Senior (55+) Beginners

[GunBugBit]

If you started competing at some point after your 55th birthday, post here and share your experiences and thoughts as a competition shooter who started later in life.

I think this might be a pretty small crowd, but maybe I'll be surprised.

[motosapiens]

I started competing after my 50th birthday, so I probably don't count. At 54, I don't really consider myself 'later in life' tho.

[Nimitz]

I started competing & picked up a gun for the first time at age 52 so I think that counts ...

my thoughts are simple .... if only I had started when I was 22 instead of 52 ......

Edited August 26, 2015 by Nimitz

[GunBugBit]

At 54, I don't really consider myself 'later in life' tho.

It's relative. We consider ourselves still young, the 20-somethings don't.

[UFO]

I didn't get into the sport till age 53, didn't shoot my first major event till this year @ 55. I just recently reached "B" Class in revolver and feel I'm still improving. I'm certainly not as fast as I used to be, but I have learned to be very efficiant..........

[BARRYJ]

I started shooting competitions at about 52. I'll never be able to compete with the young guys, or even the older ones that have been doing it for years. I shoot for enjoyment and to be around like minded people. I was in law enforcement and didn't have the time or money to compete. In law enforcement, they teach you how to qualify, not how to shoot.

[ShadoFann]

I shot my first ever match at the age of 55 after being persuaded by my then 12 year old step son. I was immediately hooked. I'll be 59 in two weeks and a fairly decent A Class Open shooter. Still improving and still loving the heck out of the sport. We attend a USPSA match every weekend. I doubt I'll ever make Master but I'm going to keep trying. My now 16 year old step son is a Open GM and will be shooting on the Super Squad at Nationals this year. This will be our 3rd Nationals. I would have loved to have started at least 30 years ago but to those thinking they are too old, it's never too late to start.

[Neomet]

Started at 52. I'll be (cough) 60 in two weeks. Having not started at 20 something I have no actual comparison but I think it is the same with the added option of using the "I'm an old guy" line. We all want to be better than we are, generally make the same mistakes, get the same rude awakenings, learn what actually improves our game, etc., etc.....

[Flatland Shooter]

I've been competing since 1985 but shoot like a beginner. Does that qualify?

[Bkreutz]

Started shooting USPSA 3 years ago at 60. I have fun but don't move as fast as I once did. I have a competition background (many different disciplines) so I know what it takes to excel. Problem is, I just don't have that anymore. I shoot 3 USPSA matches and 1 steel challenge match per month. Shoot a night match every week, and practice a few times a week. The rest of my week I spend loading and recovering from the matches . I am retired due to disabilities but I won't sit at home and watch TV (and golf never interested me). I'm classified right at 50% in the Open division.

[open17]

When I started, the rule was:

Senior - Competitors must be 51 years old or older before December 31 in the year of the competition.

Shot my first match as a non-senior in November 2001.

January 2002 I was a Senior. 50 yrs old, I would turn 51 by Dec 31 of 2002.

Then shortly after I turned 55, they changed the rules to 55, and made it on your birthday.

SO---I will be a senior for 14 yrs, 8 months and 27 days. One year and one day to go to SUPER old fart.

Edited August 27, 2015 by open17

[motosapiens]

At 54, I don't really consider myself 'later in life' tho.

It's relative. We consider ourselves still young, the 20-somethings don't.

none of the 20-somethings I shoot with can keep up with me on foot or bicycle or motorcycle, so no one cares what they think.

Unlike Nimitz, i don't at all regret not starting earlier. In my 20's and 30's I was racing bicycles and skis in europe and had no time or interest in something as sedentary as USPSA.. Shooting has been a good activity for my so-called declining years because it saved me from golf and knitting.

[Novie]

I started shooting as a young boy, many years ago. Never competed until 2011 at the age of 56. I am still improving as a lot of what I learned as a young man does help. The issues during the first two years of competition was purchasing the gear necessary to be competitive. I shoot 3 gun and USPSA so overall a lot of gear purchases. I always have fun shooting however I finish in the match. I shot a 3 gun match last weekend that I was 11% closer to the winner than last year. The winner was Greg Jordan for both years. I was very happy with the improvements.

[Dimitri]

Having grown up with shotguns I always wanted to move to handguns, but studies, working, moving from country to country never let me do that. Sooooo.... when I turned 54 I joined a club and at 55 got into IPSC competitions. I enjoy it greatly, even if I do not stand a chance against the young and the old in the game. There is a learning curve and I am very happy when I improve on my performance.

I have managed to get my average up from 30% to 50% in just 5 months and this is something that I'm very happy with, given that in almost every match I took part, the winner was one of the top 5 competitors in the country.

At my age and physical condition, my major opponent is myself and this is very good, since wherever I compete he is there .

Like Nimitz, I regret not having started when I was 20, but then again, had I started when I was 20, maybe today I would have been bored or moved on to another sport. So, on second thoughts, I don't really regret starting late in life, since I do enjoy it.

[lcs]

I started around 55. It is the only sport that keeps me off the couch and in somewhat good shape. It also keeps the mind active. If your really putting forth an effort to improve and shot major matches, your constantly excercising the brain. I don't kid myself about winning....you will never beat the younger (move like rabbits) competitiors.

It does get frustrating when my brain says expode out of that chair and the body says "ok, give me a minute". LOL.

[GunBugBit]

I have no regrets about starting 12 days after my 56th birthday. My life has been full with family, career and other hobbies. Now, more than any other time in life, I feel like I'm having my days in the sun (literally, because I've been shooting in the Phoenix sun all summer).

Father Time will catch up with each and every one of us. No matter how much mojo and piss and vinegar we have had, or have now, parts of us will start to break down. We can delay this through lifestyle choices but no one completely cheats the aging process, save for dying young.

However, never underestimate an older guy!

I shoot with people from 12 to 70+, and some of the guys in their 60s and 70s are quite impressive. Late last spring, I saw a 70+ gentleman shoot a Thursday night practice stage very impressively. As he stepped into the box to make ready, I perceived a somewhat hunched, feeble, weaker person. The start signal sounded, and he explosively transformed into a demigod of war. His quickness and confidence and sure-footedness were superb for a person of any age. He ran from box to box much, much faster than I thought he would be able to move. His splits and transitions were blazing. When the RO read off his time, there were oo's and ah's from everyone.

There was something mystical about that. It illustrated how the human spirit can drive the mortal coil into furious action when the last hurrah is not far away. The man himself might be thinking, "This, right here and now, could be my last hurrah, and if so I'm going to go out kicking hard. I will show these young people how a man faces his sunset."

Putting on displays like that as I age, is one of my goals as a shooter.

Edited August 27, 2015 by GunBugBit

[motosapiens]

Putting on displays like that as I age, is one of my goals as a shooter.

I would advise doing other stuff besides shooting to stay physically active then. Most people don't get out of shape because they got old, they get old because they let themselves get out of shape.

I give up a little in visual acuity to 20 yr olds, but I expect to be well into my 60's before I am giving up anything to them in fitness, strength, movement speed, or stamina. But I play hockey, ride bicycles and dirtbikes, run, put a lot of physical movement into my dryfire practice, and don't watch much tv.

[robport]

Late 56 for me. The day I finally got up the nerve to try it (since I didn't know anyone there and had only been shooting for a few months), my dog ran between my legs after getting spooked by a car, tying my feet together. Half of my middle finger (strong hand) ended up at 40 degrees from the rest of the finger. Needless to say that my brilliant debut was delayed for a few months.

I'm still not very good, but I see small improvements and have a great time doing it. It's something to think about, reason through the improvement process, and something to look forward to. I do IDPA (we don't have USPSA within 100 miles), so the movement is not bad at all.

I don't have any real thoughts that I will ever be a GM at this point, but I'd like to get comfortable shooting the big matches without totally bombing out. I think that's a reasonable goal at this point.

I do wish they wouldn't call me sir though...lol.

Edited August 27, 2015 by robport

[mcbutler]

I started August, 7 years ago, 2 weeks after my 64th birthday and I am having a blast. Great people, good exercise and a lot of laughs. Been able to observe some of the finest shooters in the sport. Still feel like a new guy because I learn something new at every match. Looking forward to my remaining shooting years.

[Neomet]

I should add that I have the disposable income now for pretty much whatever toys and travel I want for this sport and 3 gun. Not the case in my 20s!

[Reshoot]

My first match was at age 59 . . . with a borrowed gun.

I school classmate, who had shot USPSA for years, kept after me to join him. Year after year travel kept me from doing so. Finally, I accepted his offer and showed up with a 40 caliber, 200 rounds of ammo and three mags. "That won't work", he said, as he loaned me a gun and equipment.

I have never been competitive, in the 7 years I have been shooting. But then, I only practiced half heartily for the first 3 years. I'm one of those that enjoys a day off shooting with friends and the son-in-law.

The end of very match day finds me with a smile on my face, even if I plugged a no-shoot

[BobT]

My first match was at age 59 . . .

And so was mine.

I've been shooting since I was 10 or 11, and reloading since the 70s, but I competed in my first competition this spring, at 59 years of age. It was a local Steel Match, and I've made every steel match at that range since, and have been kicking myself in the @ss for not doing this sooner.

In a couple weeks I hope to try my first USPSA match...

Got my wife into it also, although she is only 50.....(don't tell her I told ya )

Bob

[bfilbey]

I shot my first match a while ago but a career change landed me overseas for a lot of time. The people in other countries frown on expats with weapons. I shoot when I am CONUS. I teach others to shoot, I am a far better armorer than shooter so I can at least keep my team mates weapons up and running. I'll be 60 in six weeks so I have no illusions about setting the world on fire. I tend to do better on the long range stuff. It surprises me that on some of the longer range stages that I have more hits than most and the time is washed out by the hits. I get right up with the good guys. I have to work on my up close and fast stuff.

[HotRod61]

Thanks GunBugBit for starting this thread.

I turn 55 in January and thought I might be to old for this type of shooting. Every single post has inspired me to get involved.

I shoot high power already, that's a different beast.

Thanks to everyone who posted.

HotRod

[tomj44]

I'm 60 and my first match is next month.