Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Some thoughts on training

Forgive me for assuming you were directing that at me, since I was the only one to use the term "race" in my post, and you mentioned something about "blathering on about race guns."

So, in answer to your question, self improvement.

I wasn't a neophyte when I began to enter competitions. But when I could place 2nd or 3rd using a stock weapon shooting in essence 230 grain full house ball, against guys with $1800 race guns (1984 prices) shooting 180 H&G semi-wadcutters with light springs that recoiled like .22lr Rugers, I was happy. And, when I edged them out occasionally, I was equally happy. But my main focus was myself. Like I said, range time where one could engage in multiple targets, rapid fire, drawing hot weapons and moving between targets were not available anywhere but during competitions. The only alternative was standing in one place and shooting leisurely at targets.

One club I belonged to had Sunday shoots where we might have moving targets at 90 degrees, moving targets charging you at an oblique angle and in one case, we actually shot from moving vehicles at both stationary and moving targets. But during the week, none of that stuff was allowed and if you popped off anything rapid fire, the powers that be would scold you and threaten your membership.

Now, my organization was a little more progressive. We trained quarterly, and some of that training involved sim-grenades, sim-munitions that stung a bit, and having instructors standing behind you firing 12ga shotguns into the dirt to your left or right with the impacts about 3 feet from your shoes while you are trying to concentrate on your sights.

We trained with a lot of different federal and foreign agencies and that was valuable stuff. But on our own time, it was difficult to ratchet it up. So competition shoots were the only game around.