Inexpensive Competition Shooting?

[Anton]

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?

[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.

[Anton]

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.

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.

[SA Friday]

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.

[Irving]

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.

[SA Friday]

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.

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

[Irving]

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.

[soco11]

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.

[sniper7]

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

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!

[Limited GM]

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.