Thoughts from a NEWB

[GSXRanger]

My first USPSA (Production) match. Thoughts from a newbie to the sport...

Glock 34, shooting production. I officially SUCK!!!

Actually, it's a totally different mindset for a Tactical guy.

Let me break it down for ya...

I show up at the local club on Tuesday night, to run in the Production class. I have put about 2K rounds through my G34, and it is a sweet running machine. Very accurate, and I can NAIL my mag changes with it. So, I came feeling very confident... yeah, right.

Only I show up a bit late, and the registration was closed. So, I met the club racers, and introduced myself as a new shooter... and just watched. I left, feeling very confident, and the Alpha Male mindset of "I GOT this..." completely engulfed me. All I could do is wait till Friday, to shoot... and then, I just knew I would be in the top 10 percent of this club.

Well, I got out of work Friday a bit early, so I went to the range and helped set up the stages. All the while, I am talking to the gamers, getting a feel for their experience level, and mindset... thinking... "No worries... I GOT THIS."

After all, I am an upper class tactical shooter, with tons of experience... I know how to shoot, I can nail a mag change, I can shoot and move... no biggie... right? Well, stay tuned.

Ok, "Darren, you are in the hole."

WTF does that mean? Oh... I am two people after the guy who is going now. Well, the guy that was the "shooter" is a top ranked shooter, and let me tell you... it was like watching Yoda with a light saber.

He cleaned the first stage in oh... LIGHT SPEED, and made my jaw drop. Ok, then... note to self... maybe I need to pay attention.

So, now... "Darren, you are on deck". That meant I was next in line... newb here, remember?

Now, I started my war gaming. Never have I run a course of fire, where I knew where the targets were ahead of time. This was foreign to me... because I am so used to going through the door, engaging targets that suprise me, dealing with threats as they come, most are HUMAN threats, so I thought it would be like shooting fish in a barrel. WRONG!!!

"Darren, you are now shooter. Take position."

Ok, here goes... inhale, exhale. I run through my mind... Open the door, draw, move to barricade, engage first three targets... mag change, move... two steel, three targets, mag change... move, three targets two steel... show clear, slide release, hammer down, holster.

I GOT THIS!!! Condidence swelled within me... breathing shallowed, focus... focus... FOCUS.

"Shooter ready?" (My hands on door knob... bile taste filling my throat)

I nod, and try to relax...

"Stand by..."

BEEP

Brain Fart.

I mean to tell you, I dumped. I moved through the door, engaged the first three targets as planned...

I changed magazines, and continued... after I fired my second round, my magazine fell out. I started laughing... I could NOT believe how I let this little "BEEP" mess with my mind.

I ended the stage, forgetting to engage one of the steel plates, hidden behind a barrel. I knew it was there, I just totally blew past it.

My time? Forget about it. What time? Heck... I don't even remember seeing my front sights... let alone hitting all the targets.

My problem is not shooting. It is not moving and shooting. My issue is efficiency of motion. This is a game... it is all about SPEED and ACCURACY. Right? Easier said than done.

I am addicted.

Hello, my name is Darren... and I am a Run and Gun-a-holic.

Oh, btw... my Glock ran flawlessly... but the factory sights SUCK more than I could ever say.

The other three stages I ran were not as eventful as the first one... They say, that you will NEVER forget your first time. What did I learn from this? This is the MOST fun a man can have for 10 bucks. Oh, and the Masters / Grand Masters make it look SOOOOOOOOO easy!

Is it Tuesday yet?

That is all.

Edited December 10, 2007 by GSXRanger

[Jay6]

That is good stuff right there! Since this is my first year shooting USPSA and IDPA I feel your pain my friend. Thinking since I am young, athletic, and have been shooting for a long time this should be easy

I can still remember my first stage......three shooting boxes with 3 paper targets to be engaged at each box. I was planning a reload on the move between each box.....this should be easy.... Then comes the beep and all brain function stops!!!! I start blasting and the next thing I know I am at he second shooting box and my glock is empty at slide lock.........How did this happen? Oh yeah, I forgot all about any sort of reloading (and was lucky with c hits). After a reload which looked a little like Michael J. Fox juggling in a phonebooth I was done......giving me a gross time and more mics than a recording studio.

Needless to say, lots of practice is in my future!

[Flexmoney]

That was my whole first summer.

[Madcap Magician]

Everyone in unison.. HI DARREN!

Welcome to the world run by a little beep. Sounds like some of my first experiences as well. The best thing to do is to keep at it. Buy a timer to practice with, it will really help cool your nerves. Just remember, practice, practice, practice. Good luck with your shooting!

[et45]

I hosed my first stage and had 3 misses.Luckly the timer malfed and I got a reshoot.The RO said to me"You might want to slow down and look at your sights this time".

[Sharyn]

Darren, it was a pleasure meeting and shooting with you. Smitty's shooting skills can be intimidating, eh?

We look forward to seeing you at future matches. Please don't forget to invite your wife too!

[Nemo]

That's very familiar funny sh1t, Darren!

Welcome to the game! I think I'm figuring it out at last... after 10 years doing it.

Where in FL are ya' ?

[Merlin Orr]

That was my whole first summer.

+1 and I live "The Endless Summer."

[GSXRanger]

Darren, it was a pleasure meeting and shooting with you. Smitty's shooting skills can be intimidating, eh?

We look forward to seeing you at future matches. Please don't forget to invite your wife too!

Same to you Sharyn, very nice meeting you as well. It was fun watching you navigate the course like a seasoned PRO.

As for Smitty... well, intimidating is not what I would call it... just "eye opening".

Efficiency of Motion... and Zen-like movements, more like it. On top of that, a VERY approachable person, very helpful and patient. Makes it easy for a new person coming into the sport to feel at ease, and to see where the proverbial "Bar" has been raised to. I learned alot just watching him, as well as the other shooters. VERY good group of people, and the most fun a man or woman can have for ten bucks!!! What impressed me the most, was the complete LACK of ego that was at the club. That meant more to me than anything else.

I will be there tomorrow night... so, let's see if I can do a bit better this time. My HH6 will make it out ONE of these nights... hopefully.

Edited December 10, 2007 by GSXRanger

[GSXRanger]

That's very familiar funny sh1t, Darren!

Welcome to the game! I think I'm figuring it out at last... after 10 years doing it.

Where in FL are ya' ?

I am in the Tampa / St. Petersburg area... I work out at the Police Academy in St. Petersburg... so, it's only a short drive up to the WAC for me to shoot with the gang.

[BSeevers]

Sounds great.

[Kingman]

We have all been there.

[Neomet]

We have all been there.

Some of us still are.

[Paul Burtchell]

Darren, you write very well. Funny stuff that we all can sympathize & empathize with. It's still amazes me how all our great stage strategies can go right out the window when that little timer beeps. Embrace the addiction as resistance is futile

[Bryan W]

cool story - welcome to the game.

[Johann the Horrible]

Welcome to the Best sport in the World. In my other life I am a advanced instructor and that includes tactical. Shooting started out embarrassing in the extreme. What I found was that taking the "A"`s helped. In real life you cannot miss fast enough to survive. I am still at the bottom half of the club ladder but am slowly but surely getting faster. Just remember you cant miss fast enough to win. We all watch the Super Squad and try and emulate them, to our detriment. You are not shooting against the Super Squad, you are shooting against yourself. Get the score first, the time will come.

[G-ManBart]

Welcome!

We've all been there and done that before and it doesn't stop just because you gain experience, but it does happen less frequently (at least in theory).

The cool thing that you've already noticed is how helpful most of the shooters will be to anyone who's interested. I remember years ago shooting a match, totally messing up part of a stage and talking with my buds about it afterwards. One of the guys standing around said "oh, all you need to do is x, y and z"....he was a previous world and U.S. champion! Take advantage of it every chance you get

[boz1911]

What a great description of your/our first time experience. I remember it well, especially the timer goes off along with the brain part. Welcome

[vrmn1]

Very funny stuff right there.

I have heard it said many times. If we didn't have hearinf protection on our brains would run out onto our shoulders when that beep goes off.

Welcome to the game.

[1911nm]

Hi Darren, I'm Bob, I am also a run and gunaholic. Fantastic description, and yes I do recall all higher brain function ceasing when "beep". I am only entering my second year of USPSA so I still hear theoretically it gets better. Have fun and good shooting. Dang, ain't this the greatest hoot an adult is allowed to have legally?

[zhunter]

Darren

Welcome to the fun!!! Thanks for sharing your experience.

I hosed my first stage and had 3 misses.Luckly the timer malfed and I got a reshoot.The RO said to me"You might want to slow down and look at your sights this time".

What front sight??? Is there a front sight

That was my whole first summer.

+1 and I live "The Endless Summer."

Is there any other time of year???

[Hank Ellis]

Hello, my name is Hank ... and I am a Run and Gun-a-holic.

I know your pain man. Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt and the video. Want to see my rant on my first match? Go here. {Gawd, has it been 4 years already?}

By the way, that little box that the RO holds over your head isn't a shot timer. It's actually an IPSC Neural Neutralizer. Once the button is push all memories of the stage are erased from your brain. For further information see the movie Men In Black.

Welcome to the game. Now get that fish hook out of your mouth.

[Johann the Horrible]

Started again after 12 years. All those years ago I sucked and still battle to shoot good scores. Last Saturday I shot a 60%+ for the first time in my life. It was my 29th competition for the year and will shoot my next match on the 5th of January. I am in no position to hand out brilliant advice but a truth I found was to shoot as much competitions as possible. While I still have squadrons of large birds in my stomach when I step on the line I am not reduced to a blathering idiot anymore. Read the advice you get on this forum, it is maybe some of the best in the world. It is worth every sent you pay for it. (Here in South Africa internet is not cheap) Mostly enjoy your shooting, its why you do it!

PS: Bring a friend to shoots, spread the addiction as widely as possible

[GSXRanger]

Well, I completed my second match last night. I got some very good input from the other shooters, and had a chance to watch the GM run cleanly again. What grace and finess... gives me something to strive for.

I found that this time around, I was able to keep my wits a bit more. I had a little more body momentum in the first stage, and I stepped over the line a bit. Luckily I didn't fire, whilst over the line. But, that "procedural" violation, messed my thought process up.

The second stage was interesting. It had a little door in front of you, that you had to flip the little window down before shooting through it. One thing that I noticed... when you are shooting the little round steel plates, and you miss one, you KEEP missing. At least, I did. I must have shot three or four rounds before finally hitting the darn thing. Also, the stock Glock sights become a blob of white, when looking at the steel targets. Not good at all.

The third and fourth stages, were pretty fun. What I find now, is that I am not very comfortable shooting at distance, whilst moving. I understand the "groucho walk" and the tactical crouch... good isolated movements... but, KNOWLEDGE is NO SUBSTITUTE for EXPERIENCE. Period.

You can KNOW how to do something, but once you actually DO it, it is just knowledge.

Two down, many many more to go. What a great group to shoot with... it's official, I am hooked.

I also love to laugh at myself. I can't wait to video myself, to critique it later. Right now, I am focusing on the fundamentals, and then efficiency of motion.

On another note, I am trying to bring some of the guys from my team, out to wet their whistles... but, so far... they are not biting.

Cheers!!

Darren

Edited December 12, 2007 by GSXRanger

[brboyer]

Well, I completed my second match last night. I got some very good input from the other shooters, and had a chance to watch the GM run cleanly again. What grace and finess... gives me something to strive for.

I found that this time around, I was able to keep my wits a bit more. I had a little more body momentum in the first stage, and I stepped over the line a bit. Luckily I didn't fire, whilst over the line. But, that "procedural" violation, messed my thought process up.

The second stage was interesting. It had a little door in front of you, that you had to flip the little window down before shooting through it. One thing that I noticed... when you are shooting the little round steel plates, and you miss one, you KEEP missing. At least, I did. I must have shot three or four rounds before finally hitting the darn thing. Also, the stock Glock sights become a blob of white, when looking at the steel targets. Not good at all.

The third and fourth stages, were pretty fun. What I find now, is that I am not very comfortable shooting at distance, whilst moving. I understand the "groucho walk" and the tactical crouch... good isolated movements... but, KNOWLEDGE is NO SUBSTITUTE for EXPERIENCE. Period.

You can KNOW how to do something, but once you actually DO it, it is just knowledge.

Two down, many many more to go. What a great group to shoot with... it's official, I am hooked.

I also love to laugh at myself. I can't wait to video myself, to critique it later. Right now, I am focusing on the fundamentals, and then efficiency of motion.

On another note, I am trying to bring some of the guys from my team, out to wet their whistles... but, so far... they are not biting.

Cheers!!

Darren

Glad you enjoyed yourself.

I really enjoy shooting w/ Smitty & Sharon (and the rest) I've learned allot from them (but I still suck) When not shooting, RO'ing or keeping score I spend my time watching their movements. Amazing!

I agree with you on the Glock sights...did you say you were getting a set of Weavers?

Did you get the scores I sent out? We'll see you next week.

Hey, do you guys ever let 'outsiders' come in and play the role of the perp in your simunition exercises?

Brian