How long did you suck for?

[Loves2Shoot]

I still suck, because the bar I use to measure myself is higher than it used to be when I sucked more.

[HeyChris]

I don't suck, I'm just not yet where I want to be in my shooting.

I keep track of how I perform per match overall and then in my division. My goals are simple. 1. Do not DQ. 2. Perform better than I did in my prior match.

Just keep swimming.

[jedpeters]

I don't suck, I'm just not yet where I want to be in my shooting.

I keep track of how I perform per match overall and then in my division. My goals are simple. 1. Do not DQ. 2. Perform better than I did in my prior match.

Just keep swimming.

I like that one. That's how I keep moving forward....and to the poster above--that seems to be how I am in all sports...no matter how "good" I thought I have gotten, there were MANY that would be better than me (bar would be raised) over and over.

Again, lots of great information in this thread.

[RangerTrace]

You don't suck - there are plateaus. You are on one.

I've been "decent" for a while but it would be years before I saw any results from practicing calling shots, transitions, movement, etc.

The same isn't true for you!

+ one!!

[MikeRush]

I sucked until I read with Winning in Mind. That doesn't mean I am winning every match, but suck is an attitude I have discarded.

[Alaskapopo]

I've shot a couple USPSA and a couple of 3 gun matches and am learning so much it's crazy. I'm also having a blast.

I'm trying to absorb as much as I can, but I have to say--it's hard to suck. It's tough to come into something just shitballs when you have had a history of marginal athletic success or never really sucked at something...if that makes sense. I just get the feeling when I do these gun games--wow, everyone seems to rock it.

So, assuming you are a decent enough athlete (or used to be) with a desire to get better, how long is the right amount of time to expect to improve?

Right now i'm finishing 40th-50th out of 60-ish in my local matches, but I get into the low to mid 30s in some scenarios, but then other scenarios I am DEAD LAST (and, like, by a mile!).

So, ,with practice and a drive to get better, how quickly did you progress in your gun games?

Pick the skills that you are having the hardest time with and practice those the most. Many shooters go to the range and shoot what they like shooting which is what they are good at and it does not improve them as much as if they picked what they suck at and work hard on it. I remember my first major three gun and I sucked hard on left handed shooting and position shooting. At first I made excuses and cried about it. Then I got over it and started working on those skills. I am much better in those areas now and its helped my overall game a lot.

Pat

[twodownzero]

I've been doing this for 10 years, and I still suck. mainly because I never practice due to lack of time, and I have other activities that have priority (mountain biking, hiking, fishing, raising children and trying to get along with my wife). I do this just for fun and I discovered shooters are some of the best people out there. How good you get depends a lot on what you put into the sport as to practice and number of matches you go to, along with natural talent (I have none). And it's important to define what you mean by no longer sucking. Winning local matches? Placing high at major matches? Becoming Grand Master? Not having to wear a bag over your head after a match from embaressment? Set your goals, and work up a plan to reach them.

Yep!!

9 years and I still suck! I hope that's going to change soon, but if it doesn't, I still love hanging out with shooters, I especially enjoy staffing matches, and I'll still be doing this for a long time.

[blaster113]

I sucked big time for the first five or so years until I decided to get serious about the sport. I'd shoot the club matches regularly (often hungover like death itself) with no dry fire or live fire practice in between. Saw incremental gains in my classifier scores. Took me way too long to get out of C and into B.

I then used a book which had a structured dry fire and live fire training program, after a few months my classifier scores shot up from low B to A. A year or two later used another book which has a more in depth dry fire program and now my scores are high A/low M. Its all about how much time, effort and money one is willing to devote to get better. If I lived in the CONUS and was new to the sport I would definitely take a class or two and start using a regular structured dryfire and livefire practice program. Also try to shoot as many club matches as you can as there's no substitute for match practice. Your classification will go up quick.

[Jukez]

I have only been doing this for 4 months and only started in the mid-high C Class. But I am finding a lot of dry fire practice has been helping me improve quickly

[mike g35]

I've been at this two years. I was getting better but some illnesses and work knocked me out of the game for a bit. I am a C class open shooter, D limited and production. Of course the two majors I've shot this year (Battle in the Bluegrass (production) and the ProAm (limited)) I ended up winning my class (2nd and 3rd) in both so the D has not really hurt my feelings too much once the prizes are allocated . I'm probably more like an all around C, and that's fine with me. I know what it takes to get better, practice and shooting matches, but a man has to work too. I would never say I suck, I'm just continuing to learn at the speed I'm capable of learning at. Don't beat yourself up, this stuff is just for fun anyway. If you want to improve in this game the way is simple......shoot more.

[CHA-LEE]

My "I Suck at this Skill" list is continually getting things added to it. I leverage this list for skills to work on every time I go practice.

So the short answer is ....... I still suck 5 years later and counting.

[Nimitz]

What's your definition of 'succeed at shooting'? Making GM? Not finishing in last place? Winning the Nationals? Makes a big difference and is directly tied to your goals for the sport. You won't be able to determine when you no longer suck until you've defined your goals ...

[beltjones]

No doubt about it. This sport is just like training drug detector canines. Shit it.....shit out. If you want to dedicate yourself to several (correctly performed) dry fire sessions per week along with 1-3 live fire sessions per week (correctly performed) along with a couple of matches per month, you will most likely improve faster that the person who trains less..... But seriously, it takes money, bullets, time and talent unless you are one of the few greats who had initial classifications of A+.

Trace is correct. You can make GM and do very well with a ton of practice, analysis, dryfire, and coaching.

However, to be an elite member of the Super Squad you either need to start young or be a prodigy - I don't know of any elite SS types who didn't either start really young, or start with at least an A classification.

[tnpyeron3]

What's your definition of 'succeed at shooting'? Making GM? Not finishing in last place? Winning the Nationals? Makes a big difference and is directly tied to your goals for the sport. You won't be able to determine when you no longer suck until you've defined your goals ...

Right now, my definition of "succeed at shooting" is to have complete and consistant matches, instead of 4 good stages and 4 poor stages and to keep focused throughout the whole match.

[benny hill]

I started shooting uspsa open in 1992-3 and made grand master in 95. I was shooting 50-65 thousand rds a year and 2-3 times a week practice and 2 matches a month. Depends on how much you want something.

[BobS761]

As it turns out, I'm much happier when I suck at shooting all day, than when I now grass all day. But I can always find a moment, and think, I did that pretty well. Enough for me at this point.

[ROY NEAL]

Here is what I tell all new shooters at my club......"Rome was not built in a day". What I typically see is the rush to make (pick a Class)without having the ability to actually shoot that classification score in a major against the real GM's. So if you make M but still shoot B class scores is that really a good thing? Learn to master all the little things that go into our sport and I think that you will enjoy yourself a lot more than just worrying about your scores. The scores will get better as you put the time and effort into your game. Typically you can see big improvements till you get in the upper C class, then there are no big jumps. In B class you will have some big swings from burning down a stage to wanting to burn your scorecard. Just when you start shooting your class at majors in B class, you'll move to A class where your overall performance will start to smooth out-no big ups and downs as you become proficient in all matters of shooting. Then it will perfecting every little thing about your game as you move up to M and maybe even into the dreaded GM class. Take the advice of many on here about taking professional instruction (Manny, Ted, Max, Taran, Travis, Ben, Rob, Todd, Jerry ect.........They are all excellent). There is a reason these folks are so good. Learn from some of their mistakes so that you don't make the same ones. In this sport, you can't muscle the results like some others. Too much fine motor skills but brain power is also involved. Gaming the stage is not something that you can just turn on, it is a learned approach. Take an RO class so that you know what you can do versus what you might want to do.

Best of luck to you in your shooting progression........

Roy

Team SV Infinity/Smith Optics Elite Shooting Team

[bikerburgess]

I still suck, because the bar I use to measure myself is higher than it used to be when I sucked more.

this,

I used to suck compared to everybody, now there are a few less names on the list

Mike

[Gunracer1]

i went to my first match and was hooked. i went to another match 3 days later and got DQ . put one about a foot in front of me. i swore on the way home i was going to practice dry fire drills till i had mastered it. my first card was a C, two weeks later i got a A and i missed master 3 months later by half a point or so. made it next go around. almost had a gm card, but then i ran out of time and money. i was layed off and going to school 30 hours or so a week, shooting 700 or so rounds on wensday evening and a couple of matches on the weekend. i just picked up watching the shooters around me. you have a lot more options to learn real well from classes and dvds. plus you wount waste near as much money on ammo doing things the wrong way. i wish i could had stuck with it longer but finances just didnt have the room. i had to start working 12 hr days 7 days a week and i just faded away from it. now my kids are grown and i am really trying to see which of my current hobbies i can scale back to fit shooting in.

[forddriver]

I sucked until I read with Winning in Mind. That doesn't mean I am winning every match, but suck is an attitude I have discarded.

This.

You will "suck" for as long as you believe you suck.

[fireman489]

I sucked until I read with Winning in Mind. That doesn't mean I am winning every match, but suck is an attitude I have discarded.

This.

You will "suck" for as long as you believe you suck.

Thank you ! I was starting to wonder about the self image of some folks here .....

[whitedog]

Finishing last beats did not try.

And yes, you will suck as long as you think you do. Use positive reenforcement. "Suck" is too arbitrary. In my case I'm tickled to be above average.. C shooter sitting at 50.88. In theory..in some way to me..I trick myself into thinking I'm in the top half of production shooters. I dry fire and such to stay there, and maybe make B. Thats my personal goal. It used to be to make C. Small attainable steps.

[motosapiens]

I sucked until I read with Winning in Mind. That doesn't mean I am winning every match, but suck is an attitude I have discarded.

This.

You will "suck" for as long as you believe you suck.

Actually, you'll still suck even if you read a self-help book, you will just have a hard time admitting it. I think it is important though, to not let knowledge of how much you suck bother you, or get in the way of improving. The goal for me is always to improve. I'll still suck compared to ben stoeger for a long long long time, but if I keep improving, I will narrow the gap, and that is more important than pretending I don't suck, or patting myself on the back for moving up a class, or being proud for winning a match when no on better than me showed up. Just keep improving.

Edited September 2, 2013 by motosapiens

[kirbinster]

Yea it sucks to suck, I know - cause I suck too! Never touched a hand gun till this past January at age 55. Started doing IDPA and USPSA matches in June. First match I managed a DQ, learned a lot from that. My biggest problem is I tend to be a perfectionist, so I am too darn slow as I waste time making sure I am being very accurate. Shot a USPSA match yesterday and while I was not last I was close to last. My hits were better than many of the people in the top 10, but my time sucked. But, I am improving. This time my match points were about 50% of the top, while last time they were about 25%. I tried a static steel match last week which I found helped me concentrate on speed, as it does not matter where you hit as long as the hit is heard. I think I just need to concentrating on pulling the trigger as soon as the sights get there rather than working on the perfect sight picture.

[JFlowers]

Sucking is not my problem. I can shoot. But I move like a lame pregnant yak!