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The Thrill Is Gone. Struggling to find the fun.


JesseM

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It sounds like you are wondering aimlessly in a dark room and getting frustrated when you bump into things that are not expected.

Turn the lights on, which in other words sit down and put all of this into perspective. Make a list of realistic short and long term goals then develop a plan to achieve them. We all want to instatly be better at everything but its unrealistic to expect all skills to progress at the same speed. Honestly asses your skill and make an "I suck at this skill" list. Work on these skills one at a time as your time and finances allow. Better yet work on them with a shooting buddy or local trainer. Don't sweat the small stuff and always remember that everything is the "Small Stuff".

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Jesse,

Peacemaker International and Summit Point hold the occasional 3 gun match.

I checked and Peacemaker is 3 hours away from me and Summit Point is 2.5 hours so not a real viable option.

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It sounds like you are wondering aimlessly in a dark room and getting frustrated when you bump into things that are not expected.

Turn the lights on, which in other words sit down and put all of this into perspective. Make a list of realistic short and long term goals then develop a plan to achieve them. We all want to instatly be better at everything but its unrealistic to expect all skills to progress at the same speed. Honestly asses your skill and make an "I suck at this skill" list. Work on these skills one at a time as your time and finances allow. Better yet work on them with a shooting buddy or local trainer. Don't sweat the small stuff and always remember that everything is the "Small Stuff".

In other words, don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things...
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Life happens. For the vast majority of us, this is just a game/hobby. If you can fit it into the schedule and you're having fun, keep going. If not, take the break. Just be aware that it may be harder to start back up after the break. Or at least it has been for me.

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As someone who has burned out shooting nearly 8 matches a month along with setting up every Saturday I say take a break. I've taken two breaks each a couple months long. The first was due to my job but it still helped. 4 months without touching a gun got me itching to go shoot. The second was my choice, but I came back from it shooting better than before. I was able to focus, and I can identify issues better than before. It also helps when I can see where I am making progress.

Having a goal for each match helps. Shoot it fast skipping accuracy, or shoot slow hitting all alphas. Or just say it it time with friends and forget about the score. Though that is easier said than done.

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I'm going to try to address some of these as best as I can.

I have been right where you are like 5 times. :goof:

Here is some "advice". First, put your shooting into perspective within your life. Is this your hobby, your escape from the rigors of the daily grind, where you place your self worth, a competitive outlet, the most important thing you do, your camaraderie fix...? Why are the scores important to you? Once you have your shooting "boxed" it might be easier to set goals and decide what you need for yourself.

I have had a few GMs tell me I could be a GM if only... well, with life, family, business, kids, career...that "if only" in terms of time and money was never attainable. So I had to ask myself how good is good enough? Do I want to specialize or generalize? Is there a combination of factors that will end up killing the fun or competitive drive in my shooting?

So, no, I have not answered your question. I would not be so presumptive as to believe that I know you or your personality enough to give the answer you seek. But I hope if you will sit down with a piece of paper, a pen and a close friend who knows you, you can prioritize and figure out what shooting is to you and then take a path that is better for you that where you currently are.

I took a big step back and looked at my shooting earlier this year. I had to be honest with myself and realize I do this for several reasons, and none of them have to do with ever winning a major. That sacrifice is not worth it to me at this point in my life. Then I had to asses my skillset. I paid for a class with Manny Bragg and spent time writing down my priorities, goals and the paths that had to be followed to get there. I missed one of my 3 short term goals, so I retooled and pressed on. But I am generally shooting better, enjoying it more, caring less about placement and getting out of my shooting exactly what I want.

I just filled of my shooting goals last Saturday, but it is on a topic banned on Enos.

Anyway, Best wishes!

I didn't really grow up in a gun family. My father had 2 or 3 but that was about it. We didn't hunt we didn't really go shooting. When I was 19 I bought a Mauser and started shooting like once a year. I discovered that shooting accurately was not at all as easy as every video game and movie had made it seem. I turned 21 bought a pistol and got a CCW. I tried to learn how to shoot a pistol. Learned a few thigns from a neighbor. Moved to Maryland after college for a job. Joined a private club a few years after that around the age of 25. (I'm 30 now) At that point I really started to work on shooting better. No classes I just kept putting rounds down range until I was able to hit what I was aiming at. I was never great but I got to a point where I was ok. Then some of the guys at the range told me to try IDPA. Through all of this shooting was a hobby that I had fun doing. IDPA and USPSA were just neat things I did in my free time. I wouldn't necessarily identify myself as a competetive shooter at that point.

I have never felt the competitive urge in my life. I never played team sports or I did but never seriously because I just couldn't really be bothered to care if I won or if I lost I just enjoyed the act of playing. This put me at odds with most folk. I played tennis for a bit towards the end of high school but I found I couldn't stand the attitude of most people I played with because they were so tied up in whether they won or lost that I couldn't enjoy the game with them. But last July I had something in my brain click and suddendly it wasn't enough to just go to a match to have fun I wanted to do better and I wanted to win... I started to really really care about my scores, where previously they were just a sort of casual interest. I'd never felt that way about anything before.

And there hasn't been anything else that I felt like I had the chance to really be good at. I played guiar and turmpet, tried my hand at art and some other things but shooting was the first thing where I felt like maybe I could actually be good at this. But I thnk you're right I'm not willing to dedicate enough of my life and free time to get there. I have M class shooters teling me to spend X amount of time every night doing Y and then in Z months I can be a A shooter but as much as I want to win and as much as I feel the competetive urge I can't bring myself to dedicate that amount of time to it. Not yet. I have no idea how some of the guys I know that are married with kids pull it off unless they just have some natural amount of talent.

Worrying, on every topic, is not only debilitating, it is mentally and physically crippling.

I don't know how to stop. I am inheriently a worrier. My mother is a worrier, my father is a worrier. I have tried very hard not to be and I have succeeded to the extent that when compared to them I am Jackie Chan to their Chris Tucker but I'm still a worier and I don't know how to turn it off. It makes me good at my job but it definintely stresses me out a lot more than I ought to.

Life happens. For the vast majority of us, this is just a game/hobby. If you can fit it into the schedule and you're having fun, keep going. If not, take the break. Just be aware that it may be harder to start back up after the break. Or at least it has been for me.

I've had people tell me that. Most of them sounded like they were trying to scare me off taking a break saying I'll have to start over or I'll never be as good as I could hve been if I didn't take a break but in my head my options currently seem to be push myself until all of the joy of USPSA and IDPA are dead and then never shoot them again, or take a few months off and come back refreshed... well I like that option better.

Go shoot a match, and literally walk through every stage making certain that you score 100% of points. Make it a bullseye run and just try to enjoy the feel of the gun and the joy of precision marksmanship. You know you can hit the targets, go prove it to yourself.

Or buy a new gun.

I started off shooting a CZ-75BD but then in Feb 2011 I started shooting a Glock 17. I have a match I signed up for this sunday and I am thinking about busting out the CZ and either shooting production and walking through the stages or saying screw it, shoot limited load my 16 round mags up and still just walking the stage and not finishing until I have all alphas. If after that I can't find the joy then I think I need to take a break.

Edited by JesseM
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I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just giving you my perspective and relating to you how this year has gone for me. I've only shot 5 matches this year and the last one was in June. Fortunately, things are looking up for me. I hope you find the answers you are looking for!! Good luck :cheers:

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I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just giving you my perspective and relating to you how this year has gone for me. I've only shot 5 matches this year and the last one was in June. Fortunately, things are looking up for me. I hope you find the answers you are looking for!! Good luck :cheers:

Sorry I didn't mean to imply you were but a few of the guys I know locally that have told me not to take a break seemed like they were trying to shake the boogy man at me.

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I mean only in America can a 3 gun household be called "not a gun family". It's a beautiful thing!

:roflol:

Ok I laughed a lot. What I meant was my dad was never reall all tore up with them the way I current am or the way his two brother were/are. He had a side-by side 10 gauge shotgun and a Colt Mustang .380 pistol and they were just things he had he didn't really use them and I mostly forgot they were there growing. He took me shooting once when I was 8 and then again when I was 19 and I bought my first gun.

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Since you never really got heavily involved in competition activities then maybe you are facing more of a competition evolution issue. While competing, you need to be able to properly deal with Winning, Losing, and solving problems to overcome road blocks.

I would suggest you get two books. "With Winning In Mind" by Lanny Bassham and "Think Practical Shooting" by Saul Kirsch. Both of these books do a good job in breaking down the mental part of the game. If nothing else they should at least get you thinking about something new about shooting that will respark your interest.

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Good advice from Charlie. I have those two books, and they do help some. I usually add in "The Talent Code" by Coyle for the trifecta.

Also, realize that different shooting sports emphasize different skills. The differences between IDPA and USPSA are very real and based on your personality, they may have some impact. I felt I was not being pushed and switched at one point, that helped for a while, then I switched back and that too helped. I really like all trigger time, hunting, clay sports, long range, rimfire, action pistol, 3Gun etc. But switching back and forth is not good for advancing base skills as you are still learning. I think it was Charlie above who said to figure out what you suck at and work on that. Maybe not in direct competition, but at least some practice.

Just remember, it is a process based on what YOU want while still having fun!

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Jesse,

Look at all the hands reaching out to assist you in your call for help. That is one of the ingredients in this sport. There are many others, but this one is a biggy. Complete strangers doing what they can to help you.

You are welcome to come play with us at Peacemaker and Summit Point when you're ready. I hope to see you there.

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I am in the middle of a funk and not shooting. I have been shooting competition for over 10 years from IDPA in the begining to 3 gun for the last 5. I still like it in theory but at the moment I have no intrest in shooting a match. I missed the last 2 to work issues and it didnt even bother me too much. Last match is this weekend and I wont be able to go. I have never been burned out on shooting in all the years I have been doing this. 5 years ago I had to take a year off due to being on midnight shift and I was so bummed I couldnt shoot.

Im sure over the winter as I reload my desire will be back but I have no explination why I have lost intrest in shooting.

I dont think everyone goes thru this but Id be supprised if most dont. I know over the years I have seen shooters come and go. I can think of 3 guys who shot 3 gun for several years then just stopped. And when I say stopped they didnt change to USPSA they put all the guns down. Much as I have at the moment. I have not been to this site for weeks. And my first visit I came looking for a thread like this for those of us who are steping away for a break.

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I was talking with a friend about this and the way I describe it to him was I want to go back to IDPA and USPA being fun and being ok with loosing, back before I felt that desire to be competitive because I can't put in the time it would take for me to get good enough to win. Not without throwing a bunch of stuff to the way side and there was already a bunch of other hobbies I outright stopped doing 18 months ago.

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I am just a Joe Average shooter so take this for what it is worth. What you are suffering from is the destructive impact of ego. In this sense I mean ego as the expectations your inner voice puts on you. You have said that even as you struggle with your shooting now it is still clearly better than when you started, but you were having fun when you started. What has changed is your ego now tells you that you should be able to do this or that, shoot a higher percentage than you did last month, that THIS time you better not screw up on the steel, that you should be a "insert next higher class here" shooter, that you are too good a shooter to have 3 mikes and a NS on that stage.

Not a single word of that is the truth. Ever. However you shoot on that day is exactly how good a shooter you are that day. You just now have an expectation of how well you should do. This means you are now not shooting because you like to shoot but rather to meet some artificial goal you have established, normally at the very best level you have ever shot or even better. In small doses this isn't bad but when it becomes the reason we shoot it is often the path to discontent.

I've been where you are. I tried taking a break but when I came back i thought that I was refreshed so should do better. I switched divisions but then thought I should be doing better in the new division that the old one. I trained hard with the best in the sport thinking if I improved to the next level I would be happy. Didn't happen.

What finally made the difference is when I realized if I just went out to shoot as well as I could without expectation or attachment I started having fun again. A lot more fun. I had come back to the mindset I had when I started this sport. Every time I stray from this approach my level of enjoyment starts to drop.

This may not be a popular approach among the really great shooters as you might not reach your ultimate potential, whatever that is, but as you stated this is a hobby for me and I pursue hobbies for enjoyment. I am happy to say I really enjoy this one.

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