A Shooting Journey
In August of 2012, I picked up a handgun for the very first
time. I was never an anti-gunner, or a gun grabber, I was just monumentally
disinterested. Growing up, sure, I
played with toy guns, I suspect most boys growing up in the late 70’s and 80’s
did the same. My father had a revolver, and a shotgun locked up in the attic,
and while I saw them, I never touched them, never knew where the key was, and
never really cared.
A Police Officer friend talked to me about shooting from time
to time, and I suspect that’s a large part of what got me interested. Not just
shooting, but finding some way to compete shooting. I last played football in
college, and at 38 I was a horrible golfer, a bad tennis player, but I still
had a competitive streak a mile wide, and no outlet for it. I looked online,
when I had the “idea” about shooting, and found things like IDPA, USPSA, PPC,
and Steel Challenge, and was made more curious.
Before I could embark on anything like that, I had to talk to my wife, because
a firearm was a big deal. It was an emotional discussion, and being a husband,
and a father, we had a lot to talk about.
The journey began in earnest with both of us applying for
our Illinois FOID cards, which in and of itself was an experience, and I got to
know my State Representative a little better than I anticipated, as the
Illinois State Police were slow to process my application. At this time, we
signed up, and took a basic firearm’s class. We learned some fundamentals, how
to be safe, how to hold a gun, aim a gun, and pull the trigger. It was an
interesting affair, and my wife who was on the fence put her first two shots in
to the dead center of the bullseye, and got a little more interested.
I joined some forums, went to stores, started to look for
something to buy that I wanted. I rented all sorts of guns, and I admit I made
some mistakes. In our class, I found that the H&K P30 was a great fit in my
hand, and ended up deciding that I should go “all in”, invest the $1,000 it
would cost, and buy the P30L. As excited as I was, I had more equipment to buy,
and I wanted to go see the local IDPA club shoot a couple of times, I wanted to
know what shooting sports was all about. Seeing a YouTube video is a long way
from seeing something in person.
I had exchanged e-mails with the club president, and he
referred me to another shooter there who also shot the P30. I went and watched
a match to see what things were all about before signing up for a match the
following month. The other P30 shooter
was a mentor, helping me with gear for my first match, as I needed extra
magazines, and a holster since mine had not arrived. He spent a good amount of
time talking to me about safety, and fortunately was RO, patiently explaining
things to me, insuring that I was safe.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget that first match, my only concern was
being safe, (no cover required for the first match) I’m not sure I hit targets
too often, but it was an adrenaline rush. I had an inkling of how much fun this
could be. The range we shot at was tiny, there were all sorts of issues with
ventilation, and with one range, you shot, stopped, broke down, and had to
reset stages. People were nice, but I felt a little out of place, and despite
having fun, I was not quite sure what to make of things.
From October ’12, thru December ’12, I shot a monthly IDPA
match, I tried a match of USPSA, and was baffled by the rules, and shocked
seeing people shoot Limited and Open guns. I was still at a place where I knew
I liked to shoot, I struggled doing it, and I was more focused on being safe
than anything else. It was a slow transition for me, but the people in the club
were supportive, were helpful, and were encouraging for a new shooter, without them, I suspect I may
have never ended up where I am today.
In late January, having put in the V1 P30L trigger (“light”
LEM) and still struggling with it, one of the local master shooters suggested I
pick up a .22, and start practicing with it, because ammo was expensive,
scarce, and I needed trigger time. He also turned me on to a few books, The Ben Stoeger series of books, Champion Shooting, and his Practical Pistol book. The
books were an eye opener for me, and gave me a place to start practicing dry
fire at home. I found a Smith & Wesson M&P22, in part because it was
about the size of my P30, and gave me a similar feel in the hand, when compared
to a Walther P22, or Ruger. A few days after I picked up the M&P 22, I went
back to a local gun store, and saw a Walther PPQ in 9mm. The Walther was my “runner-up”
when I set out to purchase a gun, and now having shot for a few months, I
picked it up, and had a new appreciation for the trigger. I made a phone call
to the wife, told her what I’d found, and her response was “Happy Valentine’s
Day.” I looked, realized it really was, and wrote the check anyhow. (Have I
mentioned how incredibly awesome and supportive my wife has been in this
journey, and without that, no chance I’d be writing this today?)
I needed gear, and had to find and order extra mag’s, mag
pouches, and so on, so I continued to shoot the P30L until I could get my gear
completed. About that time, my wife decided that she was ready to commit to
shooting, and she wanted something of her own. She repeated the process I went
thru, renting guns, trying them out to find something she liked, and she was
between the Glock 17, the Springfield XDM, and the Walther P99 A/S which ended
up winning out, in part because we could share magazines, and some gear. The only other piece of gear that I bought during
this time, was a little video camera, suggested because watching video after a
match would help me isolate things that I was doing wrong, so I could practice
them. Let’s just say that I was train wreck, and you really could have started
anywhere, and not gone wrong.
By St. Patrick’s Day, my
wife and I were able to shoot our first match together (she had shot one a few
weeks earlier using a borrowed P30) with our own gear. I watch the video’s
today, and I feel as if we were going in slow motion, no confidence, more
things wrong than right, and if I’m going to be proud of anything, it’s that we
were safe. A week after that, I was ready, and made my switch to the Walther
PPQ, which is where I am today.
In the past 7 months, I’ve found myself hooked by the sport.
I found myself taking skills and drills classes monthly, I started shooting
every match that I could locally, and then willing to drive a few hours away to
shoot. This summer I have shot about a match a week. I gave up on IDPA and moved entirely to USPSA,
and never looked back. My feelings on IDPA can easily be the subject of another
entire blog. I won a gun at an IDPA State Match that turned into a Glock 34, I
bought a Springfield XDM 5.25” with the intention I’d switch to it. Instead, my wife sold her P99,
kept the XDM for herself, and I have no intention of switching until at least I
earn my “B” class USPSA card. The Glock 34 is in the safe, and if Walther makes
a 5” barrel PPQ, with paddle mag release, I’ll be all over it in the spring.
For my 40th Birthday, my wife got me a Walther PPS, something that I
wanted eventually for Illinois CCW. A
year ago, I had one handgun, and thought that would be all I’d ever own, need
to own, or want to own. Today I have five, and I’m starting to look for a bigger
safe, because I know these five will grow. I bought a Dillon 650 so I could
reload my own ammo. It turns out everyone was right, you don’t save money doing
that, you end up shooting more.
In the past year I got interested in the 2nd
amendment, in firearms, I started to educate myself on facts, and started to
form my own opinions. I joined the NRA. I found something that I can so, and
share with my wife. I took my 7 year old daughter shooting, and not only did
she have fun, she decided she wants to shoot in the Olympics. She wants Santa
to bring her a .22 Rifle, if she does not get one for her Birthday first. I’ve
taken classes, I’ve gotten involved with the local club, I would always help
tear down, paste, but now I go a day ahead of time and I help set-up for a
match.
When I went to my first IDPA match, I had no idea what kind
of people went and did that. My preconceived notion was that I was going to see
a lot of camouflage, and farm equipment hats. I know that’s not exactly
flattering, and I’m embarrassed to admit it, but that’s about what I thought. I
could not have been more wrong, I met doctor’s, policeman, professionals,
construction workers, I met an amazingly good group of people. I can say it
today, but it took me 39 years to meet a group of people that I felt totally
comfortable with, that I respect, and would give the shirt off my back for.
It’s a group of people who have been open, honest, helpful, and have gone way
out of their way for me, and my family. They define what it means to be a friend.
I’m grateful beyond words to these people.
So here I am, I’ve spent a year toying around, and finally
getting serious. I’ve went from painfully horrible (I still watch the video’s)
to being alternately painful, horrible, to feeling occasionally good about
myself. I’ve got some definitely goals, I am going to be a “B” Class USPSA
shooter by the end of March ’14, there is a substantial bet that goes with
that. Since I was a journalism major in college who has never used it, I wanted
to blog my experience, from now thru March, I want my writing to detail what
I’m doing, so I can look back at it. I’d also hope that what I say, or do will
inspire someone else to put in the effort to meet their goals, and finally,
because I think this is an amazing community. When the media, groups like
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and other gun grabbers try to paint guns and gun
owners as unsafe, I wish those of us involved in shooting sports could be held up as a rebuttal. We come from all walks of life, we own weapons, shoot, and do
so responsibly. We abide by the laws, and prove that guns are not the problem.
Most owners do own responsibly. Okay, I suspect that from time to time as I
detail my progress, there will be an occasional entry where I express my
feelings, political or not.
If my ramblings do nothing more than chart my progress, so
be it, if someone reads and enjoys, then I’ll be glad.
Cheers
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