Henry Rifle Forums

I thoroughly enjoy fishing .... I thoroughly enjoy watching bass tournaments, both in person sitting in my boat and on TV .... I have the highest respect for the skill of the folks who fish on the professional level .... back in my younger days, I fished in competitive (bass, walleye, and panfish) and found I really don't enjoy it .... for me fishing is a restful, recreational activity .... for me, tournament fishing adds a pressure that kills the restful, recreational atmosphere

I thoroughly enjoy shooting .... I thoroughly enjoy watching various shooting tournaments, both in person and on TV .... I have the highest respect for the skill of folks who shoot skeet (in all its forms), precision long range, Cowboy Action, fast draw and other competitions .... back in my younger days, I had limited experience in competitive fast draw competitions and found I really don't enjoy it .... to me shooting of all types is a restful, recreational activity .... for me, competitive shooting adds a pressure that kills the restful, recreational atmosphere ....

I guess I'm just weird in being this way

Nothing weird about that. For me it was just being competitive with myself. The want to always be better. But one thing that ruined it for me was watching the others around me doing anything they could including cheating just so they could be first. Where I shot there wasnt big money involved just a ribbon or hat pin to say you was first. Big deal just didnt mean that much to me. I just went for the fun of doing it and to try to be better each time out. I finally just ran out of time to do it and I got tired of watching the cheating for the ribbons. In other words the fun factor went away and so did I.

I truly understand that .... I also compete with myself in an effort to get better

Not weird at all, not even close. I've done a little competition shooting, but just enough to know I didn't enjoy it. On the other hand, I find that I am very competitive with my shooting, but it's matter of being competitive with myself, always trying to see if I can do better. It's my way of losing myself in my shooting and pushing everything else out of my mind. Have never had much interest in seeing how it compares with others, though.

As far as I'm concerned, if you are personally happy with what you've shot, it's a good target now matter what your skill level. Would hate to think that anyone would hesitate to go shooting for fear of not measuring up to someone else's idea of good shooting. The idea is to have fun, not to measure up to some arbitrary standard.

agree .... I most certainly agree

Shooting for me has always been a way of life as opposed to a 'novelty' as it seems for some. I have never really needed a range to go to and the few times I have been to one and have watched some competition shooting it looked fun but when it came down to milliseconds between winning and loosing I lost interest. I will admit many years ago I got interested in Cowboy Action and was invited to a 'shoot' and it was fun. I was given a rig with two guns to put on and a rifle & shotgun to shoot an untimed 'trial' run and I was largely in part considering getting into it - until I went to a club meeting and that 'killed' it for me. I t appeared to be a popularity contest for who had the best clothing, guns & leather. Also an interesting point I noted was that for a lot of the members Cowboy Action was their first entry into a shooting sport of any kind. Bottom line is I talked with other people about this and one person told me if I was into any other shooting/hunting sports then it might be hard to transition into it so after always being a fan of lever action rifles, SA revolvers, western movies etc. I gave up the notion.

The only preson I'm competitive with is myself.

I used to shoot in smallbore competitions, with varying degrees of success, but seeing the antics that some competitors are prepared to go to in order to 'win' made me rethink my whole approach to the sport. Nowadays, I just compete against myself. I have good days, and I have bad days .... but now, every day is a happy day!

Les wrote: Nowadays, I just compete against myself. I have good days, and I have bad days .... but now, every day is a happy day!

very well said

I am not "good enough" to compete with anyone but myself. And I kick my rear end all the time.

Been shooting in the GLOCK Sport Shooting Foundation matches for over 20 years now. GSSF has been very good to me over the years. I've travelled the USA and seen places and met people that I' never would have experienced otherwise. Not to mention a few pistols won here and there. Nice thing about GSSF is you could finish dead last and still win a nice prize. Got bumped up to Master a few years ago so I'm swimming in the deep end of the pool with the hungry sharks now. I have seen the "win at any cost" shooters and laugh at them. Shooting for me is enjoyment-not a second job. When this stops being fun I will walk away thankful for the good friends and wonderful memories I have accumulated. My worst day shooting is still better than I ever did at golf! I tell folks that shooting is a lot like sex- you don't have to be good at it to enjoy it!

I began shooting competition with both handguns and long guns in the Marine Corps. I enjoyed the fellowship among other shooters as much as the shooting. The extra shooting insured I would do well when I had to go with the unit for the required standard qualifications as well. I continued to compete when my post military career turned out to be a profession of arms. Again, because I loved to shoot, but I enjoyed the company and socializing with fellow shooters. I competed for years both at local levels in PPC and also, as someone else mentioned, shooting the Glock matches. A great time.

Revolver and Pistol classes at a State Level PPC match. In addition to keeping my skill levels sharp, my competition added credibility to my position as a department instructor. During the introduction period the Chief would outline my qualifications and that was enough. I rarely shot a firearm or felt the need to discuss my skill sets as my background spoke for itself. Most of the time when I was on the range or in the classroom, I didn't wear a duty rig or carry a weapon unless it was for demonstration purposes.

A break between range sessions at the Department Range. From Left to Right:
My Co-Instructor / Patrol Partner,
One of our Sergeants,
and myself at the far right.
(Yeah, old pictures, all of them,
I was younger and in Patrol shape)
Not rounder, like now.)

I shot competition after leaving the Corps, for about ten years or maybe a bit more, then we got a new batch of officers flowing in. The young guys wanted to scratch and argue about every target's scoring, challenge every point. They were all about a win at any cost and knew little about sportsmanship or socialization. They chatted between strings and after the matches. Among their department groups. They didn't worry about building Interdepartmental Networks, an amazingly valuable asset that could last an entire career.

The matches were becoming less and less enjoyable as the time to check and score targets doubled, then tripled as the umpires were tied up checking challenged targets up and down the line between strings. (Disputes rarely went in the favor of the young officers.) I finished out that last year and then hung up my competition belt. I was never in the matches for trophies or medals, though I built up a nice collection in ten years. I was there for the skill maintenance and for a personal goal, and I had met those years earlier.

Shooting? I could shoot on my own range, but I really missed the company of the other shooters and their fellowship. The new direction those new guys took the organization ruined that too. A lot of the other "seasoned" veteran shooters quit competing, as I had. Not all did of course, but many of us, who had been in the matches for something more than just the win... left. More and more left over a period of two or three years and the match attendance faded. Like many sports, Golf for instance.... there is more to the game than hitting that ball and walking the course.

A friend of mine, an attorney, says that many of his biggest business deals take place on the course. He is an average golfer, but he is a SHARK, and a partner in his firm. He said he is rarely competitive on the Golf Course... but he is competitive in the board rooms. Gotta pick your battles.

I love competition shooting . I can say I have done it all .. you name it I shot it . Black powder or smokeless , pistol , rifle and archery
I love building my gun and making ammo and bullet molds . I don't care for hunting or punching hole in paper . I love speed shooting steel on the clock for over 40 years .

I learned a long time ago, don't try to be better than someone else, just try to be better than myself.

JBlaisdell wrote:I learned a long time ago, don't try to be better than someone else, just try to be better than myself.

That was my plan... and it worked.
I knew there were those who I could never touch... especially my mentors. I couldn't figure out how they did it but I was sure their guns were laser guided. My performance improved dramatically over the years, and I took great pride in that... but you never know who will step up to the line beside you on any given day and never wanted to "judge that book by it's cover."

I stand in awe of those of you who can shoot under the added stress of competition. I tried it and the stress was just too much for me. When I'm relaxed, I'm at my shooting best, and the more I shoot, the more relaxed I become. Doesn't matter what kind of target or the even the gun. As long as I'm shooting, I'm a happy gal. If I go too long between shooting sessions, I get grumpy.

Hi. My name is Joanie and I'm a shooting addict.

I enjoy the type of shooting that takes me back to when I was ten. Except I don't shoot at high voltage power line insulators anymore. My main interest now is shooting inexpensive rimfire and I compete against myself.

We're definitely drifting more and more to shooting rimfire, too. Between air guns and rimfire, probably 80% of our shooting, now.

I have never shot competition. But as an old cowboy born a hundred years too late I love the timeless feel and historic rush I get from shooting my rifle or revolver. Like some others I am competing with myself.

I shoot competitive trap at a fairly high level. My next tournament is the weekend after New Year's and I'm already getting antsy about it.

I'm a competition junkie. I was born that way. My own brother, who's the exact opposite, dislikes that part of me, but has come to accept that I can't help it. I played every sport I could in my youth and some of them into adulthood. Even the "serene" pastimes of hunting and fishing have become competition venues for me at various junctures – I've competed in dozens of bass tournaments and probably 100 field trials with my bird dogs.

I'm addicted to pressure. I don't always perform well under it, but I need it. I love contests, whether I have just one opponent or 200. I don't have an absolute need to win – I can accept losing well enough – but I have a need to TRY to win against competition that's equal to or above my own skill level, and with that comes the self-induced pressure.

There have times when pressure helped me overachieve, and other times that I choked under it. Either way, I love it.

I'll win some and I'll lose some. That's the way it's always been and the way it always will be. I'm not looking to change anything.

BTW, I don't shoot rifles or handguns competitively and never have – they're just for fun and a great way to relax. It's always been the shotgun stuff that got my blood roiling.