Howdy, moving to DFW TX and getting started

[WAFTLR]

Howdy,

 

In a few months I'll be moving to the Fort Worth area after bouncing around the country following my career through several states.  I'm excited to get home to Texas and to a shooting friendly state.

 

I've been lurking and reading this site for awhile and figured it was time to join.  I'll likely continue to lurk and read.  I'm excited to re-connect with the hobby I once loved and feel like I gave up chasing my career.  I'm older and slower (30s), but I have a much bigger budget than I did in my 20s .

 

I'd definitely appreciate folks pointing me to matches in the area, and throwing rocks at my goals (constructive criticism). 

 

Past Experience:
Some outlaw IPSC style matches over a decade ago.  Then I found some friends who were into the tactical shooting stuff and spent several years shooting handgun/carbine at classes and informal group range sessions.  ~7 years ago I moved to California and just decided I couldn't keep the hobby going here.  I've dabbled in precision rifle, but haven't done much shooting otherwise.

 

Long term goal:
Be competitive at major 3gun events.

 

Stepping stone goal:
Make M in USPSA.  The idea is to master handgun and re-learn match format first.  Then add carbine and shotgun over time.  I think if I try to do all three at once, I'll fail at all three and get frustrated.

 

Immediate action:

• Picked a pistol and division based on what I have at the moment (VP9/production or CO)
• Picked up Stoeger's dry fire book, and have plastered my walls with paper people to start putting in the work
• Getting belt setup sorted out based on dry fire lessons learned
• Get my ass to TX and start live fire practice and matches

 

Gear:
With election mania looming on the horizon, I'd prefer to spend most of my 2024 gun budget on ammo and reloading components.  My inner gear queer isnt going to like this, but I think its the right choice.

 

Pistol: For now I think my VP9 is good enough for getting into USPSA.  I'll probably want to step up to something else for 3gun, but it seems like my money is better spent on ammo at the moment than on an expensive lim minor pistol.  I have a RMR cut slide and could do CO, but it seems like I should stick to irons to prep for 3gun.

Carbine: I have several "tactical" setups I could use, but I've got all the parts to assemble a dedicated competitive gun minus the optic.  I may shoot some 2-gun events with what I have to ease back into carbine shooting.

Shotgun: I've got nothing useful (a benelli super-nova turkey cannon).  At some point I'll pick up a 1301 or M2 and start practicing loading, but that's probably the last of the three that I'll dive into.

 

That's a wall of text, but really just want to say "hi" and thank you guys for the info I've already picked up by reading the boards.

Edited April 21 by WAFTLR

[RangerTrace]

Welcome to Texas!