Advice to Myself

Advice to Myself


I've had some time to reflect on my 15 or so months shooting, and wished that I had some of the lessons or knowledge that I do today, I think it would have made the introduction to the sport so much more enjoyable.

If you've started at the beginning of my blog, you'd see me as a transitory gun owner, from one to another, I never had luck finding out what I liked, but by owning, and renting, I found things about each firearm that I liked, and disliked.

First piece of advice would be to rent a lot of guns to start, and don't avoid anything. Get a feel for everything. I was limited initially because Linda hated the idea of an exposed hammer, and she thought a "complicated" gun with a safety and a hammer, that was heavy was just too much, so no steel frame guns for her, it would have to be a polymer. Nothing that was Double/Single Action. Here, 15 months later, we are both shooting steel frame guns, and there is not a whole lot of polymer in the safe.

Every gun felt different, when I was just getting started, I had no idea what the difference between a high bore axis, and a low bore axis was. I had no idea why I might want more "light" in my sights. I had no idea why some guns were harder to control, had more recoil, or muzzle flip. I thought the big thing was how it felt in my hand. Trigger? No idea on what the differences were, what a reset was, and why it would matter. Rent a ton of guns, and just buy one gun, stick with it. You don't have to spend a ton of money on it, just get out and shoot, you'll learn over time if you get to know your own first, and then try others. Get a baseline of info, trying a ton with no background may not be the best idea. You'll probably want something new in 10 months or a year, but then you'll have some knowledge to go about making the right selection.

I went thru the P30L, and the PPQ before finding the CZ, Linda went thru a P99, Glock 34, and XDM 5.25", before settling on the CZ. That's a lot of coin that would have been better spent on ammo, practice, matches, and education. I won't make that mistake again. Granted I've done okay on selling and trading, but that's thousands of dollars on guns, ammo, and time that could have been better invested.

The other piece of advice I got early on was to get a .22 and shoot that first, not to worry about a 9mm. I won't say it was bad advice, but I'm glad I did not follow it. Sure, you can shoot more .22 cheaply, and build good fundamental skills, but one of the reasons I got into shooting, was to get involved in competitive shooting sports, and if I had gone that route, I might still be a casual target shooter, and not as involved as I am today. I ended up with a .22 eventually, once I had a taste for the sport because I wanted to do it, but had I gone that way first.....

Today I laugh at how naive I was when I started this, a box of ammo every couple of weeks at the range, a gun that Linda and I would share....I had no clue what I did not know. The bottom line is that it can be an expensive passion, and I don't mind the investment I've made, I just wish I had allocated the dollars smarter. The gun was never my problem in my progress this past year, it was the least of my issues.

This year, there will be an early capital expenditure in a large floor safe. My little safe is filled to overflowing, and with Lauren now owning a long gun of her own, it's time. Other than that, no new hand guns this year, possibly a .22 conversion kit for the CZ, or a CCW style for Linda if she goes that path. This year, continued education, and a mapped out agenda for progress, and a serious schedule of 7-8 major matches at least.

Sound Like Anyone You Know?

My other goal? To do a better job of listening to people who know better, they are out there with some good advice, and trying to help, plus they have the experience of being where I have been. Easier said than done, but my reviewing of track record has not exactly filled me with pride looking at the mistakes I made.