What are MD expectations for new shooters at matches

[CJW]

My local club has been toying with the idea of a 3-gun clinic, and now I know I am going to use the Rio Salado brief as a guide if we do. Thanks for posting that!

[Shooter115]

Sorry, this got a little lengthier than I planned.

As a newer shooter to 3-gun, I thought I would offer my perspective on the subject. I should say, that while new to 3-gun, I was not new to competitive shooting. Prior to starting 3-gun, I had been involved with many other venues of the shooting sports for many years. Including, but not limited to: Trap, sporting clays, 4-position rimfire, PPC, benchrest and F-Class including many others. My father was a DNR firearms instructor as I am now. So I guess I had a good grasp on the safety aspect well before going to my first match, and my weapons are always functioning and zero’d. Also prior to that I had attended a couple of the Ruger Rimfire matches, which follow the same general cold range safety procedures as most multi-gun shoots.

Some here have suggested that a new shooter, should attend a couple pistol matches before moving to 3-gun, that’s great if you have access to such. I have never had the luxury of living anywhere near a USPSA club. Though I had always wanted to try 3-gun, the closest local matches were still at least 100 miles away from my little hole in the wall hometown in western MN. So we attempted to put on a match at our home range. We didn’t have a clue really what we were doing, our props were lame and we had a whopping 3 shooters show up, but we had a heck of a lot of fun and that’s what counted. It was just enough to leave me wanting more.

Later I saw a match announcement for a 2-Gun shoot (rifle/Pistol) down by the Twin Cities area for October 27th posted on the ARFCOM hometown forum. That announcement was posted by a member on this forum as well. In his posting, he not only announced the match, but he also offered to help anyone that had questions or was new to the sport, encouraging new shooters to attend. I think this was key to my being successful. Is this something you are doing at your matches…..do you have someone listed on match announcements to contact if you are new? Before that first match I probably sent him 20 e-mails asking a multitude of questions and he was always quick to reply with answers and tips on safety, technique, gear, match expectations, etc. This was a big one, just having someone approachable to ask questions was a big help. Being able to eliminate that fear of the unknown is a large part of being comfortable at your first match. Without his help, I’m not sure if I would have made the 170 mile drive to attend. He also directed me to this site, which was very helpful. Before that match I scoured the internet for videos and such. While there is a lot of info out there, there is nothing for a first timer that really covers all basics (at least that I could find). I strongly believe a simple video for first timers that could be available online would be very helpful. Something that covers all the safety procedures, range commands, load and make ready, show clear and make safe, safety areas and so on. It should also cover some basics on gear, what to expect your first match, and how the scoring works. There was some earlier mention of doing a 3-Gun 101 seminar, which is outstanding, but for someone like me that lives 100 miles from nowhere, probably not going to help.

Well after all the help from “Coach” as I’ve come to call him, things went pretty good at my first match. At the shooters meeting, the MD did a great job, pulled everyone aside that was a new shooter (there were probably 10 of us) and made sure we understood the rules and that everyone was squaded up with a veteran to help them through the match. I had no intentions of setting the world on fire with my blazing fast times, but focused on safety, keeping the RO’s happy and hopefully not making an ass of myself. I ended up doing fairly well, placing 6th in T-Limited, which exceeded my expectations. There wasn’t a single DQ for that match that I’m aware of. Yes, there were a few that were unprepared both with equipment and in tactics, but you just have to work through that. Remember, you’ve created a very exciting sport that is going to draw lots of new faces, like it is with all facets of life, some are going to need more help than others. For me personally, that day I was hooked. In all my years in competitive shooting I had never had so much fun. Spent the whole 3 hour drive home picking apart my performance and how I could do better next time. BTW, I should mention “Coach” took 1st in T-Optics.

At the end of that match the MD announced that they might be having another 3-gun match on December 2nd. Okay if you’ve ever been here…Minnesota is cold in December, but I was in none the less. Again “Coach” came through responding to my barrage of questions I e-mailed him without fail, helping me prepare for my first actual 3-gun competition. Knowing now that this is the most fun someone can have shooting, I also recruited a buddy of mine to attend his first match. In preparing for the match, my guy would give me a tip and I would pass it along to my friend, like a bucket brigade of knowledge. When the day arrived for the match, me and my buddy got on the road bright and early to make the 3 hour pilgrimage to the host range. We got there plenty early, so we were recruited and happily helped out setting up one of the stages. After that, there was still some time before the shooters meeting, so “Coach” took me and my buddy around the different stages and walked us through the course of fire and offered us lots of tips and pointers. At the shooters meeting it was the same routine with the MD taking the first time shooters (about 8 this time) aside for some additional instruction and making sure they were spread out amongst the squads with veterans to watch over them. The match went great, I’m happy to say my friend handled himself very well, finishing in the top 50% and I was lucky enough to place 1st in the T-Limited division.

Now I’m really hooked in a “no turning back” type of way and so is my pal. Since that match in December we’ve been making plans to hit every event we can and I am making arrangements to attend the Midwest Championship in Missouri this May with another forum member. I just bought a new M2 as my Winchester Defender pump was not cutting the mustard and my partner has purchased a new pistol and AR upper. So in the matter of a few months, I’ve gone from not even really knowing how a 3-gun match runs to someone who can’t wait for the next one. I now find myself spending at least a half an hour every evening practicing draws, mag changes and shotgun reloads. I’ve also committed myself to recruiting as many new shooters from my area as possible and get them in the game. It’s going to be interesting to see where this trip down the rabbit hole takes me.

Sorry if I got a little long winded, but I wrote this adventure out as a “Thank you”, to all the MD’s, RO’s and veterans of the sport out there who have taken the time to mentor a new shooter. I’m sure some will really test your resolve, but in the end, if you hold fast you may be building the foundation for a lifelong competitor. Everyone starts out somewhere and everyone can use a good “Coach” to point them in the right direction.

Thanks to the MN 3-Gun group for hosting the matches

Thanks to J.Schmitt for directing the matches

Thanks to Brian Payne for playing the “Coach”

Thanks for making sure my bank account is empty. Thanks for making my fingers raw from drills. Thanks for helping me heap the miles on my truck. Thanks for making me spend even more time at the reloading bench. Thanks for it all……Wouldn’t change a thing.

[elkboy]

mpeltier:

It is a safety issue, as we move to greater distances this shooter risks putting one over the berm.

We try to coach as we can. Again I welcome alot of new shooters and am always selling the fun and benefits to all I meet.

Stealty blogger, thanks for the download.

I have been tossing around the idea of a 3 gun 101 and I believe the discussion here has convinced me that this would only be a positive experience.

Bob

Those are great slides. Well done StealthyBlagga! When I became the md at our club, we made up a online rules page, safety booklet and 10 question test for new shooters. If we receive a call about our match we send them to the website to get familiar with the basics. We also offer a reservation required "Intro to Multigun" class the Saturday before our match. It is a great way to meet new shooters and get a good feel for their abilities without a audience or timer. After going over the safety rules and range rules we run them through a small stage off the clock. If they show good control and awareness we run it on the timer at a walking pace. If all goes well they shoot the match starting last and informing the RO it is their first match. Most have done well with this approach. This is time consuming for us but we have had very positive results with it. You won't regret the effort!

[sargenv]

Our club has started a "safe multi-gunner" class that is monthly.. It is part classroom and part live fire. It is limited to 12 students and costs a nominal fee ($25). The student, once approved and deemed instructed then gets to participate in the multi gun practices and matches that we hold at our club. This also allows them to shoot on the action range in general. We have a requirement that you must either be a classified participant in one of the known shooting sports (USPSA, IDPA, ICORE, SASS, Steel Challenge) or you must complete either our safe multi-gunner class or our safe handgun competitor class to shoot on the action range and participate at our matches.

Since we've started offering these safety classes, we're getting fewer incidents with new shooters being uninformed on safety. We also know who runs safety classes in the other area clubs and they are mostly run to the same standards with some of the same people. Anyone is welcome to check our web site for information on these classes.. Look up Richmond Hotshots on the web.

[RaymondMillbrae]

Bob Tx,

I am running the multigun practice at the Richmond Rod & Gun Club (RRGC), as well as teaching the SAFE MULTIGUNNER CLASS. (This is the class that SargenV posted about in post #29).

Here is our story:

Our club has a SAFE HANDGUN COMPETITOR CLASS that was writted by Big Bill L. It is an introduction into IPSC shooting, based out of an older USPSA safety curriculum which is now out of print. I saw a lot of outdated stuff in the pistol curriculum, so I rewrote and updated it. And while I was doing that, I thought to myself, "Why not make a seperate one for multigunners for future use"?

At the time, Dan C had started a multigun practice at our club, and it was starting to take root. But being safety OCD that I am, I saw a few safety issues - or loopholes - that needed to be addressed and fine-tuned.

In time, Dan got overwhelmed with the MG practice, RO duties, and personal matters - so I told him he could step back and I would handle it. This is where I personally took the bull by the horns and ran with it.

Remember the multigun curriculum I had written? Well, if I was running the practice, any shooter under my wing better have a good understanding of the safety rules. No way "tacticool pal" was coming off the street and running-n-gunning without the safety basics. So the multigun class became manditory if you wanted to shoot at my practice. No exceptions.

Once multigunning started to grow at our club, we noticed a need for a long gun committee. So we gathered a handful of multigun freak-a-zoid's, and a long gun committee was born. This first step aleviated the burden of any one person having to deal with an entire long gun match. We now know that we can count on each other for anyting we may need help on, to include stage designs and many other matters. Our multigun committee now oversee's everything multigun at our club. (Multigun matches, rifle matches, shotgun matches). This is huge...mentally.

The MG commitee also gets together in regards to voting on the rules. Everyting must be voted-on, and pass, by unanimous decision. This ensures we are all on the same page and backing each other up. You can come to any of us in regards to a long gun decision or question...and we will all be on the same page with the answer.(Or be able to get you the answer a phone call away).

Anyhoo...one of our main concerns was safety. Safety and liability.

There was NO WAY we were going to let any "Joe Schmoe" come off the street with a long gun, and no idea of the safety rules, and shoot one of our long gun matches. (Can we say, "Liability Issue")?! And it is not "just" liability. What about the other shooters attending the matches? Didn't they DESERVE to know that they were in a safe environment? So we extended the SAFE MULTIGUNNER CLASS to all persons shooting a long gun match at our club. Not just to my MG practice...but to ALL long gun events. (There are a very few exceptions to the class).

So that was the genesis of our current multigun committee and range SOP.

One of the things we have done is to start promoting the multigun format. We do this via websites (CLICK HERE FOR AN EXAMPLE), and word of mouth. Once word of a multigun practice got out, and the interest was sparked, we also provided the avenue to do so - MULTIGUN ORIENTATION.

You take the SAFE MULTIGUNNER CLASS - and not only can you practice here, but you can also attend any of our long gun matches. I also spoke to Tom H (from Sac Valley) and got is blessing they would also honor our SAFE MULTIGUNNER CLASS to shoot at thier club. This was also a great form of advertising, as now shooters could shoot multigun matches ALL OVER THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA. (Good ju-ju for those interested in getting into multigunning).

The SAFE MULTIGUNNER CLASS starts at 0800 hours, and is over at 1330 hours. (About 2-hours of classroom, 3-hours of range time, and 30-minutes to tear down the stage and paperwork). I keep the class to 12 shooters at a time, and this enables me to give them the attention and answers that they need. The class costs $25.00 shekles - and when they are finished, we give them a voucher to shoot a USPSA pistol match for free. (So basically the class is free). I also designed and printed cards for the shooters that complete the class. This is "proof" that they are familiar with the range safety rules, and have also run a multigun course a few times under my tutilage. This verifies they are now familiar with the range commands, and are aware of all the safety issues concerning abandoning a long gun, and picking-up a staged one.

I am also an NROI Multigun certified RO, so the shooters are taught the USPSA MG rules. If they are interested in the IMG rules and such...no biggie. I can expand on them as needed. But once again, all our long gun matches are USPSA MG rules...so tat is what my MG curriculum is based on.

Like SargenV staged above, we have had SUPER MINIMAL instances of safety violations from the new MG shooters. People are people, so nothing is perfect. But this class ensures our shooters know the rules, and have no excuses for any safety violations if caught. It is a win-win situation for everyone. The shooter, the shooters around them, the spectators, and the RO's working the bays those days.

Here is a link to the SAFE MULTIGUNNER CLASS I hold every 2nd Saturday of the month. (Click on the link). And HERE is a link to the Hot Shots website.

Anyhoo...that's our story...and I'm sticking to it.

In Christ: Raymond

Edited January 10, 2012 by RaymondMillbrae

[dcloudy777]

There's some great info going out here in this thread. Multigun seems to just attracting more and more shooters, and while that's a wonderful thing, it also makes for bigger challenges keeping everyone safe and having fun. I had a thought:

Someone (I would, but I'm technologically impaired and not exactly what you would call camera-friendly) needs to make a really good 5-10 minute video primer about what a shooter needs to have/know how to do at a match, range safety, and range commands. Maybe a slow, move-for-move live-fire walkthrough of a stage or two, stressing deliberate, safe, not fast, no-way-I'm-getting-DQ'd, movements, reloads, transitions, etc.

Make this video ridiculously easy to find. Get it everywhere, one easy click away, super easy to link with any match announcement. Ridicule without mercy any match announcement that doesn't include the link. (Okay maybe that is a touch too far, but you get the idea.) A video is no replacement for proper coaching/training, but it sure helps, and could make the first-match experience a little less daunting for the new shooter and worrisome for the MD.

DanO

[RaymondMillbrae]

DanO,

while an internet video sounds like a great idea, it will flop on it's face. Especially if you are an organized club like ours, with legal libility.

Would you hire a gunsmith that only took an internet gunsmithing course? Would you hire a security guard to watch your property after they only watching a video? Would you accept someone being a black-belt in a certain martial art after only watching a videos?

And lets not even get into the scheming liars! The ones who "say" they watched the videos, only so they could bring their black rifles onto your range to run-n-gun to their fantasy glories!!

Uuuuuuuuuum...NOPE!

Nothing beats face-to-face training. Even if you only take a few hours to teach these guys the range safety rules, and PHYSICALLY watch them run-n-gun/abandon/pick-up staged long guns/recognize the proper range commands under your supervision...you will be better off. As well as having amuch better shooters at your club.

Like I said before, people will be people. And there will still be infractions and safety violations. But at least with hands-on training, it will be greatly ruduced.

The media also LOVES to advertise the negative aspects of a shooting club. So being able to say that the shooting requirements are strict, and that every shooter is "qualified/trained" to shoot here, is a great plus.

There are a lot of exceptional shooters here on the BE forums. But just because they are great shooters doesn't mean they know the logistics of running a club safely, or the actual liability of something going wrong. (Like a shooters kid shooting himself in the leg. Or someone accidently shooting someone else). Clubs have been closed down for less!

Say, "No" to videos, and put the effort into good training/orientation before shooting.

Our system is not the best, nor absolutely 100% bullet-proof. But I can say that the system we have goes above and beyond what most clubs do, and I can sleep at night knowing that I did the best that I could to let our clubs President sleep soundly.

Anyhoo...that's my take on the matter.

In Christ: Raymond

Edited January 10, 2012 by RaymondMillbrae