The reality of life can be a sobering effect. It can wake you up and put you into your place. When a person goes to the range and puts holes in a paper target you have an idea of your skill level. If you go to a gun class and get training from a good instructor, you see what your weaknesses are and by watching others perform you see how you stand in performance next to others. Though you are competing in competitive shooting in reality you should be mainly focused on improving ourselves and competing against yourself.
I was interested in trying this out to see what I could do. First of all, everybody was very helpful and even let me shoot his competition handgun. I started with the steel target shootout with six eight-inch targets. The competition is one on one and the fastest moves on. The slower shooter goes into the second bracket and competes in this to see who competes for the final shoot. I was amazed on how it took me a while to get all six targets with one shot each. Everybody cheered as I knocked the last one down with a single shot. As time moved on my skills at shooting accurate under speed and pressure increased. That is just shooting the six knock-down targets. It is exciting when you have to go to slow-motion video to see who actually won. We had to watch it a few times over.
Then put in a USPCA course where you have to move and shoot around barriers at targets of different sizes at different distances and you will have a whole new ball game. A challenge that will show you where you are at and what your weaknesses are. Then you can improve your skills. The great thing about this is how much fun you will have no matter how bad you do. Nothing better than getting another pair of eyes on you and some coaching. Having someone see what you cannot see and helping you become a better John Wick!
I would suggest just going to a competition to watch first. You can even learn things without actually participating. You will see how things are done and get associated with competition shooting. You would be welcome to get to know other competitors and talking to other like-minded people who like to shoot.
There are many benefits to competition shooting. You will learn fast and get all sorts of help. You will learn to move safely with a gun and acquiring the targets faster and more accurate the more you compete. Making you more confident in your abilities and skills is not a bad thing.
Shoot, it is a blast!
Anyone else has any experience with competition? How well did it help you?