Inexpensive Competition Shooting?

I know I start a lot of threads asking a lot of stupid questions but here's another one:

I'm a young guy without a lot of money and school sucks up a lot of what money I do have. I'm getting tired of occasional plinking and would like to move on to competitive shooting for fun. I've got a little bit of money to spend on a new rifle/handgun and want to take a training course or two but in the long run I definitely don't have thousands of dollars to spend on ammunition in a year.

What do you suggest for someone in my position?

Get a G34 or 17 (or you might have something that will work already and not know it). Shoot one or two matches a month, whatever you can afford. Shoot them with factory ammo, cheap WWB 115gr 9mm ammo from wallyworld, and save all the brass. When you can afford to get into reloading, then the brass will be there to use and start out cheap.

Competition shooting is what you want to make it to be. You don't have to go to every match, all over the state, every Sat and Sun. You can go to the occasional match, shoot with good shooters, and learn as you go. Some get into it and go all out. Some get into it and show up at certain matches. It's all about what you can afford and what is right for you.

There is a cost to shooting competitions, but a lot of the cost is people wanting the best gear out there, the new widget, the shiny blaster... There are mre than a few GM's out there that shoot Glocks/XD/M&P/CZ and use $17 Uncle Mikes injection molded holsters and mag pouches. Spend the money on ammo, spend the time on dry fire and live fire. Get gear solid enough to last.

With that said, I won't BS you. Money and time are huge advantages in how fast you get better at shooting. It's not something you can do with either of these things and become a GM in two years. But, not everyone that shoots well has to be a GM. The average B class shooter shoots better than 99% of the LE and military in this country and about 90% or the rest of the population, no BS. This is very doable on a budget.

Any pistol competition shooting is pretty inexpensive in my opinion. From one poor guy to another. You need a holster, a gun, 90 rounds, and $15 each time you show up.

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Originally Posted by Stuart

Any pistol competition shooting is pretty inexpensive in my opinion. From one poor guy to another. You need a holster, a gun, 90 rounds, and $15 each time you show up.

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Bring 150-200 rounds, $20, and don't forget a decent belt, at least 4 mag pouches and 5 mags.

Yes, extra mags is a must. I've done all mine with only 3 or 4 mags and a mag pouch that only holds 2.

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Originally Posted by SA Friday

Get a G34 or 17 (or you might have something that will work already and not know it). Shoot one or two matches a month, whatever you can afford. Shoot them with factory ammo, cheap WWB 115gr 9mm ammo from wallyworld, and save all the brass. When you can afford to get into reloading, then the brass will be there to use and start out cheap.

Competition shooting is what you want to make it to be. You don't have to go to every match, all over the state, every Sat and Sun. You can go to the occasional match, shoot with good shooters, and learn as you go. Some get into it and go all out. Some get into it and show up at certain matches. It's all about what you can afford and what is right for you.

There is a cost to shooting competitions, but a lot of the cost is people wanting the best gear out there, the new widget, the shiny blaster... There are mre than a few GM's out there that shoot Glocks/XD/M&P/CZ and use $17 Uncle Mikes injection molded holsters and mag pouches. Spend the money on ammo, spend the time on dry fire and live fire. Get gear solid enough to last.

With that said, I won't BS you. Money and time are huge advantages in how fast you get better at shooting. It's not something you can do with either of these things and become a GM in two years. But, not everyone that shoots well has to be a GM. The average B class shooter shoots better than 99% of the LE and military in this country and about 90% or the rest of the population, no BS. This is very doable on a budget.

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I've got a G21 (and my dad's G22 until my brother's old enough to get it) but as far as I can tell everyone shoots 9mm so that won't work. I've been thinking about getting an XDM in 9mm anyway, do you think that'll be workable?

I'm not really all that interested in becoming a GM, I'm just looking for a fun hobby really (one that happens to be beneficial to my self-defense skills).

Thanks for the helpful replies. [Beer]

My first match ever I showed up with a stock G19 and wwb...and was most accurate shooter for the night, shooting against many incredibly skilled shooters. You don't have to have alot of fancy equipment to shoot something like IDPA--in fact, they generally won't allow it. And I have always shot cheap WWB in my matches... So whatever the match costs, and some wwb and a cheap gun as often as you can afford it and you are set, at least for IDPA. Then you have to decide why you are there and what you want to accomplish...and consequently how much time and money you want to spend in the future. There will always be the temptation to go big and buy expensive equipment and spend lots of time at the range.... But you don't have to do that if you set other goals for yourself and stick with them until you come to a new season in life.

Either will work. The G22 is going to be cheaper ammo. A 9mm's ammo is cheap enough that you essentially make up the different in savings from 40 to 9 and get a G34 or G17. That's why the 9mm is so much more popular.

The $ difference between reloading 9mm and 40 is comparitively miniscule. If you were reloading 40 already, I would just say go with the G22. Factory ammo is different. No reason to not start out with the G22. The holster and pouches are the same and you can always switch to a G17 or 34 later or reload.

If you can pick up a used G17 on the cheap that's in good condition, I can point you in the right direction on basic parts and do the work on it for you. An LE trade-in is your best bet. Make sure the slide to frame fit is tight. You can see this by watching the back of the slide as you pull the trigger on an empty chamber. The more the slide moves up from the frame during trigger pull, the looser the fit. A little movement is always going to be there. A lot of movement is bad. Tighter is better. Don't care if it's got holster ugly all over it. You are just going to draw and shoot and reload the piss out of it anyway.

New sights ($70-$100 if needed, the factory plastic ones MUST go into the garbage), some basic trigger mojo ($0-120 depending on just how light you want it) and a lighter recoil spring (less than $10 if you want it)... done.

Check around to the local gun clubs.

I belong to the Cherry Creek Gun Club. They have several regular competitive shooting things. I'm not inclined to that type of shooting so I don't know much about them. Most are open to the public. Everybody I talk to says that are fun and there is much sharing of information.

There is a reduced fee club membership for students.

Here is their website-

http://www.cherrycreekgunclub.org/site4.0/

When I go to the website I get logged on automatically so I'm not sure what you will see when you go there. If you want I can PM (maybe- not sure how to attach a document) or email you the October newsletter. It has a schedule of stuff and contact information for them.

This is NOT the range at Cherry Creek State Park.

The club is located 1210 S Clinton St Denver. That's kinda a few blocks west of Buckingham Square Mall.

For rifle you can look at CMP / Highpower as a easy way to start. Typical I see are $15 or less and under 100 rds, shooting to 200yds. I shoot a monthy one in the Springs for $5. You just need a military rifle with iron sights. I use a rack grade AR15A2 and sometimes a beat up M1.

It is traditional position rifle shooting, nothing tacticcool. For that look at the Tac Rifles matches by Hooser in the spring.

If you want to learn how to shoot that rifle with a sling before you head out then go to an Appleseed first.

$80 for a weekend, one running this weekend at BLGC.

http://Appleseedinfo.org

Sorry, I missed the XDM question. Yes, they work just fine. They are harder to work on though, and pretty much have to be sent to a gunsmith for a trigger job. The grip angle is different from a Glock. Some like this, but if you are already comfortable shooting a Glock, they are an easier avenue IMO to use.

In general, shooting matches is not expensive. like others told you above, you only shoot few rounds and pay $10-$20 fee.
Lot cheaper than drinking beer :)

What is expensive, is training for good scores and/or moving up to high classifications. With proper training, you can move up from low classifications pretty fast. I could tell some stories about my wife, but maybe she can tell it by herself.

Any gun will do, but... If you really want to develop your skills, you need an easy gun to shoot, specially in the beginning - something pretty heavy weight, decent sights, good trigger etc.
GM´s can shoot many guns fast and accurately. They know from experience, how to use advantages and disadvantages of a gun, for example Glock - how to deal with long trigger reset, heavy, long and not very accurate trigger pull etc. For beginner, this is lot harder.

Dry firing is cheap and it will go a long way. Dry fire 2 times a day and you can see improvement pretty fast.

When you shoot matches, _never_ try to push yourself fast. Speed comes with practice, if you try to force it you only develop bad ways of doing to your subconscious mind.
_Never_ think like : "I would be a real badass, but I can not do well because of my eqiupment". I could tell some experiences, but maybe later :)

http://www.sportsmansteamchallenge.com/

its kinda like 3-gun with .22s

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Originally Posted by SAnd

Check around to the local gun clubs.

I belong to the Cherry Creek Gun Club. They have several regular competitive shooting things. I'm not inclined to that type of shooting so I don't know much about them. Most are open to the public. Everybody I talk to says that are fun and there is much sharing of information.

There is a reduced fee club membership for students.

Here is their website-

http://www.cherrycreekgunclub.org/site4.0/

When I go to the website I get logged on automatically so I'm not sure what you will see when you go there. If you want I can PM (maybe- not sure how to attach a document) or email you the October newsletter. It has a schedule of stuff and contact information for them.

This is NOT the range at Cherry Creek State Park.

The club is located 1210 S Clinton St Denver. That's kinda a few blocks west of Buckingham Square Mall.

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Depending on what kind of pistol shooting you want to do, this club does (that I know of) pin shooting and bullseye. For bullseye, you can get away with a halfway decent .22 pistol (with adjustable sights), at least two mags, hearing and eye protection, ammo, and something to carry it all in. There's a winter league for bullseye, from now till around the end of March, every Monday from 1630 till about 1930. Cost for a non-member, one caliber (you could shoot .22 and centerfire if you wanted) is $60, two is $70 if I remember correctly. You can fire as many practice matches as you want before you start scoring. You can fire a practice match (or three!) each night before you score, if you want. Bullseye isn't action pistol, but it does have the benefit of teaching and reinforcing basic shooting skills with pistol. You have to do it right to do well at bullseye. In fact, I think there was an article in this month's Guns and Ammo about that very thing.

I ran the Winter League last year, and I'm helping the guy who's doing it this year, so if you want any info on it just PM me. Heck, I could bring along my Ruger 22/45 (it's what I used when I started out at bullseye) and some ammo to get you started if you're interested.

I have really enjoyed shooting bulls-eye 22 pistol which I have done the last 2 years (November to March). We have a small club (about 25-30) men and women. It is NRA affiliated and we shoot every wednesday eve. 2 rounds each, slow fire 10 rounds in ten minutes, timed fire, 10 round in 20 second then rapid fire 10 rounds in 10 seconds. One handed. Only costs $90 a year to be member for heat maintenance ect. and targets can shoot indoor 22 only range all year. Nice to be able to take a family member any day and teach them to shoot or by yourself or a friend and just practice.

Its only once a year in Colorado but the "Glock shooting sports foundation" is cheap and fun. Plus the worst shooter can still win a random pistol prize. And the part I like most is unless you shoot the unlimited category everyone is shooting stock guns so theirs no disadvantage to being poor and no pissing contest over whos 1911 is better.

The G22 works good or a G17 if you can get one.

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Originally Posted by SA Friday

Bring 150-200 rounds, $20, and don't forget a decent belt, at least 4 mag pouches and 5 mags.

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dang maybe I will have to start going.

my seniority is starting to allow me partial weekends off, and I would love to get into some matches. I know I would get smoked, but I would like to learn to be a better pistol shooter.

I have shot a lot of trap...mostly because meets are on wednesdays and I shoot a ton at my buddy's house. I like the competition. lots of fun!

Inexpensive shooting is an Oxymoron. Ya just got to sum it up as good fun usually cost money, be it golf, cars, shooting, fishing, most anything.

The key is to finding hobbies you dont regret the money you've spent. And hopefully the hobby will contribute something that may be beneficial down the road. I feel shooting fills that void.

Enjoy and above all, be safe. Remember the actions you do reflect on all gun owners. [Beer]

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Originally Posted by SA Friday

Sorry, I missed the XDM question. Yes, they work just fine. They are harder to work on though, and pretty much have to be sent to a gunsmith for a trigger job. The grip angle is different from a Glock. Some like this, but if you are already comfortable shooting a Glock, they are an easier avenue IMO to use.

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Just wondering, were you at the aurora club shoot in Oct-Nov?