At what point is it not worth it?

[mont1120]

On 4/13/2018 at 11:26 AM, davsco said:

yeah but you don't have to drive some 30+ hours to go elk hunting!!!  maybe not even 1??

1/2 an hour............

[mont1120]

On 4/13/2018 at 11:01 AM, titandriver said:

Dunno if you're headed for the Billings match tomorrow at 4:30 a.m. but you might want to contact them before leaving - as of yesterday they cancelled the match due to (expected) weather and muddy bays. Looks like that bad weather may not materialize so you might double-check.

Went to the Helena match, was OK EXCEPT for the deer that I hit. Now I tacked on 1K for a match. Now it was not worth it.

[Hi-Power Jack]

Did you get DQ'd for hitting the deer  ?     

 

Or, was it just another "No-Shoot"  ?      

[Matt1]

You guys crack me up.

Down here in Oz I’ve shot exactly two matches (not including a couple of my indoor club “matches”) so far this year.

1st match was a 90 minute flight plus a 5hr drive away (in 45C heat). That one was 12 stages over 2 days.

2nd match was only a 90 minute flight away. Weather was better for that one, only in the 30’s. That one was 20 stages over 4 days.

Till the end of July I think there’s 1 x outdoor, 6 stage club match (40 minutes away) 1 x outdoor 12 stage 2 day match (75 minutes away) and then another one back at the first club.

If I’m lucky I’ll get to go to a couple more indoor “matches” as well.


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[Sarge]

25 minutes ago, Matt1 said:

You guys crack me up.

Down here in Oz I’ve shot exactly two matches (not including a couple of my indoor club “matches”) so far this year.

1st match was a 90 minute flight plus a 5hr drive away (in 45C heat). That one was 12 stages over 2 days.

2nd match was only a 90 minute flight away. Weather was better for that one, only in the 30’s. That one was 20 stages over 4 days.

Till the end of July I think there’s 1 x outdoor, 6 stage club match (40 minutes away) 1 x outdoor 12 stage 2 day match (75 minutes away) and then another one back at the first club.

If I’m lucky I’ll get to go to a couple more indoor “matches” as well.


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I would take up golf if that’s the case.

[Matt1]

I hate golf. We generally practice more often but there a less options for competing.

I could shoot other disciplines but don’t like most of them (SC is good and Metallic Silhouette is alright occasionally).


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[obsessiveshooter]

It's all about what it's worth to you.  I could shoot Saturday and Sunday almost every weekend, all within about 1:30 drive.   But with two boys (11 and 13), it would be seriously shitty of me to be gone all day every weekend at this time in my boys' lives. I hate that guilty feeling when I get home as it's getting dark, and my wife was stuck with the kids all day.   It's tempting to shoot more than I should as the M card is close, but some things are just way more important. Years from now, I'll be totally cool with my whole day being centered around a match.  That said, I try to tape, set steel,  break down and put away my stage with extra effort so that I can get back home ASAP with a clean conscience that I didn't leave work for my squadmates.    

[kneelingatlas]

Leighton, do your boys have any interest in shooting?  My boys are 8, 6, and one (plus a four year old daughter), so I'm very interested in your experience.

[ChuckS]

On 4/12/2018 at 5:31 AM, Racinready300ex said:

Like the title says, is there a point it's not worth it to you? Let me explain, I'm signed up for my "local" USPSA match in a couple weeks. I'm going, I'm sure it will be fun. But my "local" match I'll drive a little over 2 hours in each direction. This is a 6 stage match, probably about 120-130 rounds. 5 Squads, 20 shooters to a squad. That's a looong day, 20/squad is brutal.

 

Is this the norm for most USPSA clubs? Or is this more of a Area problem?

 

Side note, I think adding more divisions is the best way to grow the sport.

This is a simple issue. What everybody else thinks and does is not really relevant. Go shoot your local match. After a few days, think about the day. It your predominate memory is the match, not travel, there's part of your answer. The other part of the question is are your match memories dominated by all the waiting and such or the shooting? If it's the shooting, you are good to go. If not, you may want to find other activities. 

 

Later,

Chuck

PS: IMHO: with 20 shooters per squad, your sport don't need growin'

[obsessiveshooter]

Leighton, do your boys have any interest in shooting?  My boys are 8, 6, and one (plus a four year old daughter), so I'm very interested in your experience.

One of my two boys kinda enjoys shooting. He is less interested in competition. It's unlikely that either of them will join me in USPSA, but there's a chance my oldest will enjoy Steel Challenge. I thought bowling pin matches would be a great intro, but at 13 my son is the youngest person there by 25 years or more. Shooting matches are a whole lot of waiting, and I just have to accept that it's not their thing. At least for now. I'll check back with them regularly though.

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[bluedevil008]

The local matches I shoot are all 2.5+ hours away.  There is one match that is 60 minutes away, but it's absolute garbage. $35 for 4 poorly designed stages and it takes the entire day, so I went once last Fall and am never going again.

 

I try to make the drive worth it by getting a little practice in after the match and also picking up donuts at the local donut shop that my wife is obsessed with. 

 

 

[Racinready300ex]

24 minutes ago, bluedevil008 said:

The local matches I shoot are all 2.5+ hours away.  There is one match that is 60 minutes away, but it's absolute garbage. $35 for 4 poorly designed stages and it takes the entire day, so I went once last Fall and am never going again.

 

I try to make the drive worth it by getting a little practice in after the match and also picking up donuts at the local donut shop that my wife is obsessed with. 

 

 

 

I shot a 4 stage IDPA match the other night only a 30 min drive from home. It was freezing cold, and took 3-4 hours to shoot. With make up shots the whole match was 21 rounds.

 

Nope. Last time.

[bluedevil008]

28 minutes ago, Racinready300ex said:

 

I shot a 4 stage IDPA match the other night only a 30 min drive from home. It was freezing cold, and took 3-4 hours to shoot. With make up shots the whole match was 21 rounds.

 

Nope. Last time.

21 ROUNDS?!?! what in tarnation?!?! haha

[obsessiveshooter]

Yeah, my first and last IDPA match was 40 rounds. At least it wasn't cold. Those guys at that match, except for one, we're all perfectly suited to IDPA. The one guy though, I practically begged him to come check out USPSA, the way you'd point to an exit door for a lost person in a burning building.

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[Racinready300ex]

17 hours ago, bluedevil008 said:

21 ROUNDS?!?! what in tarnation?!?! haha

 

Yeah, I talked to the MD after and he said he was trying to let his staff handle more  of the match. Probably so he can work his way out of the position. He said they're leaning toward easy quick set up. Which meant no walls, no props just a few target stands and one shooting position.

 

I just looked at the results, it was 3 stages. I think two were 6 rounds, one may have been 9. All stages were in the dark with a flashlight. My total time shooting was 22 seconds.

[JohnnyD]

I am lucky to have 3 USPSA clubs that are 20-40 mins away from me.  To be honest I really wouldn't drive an hour plus for a local match....but I might be spoiled.

 

I have a 2 3gun clubs and 2 IDPA clubs within that same radius as well.

[Dutchman195]

Anything over 1.5 hour drive is to much for me for a local. Its not worth it once you factor in gas, 25 match fee, sunburn and wasting my only day off for maybe 300ish seconds of shooting. Unless there is a Major coming up and I try to cram as many locals as I can in. 

 

 

A major problem I have with my area is that these matches have kick off at 10AM and dont finish until dinner time 4-6ish. I would rather have kick off at 8 and get home earlier.

[Racinready300ex]

1 hour ago, Dutchman195 said:

Anything over 1.5 hour drive is to much for me for a local. Its not worth it once you factor in gas, 25 match fee, sunburn and wasting my only day off for maybe 300ish seconds of shooting. Unless there is a Major coming up and I try to cram as many locals as I can in. 

 

 

A major problem I have with my area is that these matches have kick off at 10AM and dont finish until dinner time 4-6ish. I would rather have kick off at 8 and get home earlier.

 

Unfortunately for me the closest club is 2 hours from here. That changes next weekend when a new club is having their first USPSA match only 45 min to a hour away.

[bjones6686]

On 5/4/2018 at 10:52 AM, Dutchman195 said:

Anything over 1.5 hour drive is to much for me for a local. Its not worth it once you factor in gas, 25 match fee, sunburn and wasting my only day off for maybe 300ish seconds of shooting. Unless there is a Major coming up and I try to cram as many locals as I can in. 

 

 

A major problem I have with my area is that these matches have kick off at 10AM and dont finish until dinner time 4-6ish. I would rather have kick off at 8 and get home earlier.

That's crazt that they take that long to shoot. All my local matches start at 10am or 11am and are done by 3pm. They usually are 6 stages with 150-180 round count. Usually have 50-90 shooter's at these match. Im lucky and most of my local clubs are no more then a hour and 15 minutes away. 

[L3324temp]

It's not worth it when your heart is not in it.

After my first year my heart has never been in it. But I do enjoy it. I am one of 5 who show up to setup.


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[pyrrhic3gun]

I was going to a match in Southwest Oklahoma 6 weeks ago. It was below freezing and the local weather reported wind gust of 50 mph.  When I started into the restaurant for breakfast and the wind around the corner felt like it was cutting me in two, that's when I decided I didn't need it that much.  Headed back to the house.

The next day was much better.  31 degrees and only 30 mph, so I shot.  :^)

[SWprotected]

My closest match is about an hour, most I go to are about 2.5. I think about 3.5 is as far as I have gone for a local match but luckily I wasn't driving.

[Nik Habicht]

On 4/12/2018 at 12:23 PM, titandriver said:

Neither - just seems like a long time to go 62 miles to me - my nearest club is roughly 105 miles and it takes me about an hour and fifteen to get there. 

East Coast.  We have these things called traffic lights, speed enforcement, idiots driving under the limit in the left lane with the blinker on, traffic congestion, etc.......

 

In Wyoming I imagine that's a 45 minute ride ay 85-90?

[titandriver]

On 5/21/2018 at 11:07 PM, Nik Habicht said:

East Coast.  We have these things called traffic lights, speed enforcement, idiots driving under the limit in the left lane with the blinker on, traffic congestion, etc.......

 

In Wyoming I imagine that's a 45 minute ride ay 85-90?

Just a tad longer than that normally since I'm "concerned" about fuel mileage at those speeds!  I was running very late for a match a couple of years ago and ran 120 for nearly 2/3rds of the trip - made it in just under an hour as farm truck traffic the closer I got to Montana slowed me down. Otherwise I could have made it in 45 minutes! 

[Chuck D]

The minute you have to ask whether you'd enjoy the experience or not is the minute you should realize you no longer enjoy what you have to go through to participate in the activity.