What would you suggest?

[DRobson]

Buy the absolute best you can afford. Most of the game is mental anyways. Showing up to a match with what you think is the best of the best goes a long way.

[MHitchcock]

I have for all my gear so far. For open I think I will start with something basic until I am 'A' class and then think of getting something custom built. But with how it's looking, open is next season at earliest unless I just find some screaming deal.

[digi531]

Hello, there should be good deals out there on great used open guns. Sounds like your mind is stuck on production but your heart has a desire for open. You don't need to restrict yourself to one division until you reach A class and I agree with others than a beginner can start right in open. Buy a good used open setup and get started having real fun as some say " on the dark side " I never went back.

[MHitchcock]

I am sticking to production this season to become proficient with irons. I have gear to the point in production where the gun won't ever be the thing holding me back, even if I were to make GM at some point in the distant future (highly unlikely). The 'A' class wasn't a time to switch divisions. Was saying I would most likely get a more basic used open gun and wait until my skills took me to 'A' before having a custom one built to my specifications. It will probably be a while before a used (reliable) open gun will be holding me back compared to an all out custom metal grip build.

[jrn1975]

Production is a fine place to learn this game and you may find yourself wanting to stay there for more than a year. While open is fun, it brings a whole new set of challenges. I am learning that the hard way right now.

While setting a goal of hitting "A" class is a great thing, focus more on your match performance. Classifications will come with time. Compare yourself to the "better" shooters at your local matches and see what they are doing differently. Find one of the top shooters in your division and squad with them. You will learn a lot this way.

Since you are new to the sport, here is my advise.

1. Dry fire, Dry fire, Dry fire... make all the basic gun handling skills subconscious.

2. Try to live fire at least once a week to confirm your dry fire. Personally, I live fire 2 to 3 times a week. I work on specific drills once or twice a week to improve in certain areas and try to setup a stage once a week to get a better understanding of my overall performance.

3. Have someone video you at the match. You will quickly identify the areas that you need to work on.

4. Get into reloading if you aren't yet. While this will not save you money, (you will shoot more) it will allow you to tailor a load to your gun to get the best possible performance. Also reloading is a must if you do go to open in the future.

5. Get exposure to a few major matches.. Nebraska has two matches coming up.. The Great Plains Sectional and the Area 3 Championship.

If you do decide to go to open in the future, get what you want the first time as it will save you a ton of cash in the long run.

Edited May 26, 2016 by jrn1975

[b18prl]

Production is a fine place to learn this game and you may find yourself wanting to stay there for more than a year. While open is fun, it brings a whole new set of challenges. I am learning that the hard way right now.

While setting a goal of hitting "A" class is a great thing, focus more on your match performance. Classifications will come with time. Compare yourself to the "better" shooters at your local matches and see what they are doing differently. Find one of the top shooters in your division and squad with them. You will learn a lot this way.

Since you are new to the sport, here is my advise.

1. Dry fire, Dry fire, Dry fire... make all the basic gun handling skills subconscious.

2. Try to live fire at least once a week to confirm your dry fire. Personally, I live fire 2 to 3 times a week. I work on specific drills once or twice a week to improve in certain areas and try to setup a stage once a week to get a better understanding of my overall performance.

3. Have someone video you at the match. You will quickly identify the areas that you need to work on.

4. Get into reloading if you aren't yet. While this will not save you money, (you will shoot more) it will allow you to tailor a load to your gun to get the best possible performance. Also reloading is a must if you do go to open in the future.

5. Get exposure to a few major matches.. Nebraska has two matches coming up.. The Great Plains Sectional and the Area 3 Championship.

If you do decide to go to open in the future, get what you want the first time as it will save you a ton of cash in the long run.

+1

[Mark Meyers]

If I was to advise a new shooter who was certain to stay with the sport, I would suggest starting in open. The gun just seems to provide more feedback, especially with calling your shots that I think helps Shooters learn faster.