Learn from me BEginners... it ain't all about the gear.

[Fatso]

Hi folks.

 

I've read the books, I've bought the gear, I've spent endless hours dry firing and pouring over the results of local matches.  By virtue of being close to Phoenix, I get the opportunity to see some of the best in the world compete locally.  Yet I'm going on 8 years in this sport and have never shot a major.  Why?  Life gets busy.  And that's okay.  USPSA is top fuel funny car racing of the gun world.  This is where we throw out ambiguity of concealment and cover rules, minimize footwork violation opportunities, and don't penalize you for dropping a mag or two with tokens left inside.  We don't typically wear vests, and we don't typically carry dump pouches.  We do, however, clean our magazines between stages, we spend stupid money on our guns and gear, we spend weeks in load development, and we greatly enjoy getting out into the dust, gravel, grass, and especially here in AZ... the sun.  We shoot semi-powerful rounds more quickly and accurately than anyone in the world... at least the best of us do.  That certainly doesn't include me, but I definitely appreciate shooting with those that are!

 

As a beginner shooting a Glock 35... I felt waaaaay behind the other shooters shooting SVIs, STIs, CZs, CKs, and every other form of medium-to-top-shelf firearm, from 8000.00+ full custom guns with superb fit and finish, slide actions like ball bearings on glass, to super bizarre frankenguns--factory guns modified from 20+ super talented gunsmiths from here to Indy, LA and back.  But guess what... there's a dark secret in here none of us want to admit to ourselves... the gear is what gets you the last few tenths or hundredths to the next class, and aren't going to take you from zero to hero.  My Glock 35 got me to B in Limited, shooting factory ammo on a worn out recoil spring.  After I classed, I dropped some coin to get into SS, but it took me a few more years to score a HF high enough to compare to my previous classifier performance.  WHY?!  Japan's most famed swordsman Musashi iconically stated; it takes 2000 hours for proficiency, but 10,000 hours for mastery...  So... the well north of 2000+ hours of shooting/dryfire/practice with my Glock got me to B in a fairly short time.  I needed to do another 2000+ to get there with my STI Trojan, right?  But (un?)fortunately, I got bitten by the gear/gun bug.  Also, I had more income than I had time in the past few years, so I've acquired firearms in varying calibers/chamberings in Open, Limited, SS, (with a backup in each caliber), production, NRA bullseye, among others (I hunt too... gotta get ready for deer and elk).  Hey... who knew... folks that play in this sport like guns.  But here's the rub... none of these gun purchases made me better--they actually contributed to making me worse.  In a way, this recoil-centric identity crisis kept me from rising back to B, along with having kids and promoting at work... when time became my most precious currency.  As it stands, I still haven't completed a coherent classifier to get myself to B in SS--the division I've been shooting almost exclusively in competition for over four years.  As life stayed busy, I kept buying.  Practice and match participation dropped.  I bought a lifetime membership in USPSA.  I would go a month without picking up a competitive gun.  I'd shoot a match quarterly.  I'd buy a gun every six months.  I'd dry fire it for three weeks, and put it back in the vault for another three.  Before too long, I spent more time tinkering, surfing, buying and installing fresh parts on different guns than I was dry firing, practicing, and shooting any one gun.  While the vault looked great, the performance clearly plateaued... at best.  It likely degraded, and by no small margin.  When I'd get a chance to shoot a match, I defaulted to SS, since that was my woobie.  Even then, the fiddling with other guns had disturbed my habit patterns enough to bring slide-lock reloads back into vogue.  Not good.

 

So... if you want the advice of a guy that bought a bunch of gear and gained nothing... if you're new to the sport, shoot what you got.  Factory Glock?  Great.  Bought a 1911?  Awesome.  Went into the sport shooting a bushing 9mm 2011 you've been shooting in IDPA?  Excellent.  Instead of spending money, spend time.  The following qualities are what you need for USPSA:

 

1.  Reliability.  If you have to perform a remedial action drill, you've lost.... often dramatically.  If you're competitive with the top locally, an immediate action drill will lose it for you.

2.  Accuracy.  Most all factory guns shoot well enough to compete.  If you have a factory gun with a 196MOA  sight post, invest in a nice fiber optic setup from Dawson or similar.

3.  Simplicity.  If something breaks, you can fix it.  1911s and 2011s are kind of complicated, and it takes a bit of finesse to detail strip one at the range and get put back together in time to shoot the next round.  I'm sure many on this forum will disagree with me, but I contend that they will yield the point that a Glock is much simpler to work on.  I've spent hours trying to get the damned sear spring to seat correctly on my top-fuel full-custom limited gun I have yet to shoot competitively.  I can replace any part on a Glock in 5 mins or less.  This counts for something on match day.  If you have the time to get a PHD in 2011 sear springs, then by all means.  If not, save your pennies for when you plateau and stick with what you got.  Spoiler alert... 2011s are more finicky than Glocks.

 

So that's it.  If you have excess income to spend on guns, by all means, buy them.  Just realize that they won't make you better.  The time you spend is what yields results on the range.  Trigger squeezes are the real currency, along with mag changes, transition practice, draws from your competition rig, DRY FIRE... all will count as reps toward your 2k... and your 10k.  In the mean time, your safe will swell, but do yourself a favor... shoot the one gun that possesses the qualities I listed above and shoot the hell out of it, lube and inspect it regularly.  One of my best buds shot a dog's ass ugly G35 to high A-class.  He plateaued there hard and hung there for a year.  He practiced & competed like a madman to no avail.  With that Glock, I don't think I saw him deal with a single malfunction.  This allowed him to nail down stage strategy, footwork, etc.  Then his infinity arrived after 18 months.  He went through significant growing pains for another year as he acquainted himself to his new race car & new habit patterns.  There was at least one DQ for ND for the trigger that was lubed by SV angel tears.  After the honeymoon was over, and he'd found the perfect reload recipe, the perfect extractor tension, the perfect magazine feed-lip geometry, the perfect spring weights, and replaced his broken thumb safeties via warranty return, then... finally, he broke into Master.   His tale is a great tale.  He stuck with "Ugly Betty" until he reached his limit with her, and then he invested in the gear... as opposed to me, who went through a bunch of moderately expensive girlfriends while I had my own Ugly Betty sitting at home, yet never surpassed B.  I am, however, happy with my collection, so there's that... so please don't read this post as regret, as I have none.  I do admit that I'd most certainly have classed up by now had I stuck with my G35 all this time.

 

So... just like any sport, every participant is different.  If you're here for the gear, there are endless lines of vendors prepared to make you very happy.  If you're here to win, that's only going to be accomplished by training, experience, and grit.  Gear isn't the least important factor, but it is less important than training, experience, and grit.  Show up, ask questions, tape targets, and don't be a 'brass-hole'...  Most of all, have fun and do what makes you happy with a realistic vision of what your gear can and cannot do for you.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

FATSO  

 

 

[CTJer]

I almost let the CZ/Tanfoglio craze get me.   Everyone at my local matches hopped on that trend and the pressure was there.  

 

While I like them, I decided to stick with the G17 for now and I spent that money on more reloading components.  

[Hi-Power Jack]

6 hours ago, Fatso said:

 

As a beginner shooting a Glock 35... I felt waaaaay behind the other shooters shooting SVIs, STIs, CZs, CKs,  My Glock 35 got me to B in Limited, shooting factory ammo

 

 After I classed, I got into SS, but it took years to compare to my previous classifier performance.  2000+ hours of shooting/dryfire/practice with my Glock got me to B in a fairly short time.  I needed to do another 2000+ to get there with my STI Trojan, right? 

 

So... if you want the advice of a guy that bought a bunch of gear and gained nothing... if you're new to the sport, shoot what you got. The following qualities are what you need for USPSA:

 

1.  Reliability.  If you have to perform a remedial action drill, you've lost.... often dramatically. 

2.  Accuracy.  Most factory guns shoot well enough to compete.

3.  Simplicity.  If something breaks, you can fix it.   Spoiler alert... 2011s are more finicky than Glocks.

 

 If you have excess income to spend on guns, by all means, buy them.  Just realize that they won't make you better.  The time you spend is what yields results on the range.  Trigger squeezes are the real currency, along with mag changes, transition practice, draws from your competition rig, DRY FIRE..

 

So... just like any sport, every participant is different.  If you're here for the gear, there are endless vendors prepared to make you happy.

 If you're here to win, that's only going to be accomplished by training, experience, and grit.  Gear isn't the least important factor, but it is less important than training, experience, and grit.

 

 

Thanks, Fatso.   Great analysis.

 

I've provided a shorter version of what you said for people who work for a living.    

 

Well, got to spend more time dry firing.     

[LuvDog]

Great read and great advice.  I've found myself in the gear gathering and hoarding mentality lately and not nearly enough time actually doing anything to further my shooting proficiency.

 

I'm in a similar situation as you... I used to shoot often and well.. then I started reading all the forums and searching for the next best thing, and my shooting has suffered.

 

I would also add, that taking advice from some people who have never seen you shoot isn't always the best approach.  Sure, some experts give advice that is considered best practices, and the fundamentals are important to get right... but unless they actually see you shoot, you should take some of that advice with a grain of salt.  What works for others may not work for you and vice versa.

 

[wally247]

You are correct. I bought an STI thinking that would improve my scores, it didn't...

[UpYoursPal]

Great advice!  Will read and heed.

[Doublehelix]

I gotta say, everything was spot on except the part about the 1911s/2011s being hard to work on! I would much rather work on a 2011 than a striker-fired gizmo any day!!!

 

Great post, thanks for posting that!

[glocklife34]

Great read fatso and something to think about.

[RangerTrace]

Very well thought out post and probably hits home with a lot of Enos members, including me.  I was once a high "A" near "M" Limited shooter who dry fired daily and shot 2-3 matches a month.  My kiddo was born in 2013 and everything changed.  

[Fatso]

7 hours ago, RangerTrace said:

Very well thought out post and probably hits home with a lot of Enos members, including me.  I was once a high "A" near "M" Limited shooter who dry fired daily and shot 2-3 matches a month.  My kiddo was born in 2013 and everything changed.  

 

And for that, we must make them PAY.... for their own college.

 

HA!

[andrewtac]

Chasing gear and staring over can cause delays in progress, but the skill set is similar among different firearms.  The biggest key is practice and relevant practice.  I did progress changing from one pistol to the next and changing categories as well.  Like many of us I probably have a mild case of ADHD and get bored and need a little motivation; I find switching it up keeps me interested and keeps me practicing.  I’d probably be better off sticking with one pistol but I do this for fun and not a profession.  I also enjoy tinkering with the pistols as much as I do shooting them.  

[Fatso]

2 hours ago, andrewtac said:

Chasing gear and staring over can cause delays in progress, but the skill set is similar among different firearms.  The biggest key is practice and relevant practice.  I did progress changing from one pistol to the next and changing categories as well.  Like many of us I probably have a mild case of ADHD and get bored and need a little motivation; I find switching it up keeps me interested and keeps me practicing.  I’d probably be better off sticking with one pistol but I do this for fun and not a profession.  I also enjoy tinkering with the pistols as much as I do shooting them.  

 

I'm with you...  I do this for the exact same reason--fun.  This is why I stated I don't have any regrets about the path I took.  I really enjoy firearms of any form and fashion, but the USPSA-style guns are the ones I really love.  My wife bugs me about it, but I tell her it's cheaper than a classic car hobby... she usually nods & goes about her business!

[andrewtac]

Just now, Fatso said:

 

I'm with you...  I do this for the exact same reason--fun.  This is why I stated I don't have any regrets about the path I took.  I really enjoy firearms of any form and fashion, but the USPSA-style guns are the ones I really love.  My wife bugs me about it, but I tell her it's cheaper than a classic car hobby... she usually nods & goes about her business!

 I have a 66 mustang and I am building an airplane, if I could quit buying gun related stuff I might be able to finish the plane.  

 

Practice is is key for any sport or skill, thankfully for USPSA most all the skills translate from gun to gun or class.  I did stop IDPA as the rule differences were to much to keep up with.

[Fatso]

2 minutes ago, andrewtac said:

 I have a 66 mustang and I am building an airplane, if I could quit buying gun related stuff I might be able to finish the plane.  

 

Practice is is key for any sport or skill, thankfully for USPSA most all the skills translate from gun to gun or class.  I did stop IDPA as the rule differences were to much to keep up with.

 

Were you running around jamming magazines in your underwear during classifiers?  hahaha

[andrewtac]

14 hours ago, Fatso said:

 

Were you running around jamming magazines in your underwear during classifiers?  hahaha

Mag retention for reloads, silly cover calls, getting penalized for not walking backwards fast enough, and so on.  Can’t use my Uspsa gear.  Occasionally I’ll shoot a match for no score.  It is still fun and shooting, but I found myself more worried about the rules than shooting.  The reason is shot Idpa was for practice.

[Kilrb]

On 8/11/2018 at 11:10 PM, Fatso said:

 

I'm with you...  I do this for the exact same reason--fun.  This is why I stated I don't have any regrets about the path I took.  I really enjoy firearms of any form and fashion, but the USPSA-style guns are the ones I really love.  My wife bugs me about it, but I tell her it's cheaper than a classic car hobby... she usually nods & goes about her business!

Same here

[allamericanbp]

Excellent advice!

[Bronk5150]

Agreed 100%....focus on fundamentals and being smooth first...

[DocC]

Great post Fatso.

 

Kinda like golf, buying the next and best driver/equipment to play better - trying to buy a better score.

 

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

[Abflyboy]

Nicely stated Fatso. I also am here to play, too old to realistically expect national level performance, and I like to shoot lots of different guns.

 

I am learning that middle age eyes really like a dot on the gun (Q5) but I really like shooting my PM9 and my old Glock 35 never lets me down.

 

I wish I had time and energy for a better practice regimen but it is what it is and I'm still having FUN.

[Tatmanfish]

Pretty much spot in. Long winded, but on point. Lol

Go fast parts do not make up for skill. Switching between platforms can hurt more than it helps.

That said, quality gear is important for reliability so dont be afraid to get some of the best gear, just dont do it thinking you need it shoot better or faster.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[AzShooter]

Great read Fatso.  Shoot what you've got but make sure it runs well, then spend our money on ammo and a class or two from the top shooters.  In the Phoenix area you can't do any better than a class from Rob Leatham.  

 

Spend time watching the top shooters and learn how to save time on the course of fire. 

[MattInTheHat]

Excellent analysis. It's hard to learn the next five things if you're fighting your equipment. 99.9% reliability is really a minimum to let your mind roam free and start working on the other issues. Stage analysis and planning are what makes a B an M and beyond, but you can't work on that with having to constantly recover from a plan-breaking failure.

[scroadkill]

Great read - just the right amount of dribble. I'm also of the philosophy of run what you got until you know its the gun thats holding you back. In my case I'm running limited minor and can't seem to make much progress past 62% and classifiers really seem to hate me. Plateaued I think. I should probably try practicing for a change. I've got the ammo, 40 upper and mags for my minor gun - but I cant seem to compel myself to make the switch. I just really really like how those 147gr rounds feel. I'm thinking about tinkering with PCC for a few matches to clear my head then revisit.

Edited February 16, 2019 by scroadkill

[kalaikanui]

Thanks all,

This is why I like reading these Enos forums... It's said.. "admitting it is the first step toward recovery". My name is Bif and I have a shooting addiction... USPSA, UPL, Multi Gun, any and every class (except revolver - God still loves me) compels me to acquire more guns and gear!  I swear I'm going to pick a division and improve ranks this season... I am, I swear... I'm serious... (I'll keep coming to these meetings).