Chris Leong Posted August 16, 2001 Share Posted August 16, 2001 Okay, I'm not a total beginner any more, and I guess I'm in that stretch where it takes more doing than talking (or reading or writing about), where I just have to keep practicing, not lose patience, and just let the body get used to everything. As they used to say at my old school, "take it, read it, learn and inwardly digest it". I guess I'm at the inwardly part. So I've been reading.. . lol ... and folks here say that it's good to shoot some red dot once in a while.... Is there a point at which you decide to cross over? I know at local matches anyway (I shoot at SWPL) that you have to pick which category you'll be shooting at. What makes a person pick one over another? Is it just the equipment? Or is there some finer point of the sport that I'm not understanding/grasping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 16, 2001 Share Posted August 16, 2001 Chris, I'm not sure if there's an answer for your question. What do you feel like doing? Do you think/feel like you should shoot Open because you should, or because guys say it will make you a better overall shooter? Or do you just want to? Basically, if you begin with irons, I don't think you are missing out. If you have only ever shot an Open gun, as many of today's hot Open shooters have, you may be missing out on a few of the 'finer points.' be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Leong Posted August 16, 2001 Author Share Posted August 16, 2001 Aha! The light dawns. Guess I had it the other way around there, Brian. Didn't make much sense to me but I thought I'd better check it out anyway. Since you asked, what do I feel like doing is shooting better, period. So far it's been learn-the-gun, and practice. That could, in itsself, last a lifetime. What type/make/model of gun I don't really care. Just a gun that shoots well and that I'm not fighting to shoot well. In the beginning, it's more fighting myself than anything made of metal. Or, more to the point, it's about getting so's I can do I want to (draw the gun, point the gun, etc) without fighting myself or the gun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted August 16, 2001 Share Posted August 16, 2001 If you plan to keep this up for a lifetime, you'd better get flexible in your choices. When I started shooting IPSC, PPC was an old farts game, and not at all "practical." I wound up shooting in the local Sheriff's Dept. PPC league because it was close and indoors in the winter. I found it greatly improved my IPSC shooting. (I carried a 596 average with a 1911 in .45ACP.) After two winters of PPC, bowling pins looked easy and the IPSC "A" zone was huge. I never shot a shotgun much, but on the three-man team event at Second Chance the pump shotgun guy was the hard one to find. So I started practicing with an 870 to improve my chances of getting on a team. I found my rifle shooting got a lot better. If you do only one thing, you'll get bored, burn out or wake up one morning to find yourself in Tulsa with no recollection of how you got there. The drawback to mixing it up is the need for more gear and more guns. A horrible fate, I know, but one we all have faced and dealt with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Norris Posted August 16, 2001 Share Posted August 16, 2001 Quote: from Patrick Sweeney on 9:18 am on Aug. 16, 2001 If you do only one thing, you'll get bored, burn out or wake up one morning to find yourself in Tulsa with no recollection of how you got there. Patrick, I take it you've been down the burnout road before? Kay Clark Miculek told me that shooting comp guns is "easier" due to the instant feed back from a dot and same plane sighting, making it easier to call shots. I would tend to agree with this assesment. Another point to consider is in Open, C-GM class shooters all shoot with in .05 seconds of each other split wise. The brass tacks are movement, transitions, loads, ect. Not that shooting limited these aren't important(they're VERY important, and how I got my C card instead of a D to start), but become all the more important shooting Open. I've noticed there tend to be more of a time and points split between positions in Limited making it easier to win(or lose). In other words, if your not spot on in Open within class(or more likely, a few points above it), you needn't apply for the winers possition at a tournament level match. One final plus, it's cooler to show your non-IPSC shooting friends you can shoot groups at 50yds with a iron sighted handgun Just the observations of a C class junior who held back from going Open cause his bank account wouldn't support it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ankeny Posted August 16, 2001 Share Posted August 16, 2001 I shoot at 3 little clubs and only one guy shoots open. I asked him why he went from open to limited and then back to open. He told me that he went to limited from open because that is what everyone else was shooting. Then he went back to open because he enjoys shooting open more than limited. What better answer could one give? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icer Posted August 17, 2001 Share Posted August 17, 2001 Chris--- My best advice is to move to open class when you can afford to do it right. Jumping into what is probably the most competitive class in USPSA with a gun that will hold you back is a bad idea. This may mean holding off for longer than you would like, but I think you would be happier in the end. Me personally......I like chasing Open shooters with my Limited gun......getting to where I can beat 98% of ALL shooters with a limited gun, like Taran Butler does on a regular basis, is my goal......for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Leong Posted August 17, 2001 Author Share Posted August 17, 2001 Thanks for all your comments, guys. I guess it's whatever turns you on - and keeps you turned on. Me, I'm still waiting for SV to get those guns legal in CA.... Yours in practice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted August 17, 2001 Share Posted August 17, 2001 Burn-out, let's see.... dirt bikes, Tae Kwon Do, skydiving, commercial security, photojournalism, radio broadcasting, professional gunsmithing, And through it all, shooting continues. Yeah, I know a little about burnout. Shoot what's fun, but also shoot something that's a little different now and then. It keeps you interested, and you never know what you might learn if you're paying attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulW Posted August 17, 2001 Share Posted August 17, 2001 I have to agree with Brians post when he talks about "if you've only ever shot open, then you may be missing out on some of the finer details". I started in Limited b class and within a year and a half switched to open. I shoot irons sights now and then but not serious because I was focused on open class. Now that I have recently got my "M" card I can't wait to start shooting iron sights again. I am lucky to shoot in an area that has several "M" class open and limited shooters to help push me. I love shooting open, the speed is just way cool. But I also enjoy the challenge of limited, making those tight shots with iron sights is very rewarding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted August 20, 2001 Share Posted August 20, 2001 I shot Limited for over a year before buying a used Open gun. I did it because a local club's Open matches were too hard for me with iron sights at the time. I think I got into Open too early, as I had not yet mastered iron sights. I'd stay away from Open until Limited is no longer a significant challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted August 20, 2001 Share Posted August 20, 2001 The problem with switching to Open is more than having finally learned to read your sights or perfecting the Limited gun. (Has anyone done it yet?) Open requires a new gun and magazines. It also requires new brass, dies, powder, bullets and primers. The learning curve is more than a dot, its crafting ammo, tuning magazines, getting used to the timing of a comp, etc. You learn things that translate back to Limited, and you bring things from Limited that you might not have learned shooting only an Open gun. The question should be, do you have the time, energy and patience to learn all this new stuff, and are you willing to have your Limited scores temporarily stall or slide off while you're learning a new gun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Leong Posted September 3, 2001 Author Share Posted September 3, 2001 Guys, this weekend I switched to a Limcat with a C More because I can now literally see more. Spent the weekend shooting slow fire precision (ISSF) and with the Olympic-style orthoptics I'm still grouping within an inch or three at 50 years offhand freehand, so it's not the sight picture or the trigger control, it's definitely the presbyopia and the eyes. I can focus at infinity, and I can focus on the front sight - if I take my glasses off, use bifocals or the orthoptics (rest focus set at 44" from the right eye). Transition time of focus from infinity to front sight is measurable in seconds, probably as many as three, depending on how close the front sight is. I was squinting like crazy on the Limited gun, trying to get a good sight picture, and it was either all A's, very very slow, or I'd miss the targets when I thought I hadn't. Now we'll see what happens. Yeah, I'm not going to make high divisions any time soon but at least I think I'll keep on shooting happier, because it's become a pleasure again rather than an increasing, frustrating pain in the iris. Now acquiring the dot with the weak hand, that's another story... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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