then, when we were all much younger, we generally had other things on our minds besides shooting, and we generally had no money..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Learn how to call shots a lot earlier. Took me years and I still don't do it 100%. IMO, this is the most important skill to learn. Spot on advice-started 27 years ago, now approaching 57 i aint getting any better. As long as it's fun, will continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avezorak Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 I wish I had discovered the sport at 18 or earlier instead of 28. If I had used the money I wasted on crap on ammo and training, I would be a happy camper:) Seriously though, Im just glad I found the sport. Its just too much fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 what do you wish you would have done differently at the very beginning to help improve and develop yourself? Of course, as the Sig Lady just reminded me in a PM, we cannot go back in time. I started shooting local steel plate matches in 1985. We lived in our own little world. We were awed by the "skill" of people that weren't very good by todays standards. I wish I had done what you are doing now. Of course, my start into competitive shooting was back before Al Gore invented the internet. But, if it had been available, I would have logged on to BrianEnos.com. This place has been the source os so much fun, support, and resources, that it has made a huge difference in my progress in the decade that it has been available to me. Stick around, in ten years you'll know what I'm talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopshooter Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 not switch guns, and settle on loads sooner, all that tinkering around wasted good reps. also i would have worked shooting time into my wedding vows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flack jacket Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 If I were start over again, I would take it more seriously when I had the chance as an 18 year old 21 years ago! Restarting the sport 2 years ago definitely has it challenges as I'm older.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1760yds Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 If I could start all over again...I'd be this kid. By the way my parents failed me by not having me shoot matches at this age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZip Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Kept at it since I was a kid . I started doing things like this and steel matches when I was 10-11 with my father. Wish I had never left the sport. I missed alot of changes over the years. I thought I'd like to begin again, and bought a full on leather race rig like I had seen when I was a kid. Full on Ernie Hill rip off holster, and leather mag pouches. I milled some Aluminum bar stock into base pads for my Browning HiPower, and jumped into Limited Minor. Boy was I suprised to learn what had happened to raceguns since the 80s. Holy sheep dip Batman, there are more matches than there used to be that is for sure. You could shoot every weekend around here within 70 miles. Guns are really awesome today too. More makes and models to choose from. Stick with it. The people are amazing, and I feel you are learning to be proficient and possibly awesome with a pistol. Something alot of people are afraid to do, and really, when you come to think of it, a sort of life-skill that is being kept alive by the likes of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpops Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 As everyone else has mentioned....start earlier! This is our (my wife shoots too) third season. If there was one BIG thing I would have done differently it would have been to take people up on their offer to try different guns. We went through several guns/models before we found what we liked. That put quite a hit on the ol checkbook...though it was FUN! Along with that, we would have asked more questions at the matches as far as the "whys" and "how to's" on gear and guns. Perhaps spending a day at the range/match watching instead of shooting to really see what is going on and asking the right questions. But the biggest thing would have been to get some quality instruction early! And I mean QUALITY! I do feel that you need a good base to get started, so it all makes some sort of sense, but once you understand the language that USPSA and IDPA have....then a good instructor will help you from wasting time. Once you learn a bad habit or improper form, it takes a lot of sessions to break that habit. Those things above would help a great deal. Now....if you are REAL serious about this sport....then add dryfire, more training, physical conditioning, etc, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Found a good coach or taken some classes from top GMs early and often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Anderson Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 I wish my mental game had progressed as rapidly as my shooting skills, or that I had known it needed to. It's never too early to start working on the mental game, because in whatever class you're in... everyone is as good as you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 I started this sport in 2000. It is ironic that in 1985 I was working in Phoenix, then again from 1988-1990. I never even heard of USPSA or Tuesday Night Steel. It sure would have been nice to have started then. My daughter is 20 and just starting to shoot. She is getting the benefits of the collective wisdom of several GMs to begin acquiring her skills set. She won't be getting the training scars most of us got because we did not know the proper technique or what to train. Come match day, our subconscious mind shoots the stage. Knowing that 11 years ago would have made a big difference to me. I would have ingrained the proper skill set from the beginning; grip, stance, trigger control, draw and reload mechanics, stage strategy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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