Npoulson Posted May 19, 2023 Share Posted May 19, 2023 Jerry mickulek started at about 30 granted he shot a lot before then but he started his sponsor and becoming known then he was winning well into his 60s josh froelich started late look at him world champ we use to have an 82 year old come shoot i have a buddy who is 70 who shoots every weekend if you do the work and spend the time and money you will be surprised i started at 35 made M in 8 mo i shot pcc 4 times and made M just switched to open made M its doable with work so is gm So what if you dont win a national title but if thats a goal work your tail off and go for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted May 19, 2023 Share Posted May 19, 2023 (edited) On 9/10/2022 at 4:10 PM, Goat259 said: Good Evening, I did not start competitively shooting until I was 31 years old and I am now 33. I got to ask, will I ever be competitive at all? Realistically, I’m not going to ever compete for a top spot at Nationals, but I would like to someday make M or GM. I am only a B class in CO, and C in Limited. I plan to stay in Limited though. Am I too old? Goat I shot my first match Feb 26th of this year. I’m 2% points away from A and my goal is M within 12 months. 33 is young. How bad do you want it? Focus on doing the fundamentals really well, figure out where you’re losing time and you’ll get where you want to be. Edited May 19, 2023 by ColoradoNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
42ATK Posted May 19, 2023 Share Posted May 19, 2023 (edited) On 9/10/2022 at 6:10 PM, Goat259 said: Good Evening, I did not start competitively shooting until I was 31 years old and I am now 33. I got to ask, will I ever be competitive at all? Realistically, I’m not going to ever compete for a top spot at Nationals, but I would like to someday make M or GM. I am only a B class in CO, and C in Limited. I plan to stay in Limited though. Am I too old? Goat Mediocre mentality. I started shooting competitions December 2020 at 30 and I am 2x GM in SC and M in USPSA - soon to be GM. 33 now Edited May 19, 2023 by 42ATK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racinready300ex Posted May 19, 2023 Share Posted May 19, 2023 On 9/10/2022 at 6:10 PM, Goat259 said: Good Evening, I did not start competitively shooting until I was 31 years old and I am now 33. I got to ask, will I ever be competitive at all? Realistically, I’m not going to ever compete for a top spot at Nationals, but I would like to someday make M or GM. I am only a B class in CO, and C in Limited. I plan to stay in Limited though. Am I too old? Goat I started in IDPA around 31 I think many of us probably do. I was a Sharpshooter at best then, I'd guess that's D class. I didn't find uspsa or really get serious until I was maybe 33. I made M by 34. GM in a couple divisions by 38-39. I train way less now and shoot less matches but at 42 I can still hang with M's and G's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runswithwood1 Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 I started uspsa at 34, but have already climbed from lower c, to b to sometimes even A class times. As long ad you can move you're good. I've had my s#!t kicked in numerous times by "seniors" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iukamedic Posted December 28, 2023 Share Posted December 28, 2023 Heck. I’ll be 52 in a few months. I’m not as nimble as I used to be and I wear glasses. I’m looking to become more proficient at shooting a hand gun in general. Didn’t mean to dig an old thread up but I hope there is time to improve after fifty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted December 28, 2023 Share Posted December 28, 2023 52 is still young enough to enjoy a lot of shooting. I'm 72 and still get to shoot Steel Challenge matches about every month. I practice at least once a week with my guns and 2 times a week with my bows. I'm going to swap that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted December 28, 2023 Share Posted December 28, 2023 (edited) On 9/10/2022 at 4:10 PM, Goat259 said: Good Evening, I did not start competitively shooting until I was 31 years old and I am now 33. I got to ask, will I ever be competitive at all? Realistically, I’m not going to ever compete for a top spot at Nationals, but I would like to someday make M or GM. I am only a B class in CO, and C in Limited. I plan to stay in Limited though. Am I too old? Goat Older thread but I’ll post an update. I started shooting when I was 38. No previous experience. I made M in CO in 7 months and even took a month off in the middle. I have a pretty obsessive personality though. Take a couple classes. Shoot a lot. Read the books. Squad with the super squad and watch what they do. Basically just put in the work. I turn 40 this summer and my goal is to be “good enough” to make a run for GM next fall. I live in a pretty competitive area and do pretty well but still lack a little consistency. I have a 2 year old and another due any day. I’ve been an athlete most of my life and I think a lot of people neglect the fitness aspect of this game. In reality it’s a movement game where you happen to shoot guns. Mobility is a big deal. I’ve also had a back surgery, and broken my entire lumbar spine/pelvis. No excuses, just put in the work Edited December 28, 2023 by ColoradoNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old3GNR Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 I started competitive shooting in the mid 90's when I was about 50 (Got my first 22 when I was 8). At 79 I'm still competitive but not as fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scroadkill Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 personally: too old? not yet at 59.. but slow improvements from experience are diminished by slowing reflexes, pain in the feet and knees, diminishing endurance, diminishing eyesight / visual focus. in general: too old? no as long as your are safe and can do your part. once you are too old to paste and tear down then its time to move on to other games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80seriesaddict Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 (edited) I’m 41 and I’ve found that the more consistently I use my feet, knees and hips, less they hurt. Cold fronts sure don’t help. Edited January 3 by 80seriesaddict Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHAVEGAS Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 1 hour ago, scroadkill said: once you are too old to paste and tear down then its time to move on to other games. I don't look at it that way. As long as I'm able to do a little more I am happy to paste and etc for those folks who are a bit older or have an ailment and help them stay in the game. I think that is a typical attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddc Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 On 9/10/2022 at 4:10 PM, Goat259 said: Good Evening, I did not start competitively shooting until I was 31 years old and I am now 33. I got to ask, will I ever be competitive at all? Realistically, I’m not going to ever compete for a top spot at Nationals, but I would like to someday make M or GM. I am only a B class in CO, and C in Limited. I plan to stay in Limited though. Am I too old? Goat At your advanced age can you still walk and chew gum at the same time? Good... you are not too old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 I'm 72 and in a wheelchair but I still compete. Just can't move as fast as I want. I mostly shoot Steel Challenge now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-JCN- Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 On 11/23/2022 at 11:33 PM, -JCN- said: I picked up my first gun in 2016 at 41. Started USPSA in 2019 at 44. Made GM in CO in 2021 at 46. Made USPSA PCC GM in 2023 at 48. SCSA PCCI GM 2023 at 48 lol. Going to see if I can do Revo GM in 2024. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eli_a Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 You are not old at all. I started at 29, 33 now and I don't see a disadvantage physically to younger shooters. I think if you are physically capable of standing for the duration of the match, you will be good. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akarhi Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 Youre never too old to play this game. Just enjoy the game and make new friends along the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpm8300 Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 There are multiple points in your post that I'll try to separate out. For the general question of if you are too old - you are def not too old to enjoy the sport. I'm an Atlanta area shooter and some of the most fun I'll have is shooting with a squad full of folks that are USPSA seniors or super seniors. As long as you can safely do the sport without injuring yourself, you aren't "too old." A sep discussion is the connection of your age to your expectations of what you want out of USPSA. Starting later in life with USPSA is very similar to sports like golf or learning to play a musical instrument. You should have expectation management that if your goals include being an M or GM, or winning local or regional matches. That being said, there are plenty of shooters that started later in life and are very successful GMs. It will just be a different path than the shooter that started earlier in life. Malcolm Gladwell talked about X number of reps to master a physical task - lets say 10k. That number varies for each shooter but folks that started at 15 years old have a lot more reps already in the bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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