Remember How You Started? Beggining To Where You Are

[shooterbenedetto]

O.k. hosers...let us share our stories from when we started shooting uspsa to

where we are now on our skill level.

last questions is for the Future Super squad!!!! will you take it to be GM!!

If so, let me know who you are because i will look for you in big match..

[shooterbenedetto]

I started with a springfield singlestack .45 on Jan 2004

I was so nervous and was walking the stage so i can shoot the targets.

Then i met JoJo Vidanez...told me he was selling his caspian open

that he used in the Steel challenge for $2000.00. i thought that was so much money for an gun?come spring I bought a Limited Para..didnt like it so much. and took

my tax money and put down on an open gun to be built by JoJo V.( JVDYNAMICS.)

I told him his load, His set up, so i dont have to deal with EXPERIMENTATION.

Its great because as i progress in shooting, there is very little changes to my gun and ofcourse less money to be spent. Also on times that its in the Gunsmith, JoJo lets me

Use his back up Open gun and its great becuase we have the same set up!!!!

By June of 04, I started to shoot a lot.. almost every week.

from there until now about 2yrs 9months..I'm Now a high A CLASS open shooter

and hope to get my Master class before the end of the year.

As for the future, YES....I look forward of being a GM. i love the challenges and join the BIG DAWGS>>>someday..

Edited October 7, 2006 by shooterbenedetto

[HSMITH]

I started in March of 05, shooting a local USPSA 'style' indoor match. I shot one per month of those for two months, and went outdoor the following month. I shot 3 matches per month for most of the time between now and then. About 9 months into my USPSA shooting I ordered a Limited gun from Benny Hill. He delivered, it is everything he said it would be, and it runs like a swiss watch. I have worked up to a solid B since I started, one more classifier in the solid range and I will make A class.

6 or 8 months ago I probably would have said that I wanted to be a GM someday, and contend on a national level. Now, well I just enjoy the shooting and the shooters. Don't get me wrong, I want to improve and get better, but I am taking pleasure in the journey instead of the end goal. I have started out in a couple sporting disciplines over the last 15 years that I really really enjoyed, and I destroyed them with not accepting anything less than being great at it. I shot shotguns in skeet and sporting for about 5 years, I wanted nothing more than being the best on any given day, and I got to be a really really solid local level shooter. My unwillingness to accept that on any given day someone somewhere will kick my ass if it is his day to win put a huge burden on shooting. It wasn't fun anymore, and as a result I ended up quitting. I don't want that to happen to shooting IPSC/USPSA matches. I am pulling the goal back to a workable level, lowering the deliverables I am responsible for, and really trying to enjoy the journey where ever it might take me. I will work at being the very best on each thing I do, but it won't be a big deal if someone else is having their day to shine.

It took me more years and dollars than it ever should have to realize what my personality can do and take, but better late than never I guess.

[big_kahuna]

My 14-year-old son and I started a couple months ago, summer 2006. Both unclassified.

How'd we get started? Parajoe recruited me... ba$+ard lured me in like a trapdoor spider. He got me and the kid out to a match "to watch"...

Where are we? Greenhorns with very basic gear. He's shooting my old Kimber Stainless single stack in SS and L10. I'm shooting a near-stock G-35. For rigs we're running a mismatched tangle of kydex and leather. We dry practice 3-4 nights per week with a timer lent to me by Loves2Shoot, livefire practice on weekends. Local matches only so far. We're trying to scrape money together for better gear soon... I'd really like to build get my kid a competitive limited or open gun in the next few months. If that goes well, I may get one for myself Looking forward to our classifier match in November.

[MasterLefty]

I started at the young/old age of 22. We had a local pistol club that was still shooting the old style combat matches. This was in 1984. We first learned about IPSC in October of '85. We learned that there was a club about 60 miles away that shot the other game, so we sent out a scouting party. When Greg & Joe returned, they said that this was the game we needed to play. I joined USPSA in Nov 85.

My first two combat matches were shot with a 4" Dan Wesson 15V, using full house .357. After, Terry called me over and talked to me about loads I switched to 148gr 38Sp, PPC loads.

By time I started shooting IPSC, I was running a S&W model 10 with a 1.100 bull barrel, underlug and Mark II Aimpoint. I let one of the old marines talk me into buying a 70series Colt and $1100 dollars later, I was running a Caspian slide with Wilson LEK comp kit and 6 Wilson-Rogers 8 round magazines.

With my fresh new D class card, I won second D at the '86 Texas West section championship and was third revolver. ( I kept shooting both guns and I would outshoot my auto scores with the revolver. Six months later, I sold the 45 and built a comped S&W 586.

In 87, I switched to a Browning and ran major until the power factor changed to 175. After that, I shot minor until I starting building a P9 in 1989.

I made Master class running the P9's, switching to a large frame Tanfolio 38 super in 1999. In 2001, I built my first STI three days before Area 4 with prize table parts.

That's just a brief look at where I've been.

Kenny

(I remember leaving my first match thinking gee that was fun, I can't wait until next month. After the second match, I bought my first reloading press and thought if I ever shoot 2000 rounds in my life that will be a lot. Six months later, I was running 1000 rounds a week preparing for the Sec. Championship. The rest is all down hill from there.)

Edited October 8, 2006 by MasterLefty

[Shawn Knight]

If it had not been for my buddy Rob, I would never have gone to any match. We ended up going to an IDPA match, and we were told of the USPSA matches and dates. after about 3 months of shooting I am now a C-class shooter in USPSA and Expert in ESP for IDPA. I have had more fun than I have ever imagined. My buddy Rob is now stationed in England so he has to shoot Airsoft. Poor baby. As far as getting to hang with the big dogs?? I will go to every match I can, practice when I can and at least shoot one major match a year if I can. I would love to get it together enough to be GM! I know it is a lot of hard work and I hope to get stationed at a good state side base to be able to have those opportunities!

Edited October 8, 2006 by theknightoflight