minuteman1636 Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 I shot my first 3-gun match in 2008. The Army then reassigned me to a new location and new job which has had me extremely busy since. Going into 2013, I decided I was going to stop making excuses and get back out on the range. Saturday 20 April I shot an informal 3-gun match at Mill Creek Gun Club in DeSoto, KS. Man it was a great time! The day started out early with breakfast at 0600 with a couple of fellow 3-gun shooters at Cracker Barrel. The temperature was a brisk 35 degrees. Some other people were not willing to get out in the cold and one fellow shooters told them "Suck it up Sally......guys like us with "insulation" can handle 40 degree weather in sleeveless shirts!". That pretty much summed up the spirit of the day. We all went out and had fun first and foremost. I was fortunate to be on a squad with a great bunch of guys. Some of you sit in the shadows and dream of shooting because your intimidated by equipement..You know who you are. Stop letting that excuse hold you back. One of the shooters on our squad was using, I'm serious here, his CCW compact pistol, a factory iron sight AR and a pump Benelli with about a 5-round capacity. In regards to equipment, there was an enormous variety on display by shooters. There were guys using everything from basic pants belts with plastic double mag holders and paddle holsters on the belt to guys with top of the line Safariland ELS systems. I was lost somewhere in the middle of the equipment race...My firearms were a Smith & Wesson M&P Pro 9mm, I had two magazines with Arredondo extensions and one standard factory magazine, My AR was an LMT MRP with an Aimpoint M2, and a Mossberg 930 JM Pro. My belt was an old Blackhawk duty belt with a Blackhawk 3-mag nylon holder, Blackhawk pistol holster, a couple of AP Customs 4x4 shell caddys, a couple of CCW 4-shot shell caddy's and two CMMG Kydex AR mag holders. So, as you can see it was an adhoc set-up at best...nothing special. Even with 24 years of military service behind me, I'm not under any illusion that I'm a proficient shooter. The Army has taught me to qualify...they have not taught me to be a proficient marksman. I have done a lot of research and learning on my own. I go into each shoot with an open mind and open ears. I listen to feedback from others and try recommendations. I believe any military member (unless you come from the SOCOM community or other sector where you are immersed in marksmanship training) should leave their perceptions of military training proficiency at the gate. There is a lot to be learned from other shooters in the sport. It was a great day overall. I had a great time getting out of the house and shooting again finally. I actually shot better than I expected. I was humbled by my noted shortfalls. I have identified many areas to work on. I'm already anxiously looking forward to the next match. I'm signed up with 3GN as a member now and hope there will be ranges within driving distance that will join the 3GN club program. New guys and previous shooters considering getting back out to shoot...Do it. There is nothing to lose by getting back out there. Don't worry about competing with others...Compete with yourself. Learn what you need to do better and most importantly just shoot and have fun with a good bunch of people. You miss 100% of the shots that you don't take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunsen Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 Great story and thanks for sharring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichAdair Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Very motivating! Just what we need to hear to get us out there and shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hacksaw556 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Great story, I just signed up for my first 3-gun competition last night, it's still a month away and I am already nervous and scrambling to figure out what equipment I will not be ale to do without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadeslade Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cflshooter87 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 I shot my first 3 gun match this weekend. I thought i did pretty good but ended up in the middle of the pack. You just have to keep shooting and get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmd6x Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Have you found any military support for shooting or 3gun? There's so many programs and benefits out there, both within the military and with military support organizations, but they can be so difficult to find! Any way that you've found for your job to help support your shooting habits, whether it's with time, permissive TDY, funding, sponsorships, scholarships, etc? I know there has to be some stuff out there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtuns Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Shooting my first match saturday. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPeel Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Great story and write up! I shot my first match in January this year and am seriously hooked. Yeah, just what my addictive personality needed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2o2ll Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 thank you so much for this post! i've been wanting to do my first competition but always end up with some excuse not to... truth is im scared of embarrassing myself which i've been told will not be the case! from what i've heard and learned from reading so many posts on this site is that competitive shooters are a very very respectful crowd! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quag Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I'm gearing up for 3 gun this season, your post was a good motivator. Hear in New England 35 degrees is like summer. I can't wait to shoot one. Got to get my gear together first. Action pistol and skeeting shooting are my hobbies, but the whole AR thing is new to me. thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunracer1 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 i should be at a match right now, but i am stuck here at work. i think it has been 20 years since i shot my last one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 great post. sounds like you had a great time, enjoyed shooting your guns and met some great people. it's what the practical shooting sports are all about. well done on being able to check the "I'm in the military hence, all you civvies will be humbled by my skills" attitude at the door. Every now and then I see a LEO or Military who has been in the service for all of 5 minutes, no deployments but somehow thinks his 'real' experience puts him somewhere between GM and jedi knight level.. There is no doubt some amazing shooters in sections of the military just like there is in sections of the civilian population. Recognizing that fact shows great ability to see potential in people no matter what their profession. Enjoy those matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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