shooting for M Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 I don't know what it is about people and serious shooters. I work in law enforcement so maybe I see this as worse from my peers. I am starting to get pretty serious about competing in USPSA and I am actually getting flack about it from people at work and some friends outside of work. Yes, it takes a lot of time, and yes guns maybe aren't the most socially acceptable things, not that I really care about the latter. This is a sport, a pretty great sport with some great people and pretty stiff competition at any level. Maybe I won't make it to be a "Proffesional" in this sport but if I, or anyone else, works hard enough there is the possibility. I just wonder if I am getting flack because of the detication it takes to do well, is it the actual shooting part or what? I have to say that I know a few Law enforcement officers out there that have no clue that if they went to a match they would have thier @$$ handed to them in a pretty big way. Some are willing to work a bit to help themselves, but most are very happy in thier denial and don't want to hear anything about it. Anyway what's with people's attitude about taking something seriously? Rant off, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chp5 Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 A man without a hobby or without passion is a boring SOB. Glad you're not one of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 (edited) doubletap Edited May 24, 2008 by Joe4d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 I know what you mean,, If your a guy who goes bowling on Thursdays talks about it a little then once a month or so enters a tournament your just a guy who bowls, If your a USPSA shooter with the same level of activity your some kinda gun nut unibomber in the making. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Ho Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 I here you. I sometimes get crap from the mall ninja types. They will of course tell you how practical shooting is not training for the real world. Then they tell you how terrible 'race' guns are. No offense to leos but that attitude seems pretty common among a lot of them. They have that 'I'm a professional and have been trained how to use a gun, and I carry one everyday' attitude. I drive every day, but I sure as hell don't think I could keep up with the 14 year old who drives on our local dirt track. I try to explain the sport as golf. Yes there are other people who compare there score to mine but ultimately, I try to improve my game. I try to use my mind to force my body to do everything perfect. I fail almost every time, but every stage where everything falls right into place, it's just like hitting a 300 yard drive that rolls within 2 ft. of the pin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el pres Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Dont listen to any of them, and if they think they got one on you then dont even mention it !! I was discussing a 500yd shot with an AR at a recent match with my boss who said "I thought that AR's are not very accurate since the bullets tumble like in Vietnam", I replied that this could have been an issue in the old days of slow twist, wrong light bullets, etc.. At that moment another employee (Vet.) comes buy and states " well that was real and what he does is fake, thats the big difference", !! I just smiled, turned away and had a good laugh to myself. All I can say is "Player Hater", you see we were discussing how I won that match !!! I guess match bullets are not lethal or something, It's all just "fake" !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonT Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Leaving work one day and in a rush to get away, boss asked me where I was going in such a hurry. I said I had to get to the range and practice for our upcoming State match. He said, "practice", you practice shooting? Does it help? Here's your sign... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Losers snipe Winners get better Its that way, in everything, in life. Hang around a winner or two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Losers snipeWinners get better Its that way, in everything, in life. Hang around a winner or two VERY TRUE And great info too!!!! :popcorn: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Could not care less what other people think. I'm way to busy enjoying myself. Jim M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 (edited) Could not care less what other people think.I'm way to busy enjoying myself. Jim M And THAT is the proper attitude!!! :blizzard: Edited May 24, 2008 by zhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKSNIPER Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Shooting for M, I feel your pain. Also an LEO here who likes this "game" we all play. Most of our brother/sister officers haven't got a clue about "real" firearms training. They think the guys that go to the range 4 times a year are the bomb. Hang in there, don't let them get you down. JK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murkish Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 What bothers me is when you mention something about competitive shooting and you get either the "you're a freak" look or the "you're scary" look. Some of the people I know (friends even) are so afraid of guns that they cannot even approach the subject without freaking out. It might be one thing if this was based on some traumatic personal experience, but I know for a fact that the only handguns that they have ever seen have been one the belts of LEOs. It is very difficult to try to get them past this. I ordered a case of ammo and had it delivered to my office, because it needed to be signed for. My boss was cool with it, but my best friend looked at the box like it was a bomb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpcdvc Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Shooting for M,I feel your pain. Also an LEO here who likes this "game" we all play. Most of our brother/sister officers haven't got a clue about "real" firearms training. They think the guys that go to the range 4 times a year are the bomb. Hang in there, don't let them get you down. JK I never have understood why this manor of thinking is so prevalent in the law enforcement community. It seems to me that the skills gained in weapon handling in our sport could truly be the difference between getting to go home to your wife and kids or leaving your wife without a husband and your kids without a father. Being able to put 2 rounds on 3 different targets in under 2 seconds (@ 10 yards) from the holster or doing a reload in one second and shooting on the move being as comfortable as shooting standing still seems to me to be life saving skills. Don't you think? Also I think in several ways LE shooting our sport can make the public safer. The confidence you gain in our sport can let you wait that extra 10th of a second needed to identify if someone is a threat or not and make the right decision to engage or not. I have seen many so called "well trained" LEO at our range for the first time and the phrase "comfortable with their gun" would not be uttered. If just the sound and pressure of a buzzer will make you shoot before your sight picture is ready fumble reloads and completely loose your train of thought, just think what can happen when someone is shooting at you. Shooting our sport will also make it way more likely that you will hit your target and keep stray bullets from hitting some innocent bystanders. That is a tragedy I cannot imagine living with. I realize that gun handling is a very small part of what an officer does and many will go into retirement without drawing their weapon. But I sure would be way more comfortable if LEO's were at least trained as good (I'm talking weapons handling not tactics) as an upper C or B class USPSA shooter. I guess some get it and some don't. I'm just glad for the LEOs that get it, and I wish you all worked here in Nashville! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtm Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 I did a demo for a bunch of non-shooters once ( press types ), and after doing some fairly amazing shooting, at least for folks who never shoot, I asked the people what they thought of it. Most said it was OK, but some just stood there with a bit of a smirk. I asked one, who would at least talk, about why he didn't think it was all so grand. His reply sure got me thinking. He said with a straight face that that type of shooting was common, for almost all Military, Police, and unfortunatly criminals. He had seen lots and lots of shooting, and most of what I had done just wasn't that good. I asked where he had seen this type of shootng and he said I get to see it everyday on the T.V. and Movies, and the friend of his that is a "cop" says that most those guys on shows aren't that good, that most everyone on his department are much better, and the SWAT team was just phenominal. From his point of veiw, I had done nothing of note. I asked him why he thought all this stuff was so easy and he replied most the time people just pick up a gun and can hit stuff. I asked him if he wished to try and he said NO I DON'T LIKE GUNS!!! Anyone who "practices" this kind of stuff is a bit off. Now if we think about it, this may be part of the reason USPSA has never caught on as a spectator sport, people do see phenominal shooting all the time, and face it we just don't look like the guys in the shows! People have no base to judge what we do so it is at best an oddity to them, and at some level makes them uncomfortable. Think of the times you have seen GREAT GROUPS fired at EXTREAM SPEED, at EXTENDED RANGE in almost all the Gun Magazines, or in books that are "I was there" stating everybody on my team could hit a 6" plate at 15 yards from the draw in about half a second. How many people get to hear thier neighbor tell about getting his Deer or Elk every year at 400 and 500 yards or more. After reading gun magazines I realize that I compete against the sick lame and lazy . I just can't seem to shoot a 2" group at 25 yards in under a second and a half from "the leather", and I don't know anyone who can. All this with a Officers model .45 with plus P Corbon 200 grainers, from a "Mitch Rosen inside the waist band holster". With this in mind, is it any wonder you would catch a bit of flak? " I was trained at the academy and I am like the guy on T.V." goes a long way in the mind of people who don't understand or want to understand. That you do, and practice to be better makes you ...well a bit strange....just like the rest of us! KURTM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el pres Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 (edited) Hey Kurt, none of us could ever compete with the guy from the movie "Shoot em up". He can spin a merry go round by shooting it with his 9mm !!! And this guy said that Swat guys are way better ??? WOW amazing!! One of my shooting buddies was talking to a familly member about a recent deer hunt where this familly member shot this deer at "like 350yds". My buddy smiled and said lets go outside. He showed him a tree at about 200 and said "how far is that tree", the reply was "oh thats like 600 yds or something",.Nothing else was said after that ... Edited May 24, 2008 by DIRTY CHAMBER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 (edited) With regards to the shooting, I can spot the difference between a "TV" shooter and a good one without ever seeing their hits. It's obvious. ========================== Back on topic. Anybody that's "into" anything these days is considered a weirdo by modern values. If you're not a pure, pop-culture devotee, you're a weirdo. I say f*** that. After WWII, virtually everybody was really "into" something: crafts/hobbies, fraternal orders, rockhounding (my grandparents were mega-rockhounders), geology, you-name-it, being into it was the norm. Then came the 60's and anybody that did anything besides wander aimlessly, hitchhike and smoke dope was a "weirdo." That's who is judging you today. Not much of a track record if you ask me. Give me someone with an interest. Someone with a life. I don't care if it's shooting, knitting, theater, or peace-activism. At least they'll be "interest"-ing. Edited May 24, 2008 by EricW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 I hear ya....I get the same crap about fitness and exercise all the time believe it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Ho Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Dont listen to any of them, and if they think they got one on you then dont even mention it !!I was discussing a 500yd shot with an AR at a recent match with my boss who said "I thought that AR's are not very accurate since the bullets tumble like in Vietnam", I replied that this could have been an issue in the old days of slow twist, wrong light bullets, etc.. At that moment another employee (Vet.) comes buy and states " well that was real and what he does is fake, thats the big difference", !! I just smiled, turned away and had a good laugh to myself. All I can say is "Player Hater", you see we were discussing how I won that match !!! I guess match bullets are not lethal or something, It's all just "fake" !! Tumbling bullets. I love that one. The picture most people get is of a bullet going end over end through the air. I have taken the time to explain to people that the bullets do tumble just like were designed to do, AFTER they enter a fleshy target. My shooting goal for this year is to get as good as the guy in the Matrix. I think with a little practice it will b no problem. It looked easy on the movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdstihl Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 IMO, a lot of it is just human nature. That is, if I'm not doing it, there must be a good reason I'm not doing it, and anyone that is doing it doesn't have a life. I'm sure we all run into people all the time that, no matter what the topic, they've got one story better. In the end, if you can't do something as well as someone else, it's just a lot easier to put them down for doing that, than work to get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 The problem with our sport is: It looks easy on TV, and easy when you watch the top shooters at a match, but.... The newbies and LEO are so humbled/humiliated that they often never return. Sure, watch KurtM, anyone can do that right? NOT!!!!! Most people are not interesting in doing something that they are not good at, or requires work and a learning curve like USPSA :blizzard: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shooting for M Posted May 24, 2008 Author Share Posted May 24, 2008 Thanks for all the replies guys. I think that ErickW said it best, people think if your not totally immersed in "pop culture" your just wasting your time. I guess it's all my dad's fault he did such a terrible job raising me. I work, I pay my bills, I have a wife, a son and a hobby that I love. Maybe he should have raised me to be like the rest of the world, me, me, me and whatever some idiot actor on T.V. tells me to do. I'm glad there is palce to go and hang out with other people that have similar values. Plus it's something that's a lot of fun! Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentlemanJim Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Yep...Eric had it ...In the past, reality and hands on stuff, were the order of the day..people could do such amazing things!! Just think of all the lost arts...people made things with their hands ...that no longer exist Today folks cant put a chain on a bicycle or drive a single screw....and live in a virtual world..devoid of reality. Not surprizing that the little P.C. idiots have no grasp on what it takes to actually do something. For us poor unenlightened types...we will keep ploding along...pushing ourselves to our goals Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocBall Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 I work in LE and when I try to get others involed in our sport they are excited until I tell them don't get upset when you get your A$$ handed to you. Then they make up excuses why they can't go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el pres Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Dont listen to any of them, and if they think they got one on you then dont even mention it !!I guess match bullets are not lethal or something, It's all just "fake" !! Tumbling bullets. I love that one. The picture most people get is of a bullet going end over end through the air. I have taken the time to explain to people that the bullets do tumble just like were designed to do, AFTER they enter a fleshy target. My shooting goal for this year is to get as good as the guy in the Matrix. I think with a little practice it will b no problem. It looked easy on the movie. Well I think the best part of that is that they both are essentially saying that the #1 Military in the world has been useing a really crappy rifle that cant hit anything because for "40" YEARS they could not figure out how to fix the bullet tumbling problem ??? WTF !! And EricW +1 Remember, in this world you are a "Gun Nut" if you own anything more then a .38 revolver and 12 rounds of ammo??? Now a guy that has an Air Conditioned Hanger to house his 100 classic Porsche collection is an Enthusiast ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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