Jay6 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 In the past year and a half since getting into this sport I have #1 grown VERY addicted to everything shooting and #2 seen a fair amount of success (making a high A in open) due to the amount of time I spend practicing. Recently (a month ago) my wife and I have had a fantastic baby boy (our first) and I have had much less time to spend on shooting related activities. Now my goal for this next year was to make Master and I am still sticking to this as I can still dryfire a lot while changing diapers and just have less live fire time. I was just curious as to how many M or GM shooters have kids and how they find time to improve their skills and be a great dad at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZip Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Having three girls all nine or younger, I too would love to hear some answers as to how this can be done. Thanks for this post! I hope some actual M and GMs chime in on this themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h2osport Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 BE CAREFUL when dryfiring and changing diapers! Nothing good can come from that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay6 Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 BE CAREFUL when dryfiring and changing diapers! Nothing good can come from that! Even though this would be good strong and weak hand practice, I meant now it is tougher to leave the house as I want to help my wife as much as I can. It is easier to go in the basement for a half hour at a time to pull some triggers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironb Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 In the past year and a half since getting into this sport I have #1 grown VERY addicted to everything shooting and #2 seen a fair amount of success (making a high A in open) due to the amount of time I spend practicing. Recently (a month ago) my wife and I have had a fantastic baby boy (our first) and I have had much less time to spend on shooting related activities. Now my goal for this next year was to make Master and I am still sticking to this as I can still dryfire a lot while changing diapers and just have less live fire time. I was just curious as to how many M or GM shooters have kids and how they find time to improve their skills and be a great dad at the same time. You're a dad now. Your priorities in life just changed! My little girl is 1yrs old, and the free time I used to have is non-existent. Get used to it for the next 18 years... and find a good babysitter or take very good care of the wife so she won't care when you disappear for a few hours on sat and sun. (you'll love being a dad, it's the best thing EVER) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keno34 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I made GM in Limited when my girls were 4 and 1 years old. The key for me was dry firing and airsoft training in the garage. Practice movement and reloads. Keep the wife very happy because no matter what that first year will be a lot harder on her than you. Good luck, kids are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 my daughter is 18...made master when she was 4...never got beyond that...good luck finding the time to commit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay6 Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 I made GM in Limited when my girls were 4 and 1 years old. The key for me was dry firing and airsoft training in the garage. Practice movement and reloads. Keep the wife very happy because no matter what that first year will be a lot harder on her than you. Good luck, kids are great. My wife is fantastic, since I am the match director at our club I need to be there for our monthly matches but she is allowing me to go to Area 7 and Area 8 this year as well. Now I just need to get the little man big enough to shoot as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Gaines Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 guilty here, I have a 3yr old daughter. Made M when she was in her 2's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemepharmd Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Stuck in A for now. One big thing that slows your shooting down more than having a child is having a second child! I now have 2 boys. The first is 3 years, and the second is 6 months. Just can't wait until they're old enough to shoot, and I hope I'm not too old to get better when that happens. I still shoot as much as possible, but family has to take priority over shooting a lot more now than it used to. Still hoping to find time to make master class sometime down the road. One thing that I'm considering is a training class with TJ, Travis Tomasie, or someone similar. Seems like those classes can accelerate your improvement and are quite worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aztecdriver Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I'm a C - and I would be more than happy if my daughter made GM before me - she's 9. I'll improve as I can - and that is that. I love the sport - I love my family more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Balko Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I made Open M the year my twin boys were born. As classifiers go, I've shot far less of them, and most have been too low to count since that time. I've shot a few good matches since then, but shooting has definitely taken on a different position of priority since I became a Dad. You decide what's important, and then push to excel. You've just got a new factor to include in your decision process. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el pres Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Better question , how many are divorced ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWLAZS Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 (edited) I have four kids. The range I shoot at is quite large and not real busy. I work nights so I am home with my kids during the day. When we go to the range I pack my guns, and their bikes, balls, sleds, whatever they feel like. They usualy give me a couple of hours to practice before they are lookng for something new to do. I let them plan the next activity They are still a little young to shoot but they are always given the chance to try it out. I also dry fire and use the air soft gun. If you think about the skills we use shooting; entering, exiting, shoot on the move etc. you can work practice into many every day tasks. For example when I use the string trimmer I walk like I was shooting on the move. It sound silly but if you think about it its easy. Edited May 4, 2009 by AWLAZS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket35 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 (edited) I have three. I made Master in SSP (IDPA) when they were 2-8&9. Then Master in L10 when they were 5-10&11 and just made Master in Limited, they are 8-13&14 now. My answer is dryfire and dryfire then dryfire. Especially with today's economy and lack of components. And money will get tighter with a new family..maybe that is to account for my sporadic training and performance?! If so its ok cause they are worth it! Edited May 4, 2009 by Rocket35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Stoeger Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I have no children that I am aware of. That would cut into my practice schedule! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glshooter Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 A little off topic here but to those of you with small children, be very careful of lead exposure. A big mistake shooters make is washing their shooting clothes with the rest of their family members laundry and wearing their shooting shoes in the house. All shooting clothes must be washed separately and shoes not worn in the house. Lead dust can be transferred to your little ones clothes and then they are exposed. Lead is not good for growing little bodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozarksman Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Don't worry that you'll grow to old to move up in class. I shot my 1st USPSA match at the age of 43 using my old Series 70 single stack. Hadn't even so much as practiced drawing from the holster or making reloads while moving! My kids were young teens by then, both involved heavily into sports and other outdoor activities like kayaking, and camping. I made open master at 51 yrs of age, limited master at 52 and master L-10 earlier this year at 53. If you keep at it, you will progress if you train properly and push yourself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lneel Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I made M in Limited a year or so ago.....felt good as I could show my son what I had learned in order to make that achievement. As of this month's update we should both make M in Open, feels great and he is only getting faster. Hopefuly he will keep the grades up enough to continue on to GM! I think I am too old and too fat to make that step. Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 My Girls are 18 and 13, started shooting when they were 9 and 4. Made Master in Open and Limited in 2006 iirc mostly by shooting club matches 3 times a month with maybe one live fire practice per month. Kids will draw you away from what you want to do so let them. They're only little once and the time goes by so fast you won't believe it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaass Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 my daughter is 18...made master when she was 4...never got beyond that... What a remarkable accomplishment - Master at 4! You shouldn't hold it against her that she never made GM in the intervening 14 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JThompson Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 (edited) I made M in Limited a year or so ago.....felt good as I could show my son what I had learned in order to make that achievement.As of this month's update we should both make M in Open, feels great and he is only getting faster. Hopefuly he will keep the grades up enough to continue on to GM! I think I am too old and too fat to make that step. Lee Bah! I'm old and fat and didn't start shooting til 42 and I know I can make it. Now to be competitive... that's another story, but if you just want to do it you can. Contrary to what some think... some of us would be happy to make GM paper or otherwise, it's still a hell of an achievement. I say go for it!! On topic: No kids... Should make M this update that's about 1.5ys after picking up an Open gun and joining USPSA. Not bad for an "old fat guy." who refused to dryfire. Edited May 4, 2009 by JThompson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoShooter Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I have three.......and four Grandchildren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Better wear your shooting glasses when dryfiring and changing diapers just in case of an AD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemepharmd Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Better wear your shooting glasses when dryfiring and changing diapers just in case of an AD. Been there, done that. Also a good idea to keep your mouth closed . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now