nick romero Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Hey guys, how's it going? This is a broad question but something i struggle with alot. I enjoy shooting and competing but lately i have not been able to do much of it due to conflicting with family time. I work a very demanding job that requires me to be gone often, so when i am home i spend my time enjoying my kids and fiance. I try to blend the family time with the shooting but sometimes it's not possible. my question is how do many of you find that balance to do your shooting hobbies and still enjoy alot of the family time and events? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fowlh339 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Get your family involved in the sport. I spent fathers day shooting with my boys and as much as I enjoy shooting with friends it doesnt compare to sharing it with my family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reshoot Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) Hey guys, how's it going? This is a broad question but something i struggle with alot. I enjoy shooting and competing but lately i have not been able to do much of it due to conflicting with family time. I work a very demanding job that requires me to be gone often, so when i am home i spend my time enjoying my kids and fiance. I try to blend the family time with the shooting but sometimes it's not possible. my question is how do many of you find that balance to do your shooting hobbies and still enjoy alot of the family time and events? I was pleased to see you refer to your shooting as a hobby, Nick! That's what it is to me . . . just a hobby . . . a hobby I could not take up until the age of 59. I had to work away from my family, much of the time, and be the best husband / father I could be. Now I have the time for this (USPSA) hobby. At my age I will never be competative, and I find that to be a good thing. I see way too many people leaving a range in a bad mood because they left a popper standing, fumbled a reload or (heaven forbid) get disqualified! The only advise I have is be patient, and your time will come Edited June 20, 2012 by Reshoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feederic Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I'm not married and don't have kids. I barely have the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoMiE Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Teach your kids how to sort brass and reload. In all seriousness though, I try to take wife and kids out to practice sessions and let them get some trigger time in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vluc Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Sometimes life just gets in the way. Look at what you need to do versus what you want to do. Family comes first. This is just a game, a hobby. Sometimes I make matches, sometimes I don't. Just the way it is, you have to put them in their proper places and that will change over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleL Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 For me it's not really a question of how do I find the time. More like if I have it I use it. I quit trying to balance hobbies verse family because it never works out. With a 6 and even 7 day work week lately the family is all I have time for. I was very lucky to get a 3 day fathers day weekend so I hit my first match. Now that it's back to work time I highly doubt I will be willing to ditch my newborn son and wife on my one day off to go shoot. I have found that by choosing one or two hobbies instead of 5 or 7 is best too. I dryfire twice a week and if my available time to shoot doesn't coincide with a match I drive out to the desert with my stands and steel and shoot anyways. Just gotta make it work man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4444 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I'm working through those issues now. Sometimes, it is a matter of scheduling. I'm fortunate in that I have a facility near by that has a weekly indoor match on Thursdays. That works great for me. We only run about 3 stages, but it is fun and it conflicts less with other family activities on the weekends and such. I know I have to be careful with my USPSA activities, I can get swept away in it as I love the sport and I can't really do that like I did before when we didn't have kids. So, it is a matter of balancing and if you want to still be competitive, while having less trigger time, get a cheap video camera that way you can review your performances and easily/quickly target areas to improve. I'm coming back after about a 5 year layoff and after just a couple matches I'm already back to close to how I was performing before (B class,,,,shooting close to A scores) and now that I"m using video, I'm able to focus what little dry fire time and such I get to focus on those issues. Now in a week or two, my wife will be going to the range with me to start learning how to shoot. I'm hoping she likes it and wants to get involved in USPSA with me, but I'm not holding my breath. My kids are still too young to start shooting, but the oldest is within a couple/years of getting some lessons from me. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerburgess Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Sometimes life just gets in the way. Look at what you need to do versus what you want to do. Family comes first. This is just a game, a hobby. Sometimes I make matches, sometimes I don't. Just the way it is, you have to put them in their proper places and that will change over time. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaster113 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 between 50-60 hour work weeks and hitting the gym after work, I dont have time for anything anymore. I try to strike a balance between spending time with my wife and young children, keeping up with the house, and the only hobby I really do anymore; shooting. I make it a point to spend as much time as possible with the family whenever I have time off. I tell the wife that she has to let me shoot the club matches on Sundays since I dont do anything else like go out drinking, going to clubs, wasting money at the hostess bars etc. The rest of my free time is spent with the family for the most part. Club matches are only half a day so I have the rest of the day available if I dont have to go to work afterward. I dont do much practicing unless there's a big match coming up; practice sessions are short and only twice a week max. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleL Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Sounds like we are all in the same boat.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leas327 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I have found that the easiest way for me to get to matches is to schedule it in. My wife keeps a calander on the fridge of all the stuff that is going on. It is usually about three months out. I search through the list and pencil in matches. She knows I enjoy shooting and trys to make sure I get a little me time. Even then I still remind her early in the week when I have a match coming up on the weekend. Sometimes she plays dumb and trys whine a little like I just sprung it on her. Other times she doesn't care at all. Now if I could just get a practice schedule figured out that I can actually stick to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick romero Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 Thanks for all the answers guys! It helped to see that a lot of my fellow shooters are struggling with the same issues i am. my 13 yr old daughter is gonna start shooting with me so hopefully that will make things a little easier, but i will be taking a few months off if not more once my baby is born in September. thanks for the reply's guys and good luck to all in shooting and family! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I am truly blessed. My kids are finally gone and my wife is sick and tired of me being under foot. She pushes me out the door to matches. I was joking with her the other night about selling the hot tub because she had not been in it in a few nights. She typically is in it every night! She shot back that if I didn't start shooting more she was going to sell my gun! I feel sorry for all those with kids and heavy work loads trying to have a hobby. Been there and definitely have that TEE SHIRT. But never fear. You too will eventually be 50 years old with nothing to keep you from shooting all you want. Well maybe except for the bad eyesight, bad back, joint pain, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4444 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I am truly blessed. My kids are finally gone and my wife is sick and tired of me being under foot. She pushes me out the door to matches. I was joking with her the other night about selling the hot tub because she had not been in it in a few nights. She typically is in it every night! She shot back that if I didn't start shooting more she was going to sell my gun! I feel sorry for all those with kids and heavy work loads trying to have a hobby. Been there and definitely have that TEE SHIRT. But never fear. You too will eventually be 50 years old with nothing to keep you from shooting all you want. Well maybe except for the bad eyesight, bad back, joint pain, etc... Sarge, I got the bum wheel already. Who knows, maybe by 50 I'll have replaced the OEM equipment. BUT,,,,,at 50 I'll still have a senior in college, a freshman in college, and a junior in High School. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerTrace Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Sorry, I didn't have to time read all of the posts (family time thing) so if this is a duplicate, I'm sorry. My plan has been to shoot (on the weekends) every other week depending on the weather and/or no more than two weeks in a row. If it happens to work out where we have two club matches in a row....I will skip the following week. If I don't shoot a club match, I try to enjoy a live fire session, which takes about 1/4 of the time a club match does. Also, I try my best to dry fire before she gets home, load my ammo on a weekend morning (before I cook her breakfast) and so on...... As long as they know they are a priority....you should be OK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 It is tough with how active my life is. I travel once a week, run two companies, MD 2 monthly matches, running 2 major matches, boys play sports, wife teaches Sunday School and volunteers at the school and I have a very jealous dog. First thing to go is my few TV shows and the Rockies games unless I can reload while one is on. Then goes practice (have run 2 practice sessions so far this year), then goes local matches. I usually only make the two I run. Some of it is about time compression for me. I try to do non-critical tasks in bunches, sometimes several at once. When I have to get a report out or prepare to testify, I shut everyone out, put the phone on DND and focus 100%. I have found that learning to use the electronic resoures has allowed me to work smarter instead of harder. Everything is tasked or calendared so I don't have to remember much which also prioritizes for me. I work from home sometimes and my office is not open on Fridays (best move I ever made for my family life). I "work 4 10s", which is really about 50 hours total, but Fridays are for home chores, going to breakfast or lunch with the wife, hitting the range, etc. Some jobs are about hours (mine included) and some are about production. High performance should avail you some clout to alter your work hours (provided it is possible for your job). Cutting a weekly commute, driving during non-rush hours, etc. not only saves time, it saves gas. Everyone has something they can add and something they can cut. The point is to prioritize and know what to add and what to cut while making sure there is enough of you for your family and that you get enough rest that you don't burn out or destroy your health. Shooting matches is better than a vacation for me, it is part of what helps keep me balanced so there is always one match a month which is non-negotiable on the calendar. Having a great wife and work staff who take personal pride in their work are both huge parts of the ability to be more efficient and focus on the priorities as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9X23Guy Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Shooting is not a hobby for me, it is one of the priorities in my life. So is my family, but I'm one of the fortunate few who has a very understanding and patient wife when it comes to shooting. I want to be competitive and goes as far as I can. If this were a hobby I would not put as much time into it as I do. That being said, I have done my very best to make my wife part of my shooting. We travel to the larger matches together as much as possible. It hasn't always been easy, I work a lot. My wife helps me because we sat down and talked about what this meant to me and what I want to do with it. If she wasn't on board, there is no way I could do it. I think she has also loaded the majority of my match rifle ammo for the past two years, lol. In the end, only you can decide what is right for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 ...In the end, only you can decide what is right for you. But, my wife won't let me put a 650 in the "powder (toilet)room" which could save time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClutchUSMC Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I'm not married and don't have kids. I barely have the time. I'm in the same boat. I don't know how you family guys do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scootertheshooter Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 4 kids 12,13,14,15. Basketball, lacrosse , guitar, violin, dance, baseball. I make the shoots that fall into place but miss quite a lot I would like to go to. It's a balancing act that can be very frustrating at times. My wife is extremely supportive though and that was before she found out she liked shooting steel too. Good god more reloading to do:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewcolglazier Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I sold my kids so I could get a pair of 1050s, and I rent my wife out as a rodeo clown to pay for match travel expenses. Not really. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkCorey Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Where to start ... I am right there with you guys I get up at 515 to go work out in the morning I have worked out at least twice a week every week since January of 2010. I get a hr for lunch Feb thru end of April I would shoot at lunch 2-4 times a week mainly 50 .22 followed by 51 9mm mixing in some shotgun & rifle. This complicated time management, now I have to find time to reload to practice & reload for matches. I shoot 3 gun mainly so I have to change the reloader over for. 223... I coach my girls U8 softball team & my son is 14 playing baseball her practice/games & his games keep me busy enough. In order to fund this sport I work Fri & Sat night shifts. At the end of the day I get the super dad award, my wife regularly gives me some hateful looks, I benched 405 recently & I have finished in the top 5 at several local matches this year. What keeps me shooting is first I love shooting always have and two in Oklahoma we have a great group of guys running & shooting the matches. I have learned in life there are certain windows of opportunities, I shoot as much as I can but no matter how tired I get if my little girl ask to play catch or ride bikes I get up and do it. just glad to know we are all in the same rat race later Corey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9X23Guy Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 My wife is pretty understanding but if I put a 650 in the bathroom she'd probably turn the house into a two way range, lol. Think Mr and Mrs Smith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick romero Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 i sat down with the wife this past wekend and we discussed family time and shooting. currently with our daughter so close to being here i have taken a break from shooting to prep for her and plan on continuing that break to enjoy my newborn baby, after that we agreed we would make the time to allow me to shoot. she has been very understanding and supportive and i thank you guys for the responses, it helped with the discussion and made things go over smoothly. Thanks Guys, Nick Romero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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