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Nice guns dont make better shooters


rock751

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I agree but I know for me I want to use the best gear I can afford for a couple reasons.
 

first and foremost if I use the best gear I can’t blame the gear for “holding me back”.

 

Second is I know I’m going to eventually upgrade to said gear. So for me “buy once, cry once”

 

third. I play a mini game with myself and see if I can buy said gear without my wife finding out! Almost as satisfying getting it past her as it is playing with the gear! Lol

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17 hours ago, DD78 said:

You may want to read what I wrote again because your response to my comment literally doesn't make any sort of sense.  

 

The two main handguns I compete with cost me around 8K after additional modification and tweaking, mainly on one of the two.  Between them I have 22 2011 mags.  That's almost 3K in mags alone.  My investment in what I need for handguns alone for 3 gun and USPSA is around 11K.  I'm planning on spending another $3500-4000 for a backup gun for USPSA even though my current one is extremely reliable.  

 

Where in my comment did you see me knocking anyone?  My point was EXTREMELY clear....

 

Buy the best you can afford, and when you don't perform well, you can't blame it on the gear.  If I'm knocking anyone, it's the people who shoot poorly and blame the gun rather than themselves.  

 

Eliminate the variables so that you know whether the problem is you, or the equipment.  for the 15 years I played golf regularly and for big money, I played the best equipment I could afford, which also was the best equipment that was available.  If I tried a club that was significantly better, I'd buy it.  When I first started I had cheaper equipment.  I constantly blamed the equipment until I bought the best equipment available.  Then when I hit a bad shot, it was me that sucked, not the clubs.  

 

If the best I can afford is a Tanfo, even a gun at that price point is going to be vastly more capable than the people shooting them.  A tuned Tanfo is a great gun for the price, and can be made to be extremely reliable with a bit of tuning by someone competent.  You can buy 3 Tanfo's for the price of a custom 2011.  

 

I can afford custom 2011s.  If you noticed, what my comment didn't say was "you should just buy a custom 2011 and shoot that".  If you can afford it, sure why not.  Most people can't justify spending what I've spent on my guns.  There's nothing wrong with that.  My buddy routinely beats me shooting an XD in limited minor against me with a custom 2011 shooting major.  I know I can't blame the gun.  He just shot faster than me, with the same to slightly better accuracy.  

 

At the very beginning of my post is said that you should only buy the best you can afford once you know that competitive shooting is for you.  I've shot 4 full seasons so far.  At least 35% of the people I used to see at matches with 2011's, I haven't seen for 2 seasons.  I see them around from time to time, but spending money on a 2011 and you decide shooting is not for you seems like a waste of money.  Shoot a gun you already have in your safe, and if you see yourself continuing to shoot competitively, then invest in the best you can afford.  

 

Perhaps you wrote in a way that didn't convey what your actual point was, but it doesn't seem that way.  Seems you quoted me, and then argued against points I didn't make.  

I wasn't arguing. I was supporting your point

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  • 3 weeks later...

A good gear set makes you smile every time you look at it; and everything else equal, it makes you gain a higher score/rank faster.

 

The fallacy many fall into is this; when you want to analyze the impact of a parameter on the outcome (in this case the equipment), if you change any parameter other than the one under study, you basically just customizing/fitting the results to match your pre-defined narrative.

Now if someone wants to compare the impact of high-end vs. average gear on achieving a same goal (lets say progress to the next higher ranking level), assuming every other parameters be the same (including number of hours of training, type/method of training, physical capabilities, and other factors), the higher end gear expedites the progress.

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On 10/23/2019 at 10:36 AM, hurley326 said:

I’ve never met a single person who though that an expensive gun would make them shoot better though. This whole argument is a fallacy that most of the time is perpetuated by people that want to always announce to the world that they  “beat people with fancy guns all the time with my stock glock”. It’s some kind of complex that these people have if you really dig deep into the behavioral psychology of it. 

We just need threads: "I shoot a custom Infinity and I beat a bunch of guys with their stock Glocks." Imagine having more money AND being a better shooter than someone else!

 

/sarcasm

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1 hour ago, IVC said:

We just need threads: "I shoot a custom Infinity and I beat a bunch of guys with their stock Glocks." Imagine having more money AND being a better shooter than someone else!

 

/sarcasm

Lol cracking up

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3 hours ago, IVC said:

We just need threads: "I shoot a custom Infinity and I beat a bunch of guys with their stock Glocks." Imagine having more money AND being a better shooter than someone else!

 

/sarcasm

 

I think this would be a great read. It's like bragging about griefing noobs in an mmorpg. Doesn't make you seem cool, but it's hilarious.

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I'll make the musical instrument analogy.  A highly accomplished or virtuoso musician can pick up a low-end student violin, guitar or horn or whatever and sound fantastic.  The virtuoso can do all the things expected of someone at that level as long as the low-end instrument doesn't have a major mechanical issue.

 

But of course the high-end professional-level instrument is what he prefers to play.  Why?  It works better, it responds better, it takes less effort to play, it has positive nuances due to superior workmanship that he can take advantage of.

 

It's just plain NICE to shoot the higher-end guns.  And you will likely find things about them that, if you know how to take advantage, will help you score better.

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Two friends and I are going to shoot our first match in a couple weeks. One with a Ruger P95 he has in his sock drawer, one with a Sig X5 legion and I'll have my shiny new CZ TSO. We'll all have the same amount of fun and I promise you my gun isn't going to make me the best shooter. Who cares, let people buy what they want. As long as they're enjoying the sport it doesn't matter. 

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  • 1 month later...

Upgrade to what  you can afford.  

A tuned gun made my shooting better.

A tuned semi-custom helped me improved.

A full blown custom gun is a joy to shoot.  

 

Your gun has to have 100% reliability.  You can not shoot with your sub-conscious mind if you are not absolutely positive your equipment will not  fail you.

 

There are a bunch of championships won with Glocks, S&W, SA, STI, BUL, CZ and Infinity.  

 

 

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It's all a bit of both. I started competing with an m&p 2.0 compact and I learned alot with that the first couple months. I then got a a sig x 5 and I made alot more progress! Admittedly I bought a TSO. 40 on  whim cause it was at the store and it was an impulsive buy and I wanted to shoot major. At the very least i know the issue with my shooting is definitely the Indian  not the bow. 😅

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On 1/7/2020 at 1:13 PM, Steve RA said:

It's sort of like:  A Corvette vs an MG, both will break any speed limit I've ever seen, but which one would you want the most?

If it's an MGA, i'd rather have that. Not as powerful as the Vette. Not as 'cool' as the Vette. But if your driving skills are better than average, it'll be WAY more fun to drive.

 

Same with guns. I was at Midwest Shooting Center earlier doing some fine tuning on my Legacy Twin. As I was waiting for a lane I was browsing the 1911s they had in the case and saw a Nighthawk. Commander length slide with a carry comp in .45ACP. I asked to see it and counter tech obliged. I dropped the mag, racked the slide about three times and slowly squeezed the trigger. I sorta chuckled, shook my head and handed it back to him. He seemed absolutely astonished that I wasn't drooling and stammering, extolling the the virtues of this $4500 Pistol. He looked at me incredulously and simply said, "What? You don't like it?" I replied, It's nice but that action and trigger is not $4500 nice in my opinion."  He looked and me even more flabbergasted, "You got something better?" I opened my range bag and pulled out Ugly Betty, handed it to him and said, Rack that slide and try the trigger, then tell my why I'm disappointed in the Nighthawk." He did. Then nodded his head and said, "Ok. I get it. But what did you pay for that?"  "$1600 in parts and about 8 weeks worth of work." was my reply. 

 

He said, "You don't need a Nighthawk."

Now this is not to say the Nighthawk was a bad gun. It's not. Not at all. The action was tight and VERY smooth. The trigger was light and crisp and the pistol was finished beautifully. (Something Ugly Betty is, admittedly, lacking) But the action was still not as smooth as mine and the trigger was....   Different. I won't say it was better or worse than mine but I want my triggers to feel different than the "glass rod break. " It's a damn nice pistol but I'm not gonna pay $4500 for a pistol that looks nice and works nice but isn't as smooth as I expect from my own guns.

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On 10/13/2019 at 8:45 PM, rock751 said:

What my title says isn't really a new thing. Most people know that its not the gun that makes people a better shooter. I just shot my 2nd USPSA match this weekend using my stock Glock 34 in Limited. I'm only shooting Limited because I only have 2 mag carriers.  Out  of 18 other people shooting limited I got 5th place with my minor  power factor Glock and I'm really happy with that. 

 

I'm very guilty of going on social media and almost drooling over my favorite shooters and their much nicer guns. I always tell myself that I should get one someday. But at both of my matches when I was shooting against people with "better" guns than me I knew that their is no reason to get something nicer because I'm not even close to out shooting my Glock. It almost the only time that I haven't wanted something nicer LOL. All of the mistakes were because of me and I would have shot exactly the same with a different gun. 

 

With all of that said I think I crushed it my second match. My first one I took it easy and slow. This one I pushed just a little and I think it paid off. I also took my buddy to his first match and we  both had a blast. 

Yeah but a ton of people on this form will say, if you'd have been shooting a glock 35 you would have got second place. And though the gun may not make you a better shooter the caliber will make you a better competitor.

 

I am just messing with you congratulations on your finish.😁

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On 10/13/2019 at 9:45 PM, rock751 said:

What my title says isn't really a new thing. Most people know that its not the gun that makes people a better shooter. I just shot my 2nd USPSA match this weekend using my stock Glock 34 in Limited. I'm only shooting Limited because I only have 2 mag carriers.  Out  of 18 other people shooting limited I got 5th place with my minor  power factor Glock and I'm really happy with that. 

 

I'm very guilty of going on social media and almost drooling over my favorite shooters and their much nicer guns. I always tell myself that I should get one someday. But at both of my matches when I was shooting against people with "better" guns than me I knew that their is no reason to get something nicer because I'm not even close to out shooting my Glock. It almost the only time that I haven't wanted something nicer LOL. All of the mistakes were because of me and I would have shot exactly the same with a different gun. 

 

With all of that said I think I crushed it my second match. My first one I took it easy and slow. This one I pushed just a little and I think it paid off. I also took my buddy to his first match and we  both had a blast. 

 

With the setup you have Limited minor makes sense. You certainly don't need a fancy gun to be competitive. It's a easy trap to fall into, because you'll see guys who've been around a long time and are good with fancy guns. I'd run what you have for a while, at only 2 matches in there is so much to learn just from shooting it doesn't really matter what you have or how you finish. Have fun and gain experience. 

 

Pay attention to the divisions and what you think looks most enjoyable. Limited certainly isn't the ideal place for a 34. There are better places for it depending on what you like.

 

 

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On 4/25/2020 at 11:03 AM, recoilchamp said:

I would also say a big part of the fun of this sport for me is customizing and tweaking and making the gun 'nice.' I've probably spent just as much time if not more working on guns as shooting them.

I have to agree, however I've had way more fun rebuilding and working on my Remington 1100 then upgrading glocks for uspsa.

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