New Member

[nighterfighter]

Realized I forgot to ever make an introduction post, even though I signed up a while back. Sorry.

Im a mid twenties guy, senior engineer at an aerospace company, living in Littleton right now. Grew up and went to college in the South, but never owned firearms, but have been a fan since I was 10, and have shot before. Joined the forum because I read this is a better place to go for Colorado specific gun things.

I'm one of those people who got their first firearm during the COVID craziness. Picked up a M&P 40 Shield as my first gun, then obtained a concealed carry license. Then got an AR Pistol because they look fun. (Turns out they are!) Then got a membership at the nearby range, and picked up a Ruger 10/22, because I figured that'd be good to show people who've never shot guns before how to do so. Then got a Ruger American rifle and a Vortex scope for it. I then learned why we need gun control, because my bank account is mad at me.

I'm hoping to find some land I can go to and learn to shoot long range with the bolt action. I need to do some research on where I am allowed to shoot on public land (I think I can shoot on BLM land, as long as there isn't a Stage 2 fire ban?), because the range here is only 25 yards.


Just wanted to say hi!

[ChickNorris]

Hello hello~

[SideShow Bob]

https://youtu.be/tdTRq3lxnXA

[Gman]

Howdy and welcome!

[TheNash]

Welcome and enjoy the festivities

[buffalobo]

Welcome, join the fray.

[Gcompact30]

Welcome aboard

[3beansalad]

Welcome to the asylum.

[jerrymrc]

Welcome.

[zteknik]

Hello and welcome- officially [Beer]
Enjoy!!

[battlemidget]

Hi!
Want to put that hardware to work and have fun? Shoot competitions. You can find precision rifle matches for that American with the Vortex, .22 matches for that 10/22 (great choice btw), and a plethora of rifle and rifle/pistol competition for that AR and .40
Just about all the matches are on practiscore.com, a free website that's used for registration coordination. Most matches are inexpensive (15-35 bucks) and total round counts for the day are ~100-~200.
Checkout ammoseek.com to find good prices on bulk ammo.

[nighterfighter]

Thanks all for the welcome.

Thanks for the resources, battlemidget! Those sound fun! I don't think I'm nearly good enough for a competition yet, though.
Luckily I knew about ammoseek, and have gotten several thousand rounds already.

[Irving]

Everyone who is new to shooting says they aren't good enough to compete. The secret is that you get good enough by showing up and competing in matches. The hardest part is showing up ready to shoot.

Don't be that guy that just shows up to watch. That's like ordering a taster at a brewery. Man up, get the full 12oz, and go to town. ;)

[nighterfighter]

Everyone who is new to shooting says they aren't good enough to compete. The secret is that you get good enough by showing up and competing in matches. The hardest part is showing up ready to shoot.

Don't be that guy that just shows up to watch. That's like ordering a taster at a brewery. Man up, get the full 12oz, and go to town. ;)

You mean I can just show up and watch, for free? That sounds fun to me too! (To be fair, some coworkers got me into watch Topshot on Amazon Prime...)

I think I'd just embarrass myself at a competition. I'm happy if I can get all my shots into the middle 3 circles of my target when shooting my handgun.

[Irving]

Seriously, there are new people at every competition, it's no big deal. The problem is the word competition. That IS what it is, but it's not like everyone is a bunch of aggressive alphas. Think of it more like showing up to Test and Tune up at Bandimere on a Wednesday night. If you start with IDPA, that is a smaller pool, imo, than USPSA which can be more intimidating.

[Gman]

I was that guy watching a couple of weeks ago at the Big Ben Tactical Rifle match. I also have some physical limitations so I wanted to see if it was even an option for me, or what I need to work on to be able to make it happen. (thanks Irving)

If I could get into and out of a kneeling and prone position, I'd compete, no worries. There's all kinds of folks from newbs to serious competitors. What I did see is people with experience willing to share what they know and not much of folks being critical of those that were having a tougher time of it.

If I still had the physical ability, I'd do it as often as I could. It'll make you a better shooter, even if you're not at the top of the scoring.

[Irving]

I think I shot my first match within 12 months of buying my first gun. I really need to get into rifle matches so I can learn how to shoot them.

Gman, in all my years of competing, I've only seen a competitor act like an asshole one time. I know of some RO's that I really don't like, but that's a different story. Also, just don't be the guy that shows up to watch a match more than once. ;) I've seen that guy and become suspicious of him.

[nighterfighter]

Doing a match sounds really fun. I did a little research into IDPA.

I think I'll start actually scoring the targets at the range from now on, (instead of going "wow i suck, gotta fix that down-and-left tendency) to try and get some objective measurements of improvement.

[Irving]

The best thing I ever did was shoot with people who were better than me. Yes they were helpful and supportive, but I've noticed that if there is no one around that's better than me at something, I don't tend to try any harder at what I'm doing.

[buffalobo]

Obligatory chart.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0024/7617/9491/files/Error-Chart1_large.jpg?v=1573601825

[nighterfighter]

Thanks! I've seen those before, just haven't actually shot at one.

I think I'm tightening my fingers. When I practice at home with dry fire + laser cartridge, I always hit exactly what I'm aiming for, at various distances. I guess I'm subconsciously anticipating the recoil and tightening up.

[Irving]

I always heard about being able to feel the trigger reset, but just kind of ignored it. Once I started paying attention, my shooting went up a level. Generally, I would lift my finger all the way off the trigger between shots. This upsets your consistency. I don't want to over explain, so try this:

Take a shot, and keep the trigger depressed. While the trigger is still depressed, maintain your grip and stance, and all the important things and get your sight picture back. Line up on your target again. Now slowly let the trigger out until you feel/sense, or even heard it reset then STOP. You don't need to let the trigger out any further. You don't need to be on a razor thin edge of firing the next shot, just don't let the trigger out anymore than you need to. Now take the next shot. Do a few strings of slow fire where you are paying attention to the reset.

This will help you get your body set up, and reduce error because you don't have to pull the trigger through all the slack. You might think to yourself, "How are you supposed to shoot fast while doing this?" And the answer is that you don't necessarily shoot fast the same way, but this helps train you to be able to get there. Try it out and see what happens.

[ray1970]

The best thing I ever did was shoot with people who were better than me. Yes they were helpful and supportive, but I've noticed that if there is no one around that's better than me at something, I don't tend to try any harder at what I'm doing.

Funny, but I?m sort of the opposite. When I?m out by myself I?m not too bad. Throw in a little pressure from trying to keep up with others and my game kind of tanks. Still fun though and ultimately the only person I really try to compete with is myself. I don?t really feel the pressure from performing for an audience or in front of others but it?s obviously there somewhere in the back of my mind I guess.

For me, finishing in the top half of the field was always sort of my goal as I felt it meant I was a better shooter than half the people competing that day. Plus, there are always going to be a handful of guys that are just better than me so I get that a #1 finish likely isn?t in the cards for me anyways.