New Shooter Experience

[Dr. K]

I took my brand new CZ455 with Weaver V24 scope out to the range Sunday to shoot smallbore for the very first time. I brought my son with me who was shooting his Henry Mini-Bolt with a 1x Ultradot Red Dot sight mounted to it. It was not a match, just us and a set of 1/5th scale steel silhouettes. I really enjoyed it, but, I found a whole new respect for all levels of silhouette shooters out there. I've got a lot of practicing to do as my crosshairs were all over the place and I could not hit the broadside of a barn without resting on a bench. I also have a much better appreciation for sight adjustments, ammo testing, and good trigger control as I could see issues I had in all these areas. What killed me is that my son was able to hit a few chickens using no magnification at all! Good to have young eyes.

The best part was, at dinner last night, my son asked if we could go to the range again this weekend. When I asked why, he said that he wanted to go and shoot 'those little metal targets' again...it was fun. I think I can find a way to make that happen!

Been reading this forum for a while...thought it would be fun to share.

[Innocent]

Dr. K, and there is nothing like the pride of having your own child beat you at a match.

Mary

[Dee]

Sounds like you both had a great time. Look at it this way if you couldn't hit much offhand it gives you a lot of room to improve..

There are plenty of people on this site who are quite familiar with having their kids beat them and beat many others as well. Don't sweat the ammo to much so long as what you're shooting now is good enough. No point in spending extra money to learn your hold and trigger control at first. After a case of CCI SV you should see some marked improvement in all the above.

Have fun most of all and remember it is only you competiting against you.


Dee

[psteiger]

I disagree with innocent. there is nothing like beating your irksome kids in a shoot off. I live for those moments. I even have a special dance..........that's never been actually seen.

[Jason]

The key is to start early enough that you still have a chance to beat your kids. I'm getting all my "dancing" in now, as my 11-year-old daughter can already beat me in sitting and kneeling, is getting close in prone, and has started improving distressingly quickly in standing. I was sure that I had a few more years before I was relegated to "gunbearer" status, but it may not be so. To make it worse, she has two younger sisters that will want me to buy gear and then carry it because they're too busy doing "we beat Dad... again" dances..

Back to the original subject, welcome to the sport, Dr. K! Last Saturday when I was at a smallbore cowboy lever action silhouette match with my daughter, it occurred to me how much more fun silhouette is now that my daughter is shooting with me. I couldn't stop grinning after she got so excited after hitting a few targets in a row. I tend to get too serious about analyzing and improving specific aspects of shooting. She reminded me how much fun the sport really is. I shot better after that.

[Innocent]

Dear BF#7 aka PSteiger, you just need a better spotta! I should spot for you then I get to see the special dance first right?

Dr K, Jason is right, being a gun bearer has its great moments!

Innocent Mary

[jneihouse]

Jason,

When the kids start beating you regularly take up spotting and claim credit for their success.....works for me

Kitty

[Dr. K]

I guess I am prepared for my share of humble pie. I don't dance but I do have an uber obnoxious version of "We Are The Champions" worked out for when the occasion presents itself!

My main goal is fun for now and to enjoy my hobby with my kids...CCI SV and lots of it is the order of the day but I will sneak in a Yo Dave trigger upgrade here in the next few weeks. Maybe that will give me a leg up.

Good evening to all!

[kevinbear]

When they start beating you it's time introduce them to strong coffee and chocolate muffins before the match in the morning!

[ShootingStar]

Dr. K,
Welcome ot the addiction!!! Hope you get a "fix" every time you need one! If there's anything we can do to help you along, let us know!

Since you've been reading this for some time, I'd like to ask you about a topic that is on all our minds regarding bringing new shooters into the sport(s).
How did you start up and what got you coming back (and therefore staying in the sport)?
What can we do as Match Directors and fellow shooters to help ensure new folks come to the matches and KEEP COMING to the matches?
What did you (and other new folks) like/dislike about your first (few) matches?

You get the idea. Thanks in advance for the help. Good luck in the shooting!

BTW - I get "pride-ful" just having my sons shoot with me win or lose! The time goes by too quickly, so enjoy every moment with them!!!

ShootingStar - Match Director
Asheville Rifle & Pistol Club
Asheville, NC - in the beautiful Western North Carolina Mountains

[Dr. K]

For me, guns and shooting have always been a part of life having grown up in an Army household and serving about 10 years in the Army reserves personally. I started with shotguns at the age of 8 on a Remington 1100 20ga. I shot mainly shotgun and handgun until recent years when I became the proud owner of a Henry H001...then I got the rifle bug. I got interested in silhouette shooting and in this forum because my club here in Austin is set up for it and it seemed like it would be fun. It made sense to me as a place to start gaining more experience in rifle marksmanship and improving. I will say that I would not have become interested in the silhouette game unless I had joined the local club a couple of years ago because I had never heard of it until that time. To address some of the specific questions....

I keep coming back to it because I got started when I was young. It starts with the parents and that is why I am trying to get my kids out to enjoy shooting sports now! Once you get beyond that, there are so many things competing for people's time and attention, it becomes a difficult proposition to recruit. I need to start bringing my kids friends as well!

Sadly, I have not been to any matches yet as the regular schedule times for me haven't worked out for me yet. I hope to solve that problem soon.

[Jerry G]

When the kids start getting interested in the other sex, they become easier to beat. Their minds turn to mush.

[AddictedToSB]

I took my brand new CZ455 with Weaver V24 scope out to the range Sunday to shoot smallbore for the very first time......It was not a match, just us and a set of 1/5th scale steel silhouettes.

I got interested in silhouette shooting and in this forum because my club here in Austin is set up for it and it seemed like it would be fun.....Sadly, I have not been to any matches yet as the regular schedule times for me haven't worked out for me yet. I hope to solve that problem soon.

Austin, Texas?? If so, what time where you there on Sunday? Because we had a match at the Austin Rifle Club this past Sunday at 9 am, and I was there until at least 11:30 am.

[Dr. K]

Cool! Austin Texas is where I am and ARC is the club! I happened to be out Sunday but it was from around 3PM to 5PM before the big rain storm. The usual match times conflict with our normal Sunday church services which was and has been my snag.

I've heard the matches have been held inconsistently but maybe that is just rumor? If it is a go next month maybe I ought to get on the work around plan now so I can attend!

[AddictedToSB]

The smallbore rifle match is every 3rd Sunday. The "official" time is 9 am, but it's sometimes closer to 9:30 when we start the match to give people enough time to practice and sight-in. It used to be at 1 pm, but we had very poor turnout and lots of folks said they would come earlier in the morning. So we switched it to morning, and still had poor turnout for a while. The match director doesn't like to hold the match unless at least 5 people show up to shoot. But we have been having around 8-12 people lately. Part of the reason people think it's inconsistent is calendar on the ARC website is frequently messed up and either doesn't show it or shows it as cancelled.

I will unfortunately miss the next 2 months due to being out of town each time (possibly 3 months if I go to Zwolle). But I also live only 2 miles from the range, so if you ever want to meet there on a different weekend and get some tips, practice, try a different rifle, etc, feel free to email or PM me. I also practice almost every Thursday morning around 9 am.