Bruce Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 With two kids involved in multiple sports, and working 60+ per week, my hunting and shooting have taken the seat far, far away from the front. Granted, I would have it no other way...but.... I am trying to decide whether I take another summer off from shooting matches (making it about 3 in a row now), or do I just get in a match when I can, where I can, just doing it for the pure fun of being out there and to support the clubs? It is hard, as a competitive type-A personality to just go fishing and not care if the fish bite, or not, you know?? Anyone else face this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cheely Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Do it!!!!! I shoot because I enjoy it. Winning is even better, but that wouldn't keep me away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kane Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 I'm facing the exact same problem. Add to that my wife doesn't support it since it's not a family activity since my kid is so young. What I keep coming back to is that it's just fun as can be weather I win or not. I get a great adrenalin rush before every stage and if I do well it feels just amazing. Add to that the people I get to shoot with are great folks that are a lot of fun. For me that's enough to warrant going once a month, without any practice (or even having sighted in my gun),and just having fun. I'm hoping I shoot better without the extra pressure! Now if I could just figure out how to get some practice time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 I tried it for a while and it was no fun if I knew up front I had no chance to win...call it selfish, but I just did not enjoy it as much.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckbradley Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Its hard. I wont go on with what used to be but today I cant hold a candle to the top shooters so I have had to resolve myself to doing it for fun. I am at a point right now that my boys are teenagers and yes they shoot but they also do many other things, football, baseball, wrestling, church, school. We are fining it hard to be able to shoot as often as we want. We have not shot a match since October. I do not desire to shoot anymore without my boys going. If you are not up to speed with your skills I would not go beyond a local match unless you could resolve to do it for fun. Something thats hard for a fierce competitor. It will only frustrate you and may cause you to quit altogether. I dont know whay I am contributing given I havent figured out my own situation yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sierpina Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 With two kids involved in multiple sports, and working 60+ per week, my hunting and shooting have taken the seat far, far away from the front. Granted, I would have it no other way...but....I am trying to decide whether I take another summer off from shooting matches (making it about 3 in a row now), or do I just get in a match when I can, where I can, just doing it for the pure fun of being out there and to support the clubs? It is hard, as a competitive type-A personality to just go fishing and not care if the fish bite, or not, you know?? Anyone else face this? I guess that means you'll change your activities as you get older because you're not at the same level as before? Be as competitive as your situation allows. Enjoy shooting with your friends again, and have a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 (edited) remember why you got into the sport, it wasn't to be rich. And only ten guys are truly competitive (if that means might actually win a national title). Do it because you love the varied challenges and the people, and the time outside being manly. (This is supposed to be funny, so relax) => Or you could go the other route and find ever smaller ponds so you can remain "competitive". Laser sighted, officer's sized, minor, single stack, weak hand only, from retention position, in dress shoes looks like it's still open if you'll use a purple suede and rhinstone fanny pack. I don't like that one though, just enjoy it for the fun, shoot what you want and have a blast. Edited March 9, 2006 by dirtypool40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 I'm not really competitive now and still shoot for fun. B class in Limited is a bad place to be, as I think the sandbaggers outnumber the actual B class shooters However I mainly pay attention to my overall results, and the work I've been doing over the last year has me slowly gaining on the top local shooters. My desire to relax and have a bit of fun while not working means I'll never challenge the top guys, but as long as I finish in the top 15 or so I'll be happy. If I wanted to beat people and make them cry while winning much less than I spend on the sport, then I'll go back to golf. I honestly have no desire to go back to beating myself up on the way home even when I won a match in my uber-competitive days. I spent a fortune on country club memberships and all the associated equipment and travel costs until I realized I was miserable except at the moment of victory. What a stupid way to relax Just by steadily eliminating my mental errors I could maintain my current shooting level until I die of old age, so this gives me hope. I may change my tune if I continue training and shooting to the best of my ability, yet see myself finishing lower and lower overall. At that point I may have to switch to the 1911 division Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 DP Your attitude and needs change as you age....I need the same things now as I did 30 yrs ago, just can't do/get them...so my attitude changed from can do to might do or do something else entirely... If you are used to contending/winning and now you can't even do that , it is hard to go just for the fun of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eerw Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 pretty much my boat..and sometimes it frustrating when you can't run as fast, shoot as straight with the big dogs.. my kids are still little and I can sneak out every now and then to shoot a club match, hit a practice or even hit a regional match..but there is something always going on that prevents the consistent practice and matches that help you get over the top.. I still shoot..because I still love shooting guns, the competiveness..hanging with shooters..even though I don't do it as well.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genghis Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 I'm competing now even though I'm not competitive, at least in USPSA. But I'm getting better, despite my best efforts to avoid practice and dry firing. At first I had a hard time with this. For now I'm competing against myself, just trying to gain experience and improve. If I was once competitive then began losing it because of age or a similar reason, I might have a different attitude. But then I see one of the old guys do something like accidentally dropping a mag on the draw, then finish the stage three seconds quicker than me, and I think it's more about skill and attitude than age. I thought I'd really burned that stage down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
encoreman Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Bruce, The best advice I can give is to do whatever you do to be happy, as long as it is ethically and morally right. I certainly don't compete thinking I will beat Tomasie or Max or any other GM. I compete for the fun of it. Life is short and then you die, live today as if it were your last day, spend time with family and friends. God Bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ38super Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Lots of great comments so far.... The thing to remember is it's only a game and you play because you enjoy it. If it is no longer fun then maybe you need to find something else to play for a while. If we only played becuse we expected to win or be the top 5 every time then there would only be a very small group still shooting. I have only been shooting a couple years now and I haven't reach a lull in the sport that seems to hit many shooters. I try and shoot as much as I can (about 8 times a month) and enjoy the hect out of it. I know there are guys and gals better than me and ones who will kick my butt with a revo against my open gun but I still love the game. Besides it's a lot of fun to beat those same people on a stage or two and sometimes even for the whole match. Shooting is my fun way of stress relief... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdragon Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 It has been an interesting path for me. Years ago I was semi competetive, Now I look at the young guns and it makes it tough. I got into the firearms business and now it is a job. All my friends started throwing around the term " Your retired" Well I guess Iam. I don't like to shoot my class and get my A$& handed to me!!!!( like Tightloop said ) I don't believe most of want that. Thats the reason I have chosen my signature!! I still like to shoot but as Chuck said it is more for fun now!! I look back at the $$$$ I have spent out of my own pocket, I would do it again. Now I have access to the products that I used to pay for and I'm " Retired" Ivan Ivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38superman Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 (edited) Ah yes, ... the age old question of casual shooter having fun vs. serious competitor out to conquer the world. There is a third category. It is serious competitor out to conquer the world and having fun doing it. Will I ever aquire the skills to challenge the best of the best? Maybe not, but I as long as I continue to learn and improve I hold out hope that someday it may be possible. The strategy so far has been simple. Step 1. Pick out someone that shoots significantly better than me and pursue them relentlessly until I can beat them consistently. Step 2 . Repeat step 1. The real suspense lies in the question of whether plumb potential will be reached before step 1 is no longer achievable. When that day comes, I will enjoy shooting with my friends and savor whatever success I could find along the way. In the mean time I look at the super squad as merely targets of opportunity. Shoot well boys, ..... I'll get around to you. Nobody eats a steak whole. Take another bite and keep chewing. Tls Edited March 10, 2006 by tlshores Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo radley Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 If you haven't shot matches for 3 seasons, I'd say you've lost your interest in satisfying whatever your ego demands from competive shooting. Family and job pressures are certainly reasons, and not excuses, but I'm willing to bet if your interest level was still high, you could at least "maintain," until such a time as you could resume growth. Why not pick another division, something completely different, like revolver, where you don't have to immediately battle your ego, and see if you can have fun with casual involvement? Otherwise... I don't have enough experience at this, yet, to really offer an opinion, but I was fairly competitive at amateur golf during my 20's, until I just got sick of it -- if I shot well, I wasn't happy, and if I shot poorly, I was miserable (and probably out the Nassau, which I could ill-afford), and getting better got tougher, and tougher, and the self-imposed pressure ruined the game for me. I'll play once a year, now, at the obligatory family vacation with my in-laws, and just smile as my brother-in-law improves his lie in the rough, and visit the beer-cart, but it's never been 'fun' enough for me to want to take it back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidball Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 (edited) Step 1. Pick out someone that shoots significantly better than me and pursue them relentlessly until I can beat them consistently. Step 2 . Repeat step 1. Tony - Care to name any names? (Just want to see if we are chasing the same people . . . or if you are chasing someone I should be) Edited March 10, 2006 by davidball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdragon Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 boo radley, I can appreciate your thoughts, But.... That doesn't work in Master Class! Ivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Winning is a side effect of time and dedication to practice. If you don't have the time or $$$ to practice, you can't expect to win. But for me shooting is just fun, winning isn't a big deal because there are lots of really good shooters around and if I lose so what. I have my own goals and they have nothing to do with the performance of others. How I shoot a match is more important to me than how somebody else does. I used to worry about winning and it sucked to fun out of it for me. And if it isn't fun, and I'm not getting paid, there wouldn't be much of a point to it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vluc Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Internally motivated or externally motivated? Resolve that question and you have your answer. If you only shoot to beat the other guy, well, there is always someone bigger/stronger/faster. If you shoot against yourself...well, there is always competition! Just my opinion, I could be wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straightshooter1 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 (edited) The initial poster sounds pretty young, at least to me, maybe mid-30sish or so. As he (and you) will see, the body begins to change, at least by the mid-40s. Another decade and it sometimes hurts to get out of bed, or to bend this way or that. Minor injuries no longer are so easy to ignore and take longer to heal. Pain in various joints suggests artritis! You actually have pills you are supposed to take every day! You never seem to have enough time to get all the things done that need doing. You begin to think about the "R word" (retirement). And, yes, you are no longer competitive IF you compare yourself to the folks ten, twenty or thirty years younger than you OR if you compare your current "bests" to those of your past. That being said, if you still love shooting (or golf or softball or...) why on earth would you pass up an opportunity, even infrequently, to play? Did you play just for the recognition of others you bested in the sport, whatever it is, or because you loved playing the sport? The probable answer is that it was for the love of the sport, that feeling we get when we do our best and the pleasure we get in being with other folks with whom we share this common interest. (Yeah, I know, we all like to be recognized as THE winner, but...). Therefore, the answer seems obvious. Enjoy the family, spend time with the kids' sports but, when the opportunity presents itself, enjoy the shooting sport you have always enjoyed. As to work, we all have certain responsibilities, but I have never yet spent time with someone who, as they near the end of their days on this earth said, "I wish I'd spent a few more hours at the office." Bob Edited March 10, 2006 by straightshooter1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38superman Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 (edited) Step 1. Pick out someone that shoots significantly better than me and pursue them relentlessly until I can beat them consistently. Step 2 . Repeat step 1. Tony - Care to name any names? (Just want to see if we are chasing the same people . . . or if you are chasing someone I should be) David, Up until now I was mostly chasing shooters in the local clubs in Ga. As a newbie almost everybody could out-shoot me so I had plenty to choose from. I don't have anyone in mind at the moment. If I had to pick somebody I suppose it would be Robert Novak. This by virtue of the fact that he won "B" Limited in the Point Series last year and regularly places higher in major matches. Chasing other shooters adds a little spice to the game. Little rivalries can develop and that's when things really get interesting. Even if you are steadily improving, so are the guys you are chasing. Not to mention that you may look over your shoulder and discover that some talented and determined newbie is chasing you. No matter what your skill level, age or circumstance, your peers are always out there. That's why I have a hard time understanding the folks that say the focus on winning takes the fun out of it. For me the competition is the fun. What do you suppose would happen to IPSC if they did away with the classification system and stopped keeping score? Tls Edited March 10, 2006 by tlshores Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I will provide an input from the senior citizen side of the aisle. I have been at this for 5 years and have worked my way to a middle "C" and really shoot for the fun of it. That doesn't mean I don't try to win, it just means my best is not always good enough. I have a "D" Limited & a "C" Limited 10 trophy & several High Super Senior trophies only because better shooters had an off day. There are choices to be made; "Be a big fish in a small pond", "Be a small fish in a big pond" or "Be what you are and accept it". Being a big fish means that if I am caught I am going to be somebodies trophy, a small fish means I am going to be thrown back as not worth the effort to clean. Being what I am means, If I shoot a 1000 rounds of practice only on one COF so I can win a classifier in my Division but took twice as long as the match winner that I accomplished nothing, I don't think so. I played golf for 40 years during which time I played 3 times a week & hit 4 buckets of practice balls minimum per week & only got down to a 10 handicap but I still loved the game. Then one day it was what the hell am I still doing this for & quit. It may become the same way for shooting someday but it is always living your life as you want to live it that matters most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwana Six-Gun Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 The question I ask myself is "Do I enjoy shooting or do I enjoy winning?" Answer, I enjoy both, but if I have to make a choice, I enjoy shooting. I am 55 and know that I can't keep up with guys 30 years younger or with 30 years more experience, but I still enjoy getting out there with good friends and acquaintances (and the occasional a**hole) because we have fun together and afterwards swap stories about the a**hole. I know one day I will have to hang up my rig and sell my guns, but until then I am going to have fun whether I win or lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
encoreman Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Hey Bwana seeing as you're older than me, can I get 1st dibs on your guns when you get ready to sell them? Oh btw take good care of the wheelgun!! LOL See ya Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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