my first match, nervous!!

[kevin p]

I will be shooting my first SB Silhouette match this coming sunday, Shooting a CZ 452 American and a Bushnell Banner series scope. I still need to sight in rifle for the different distances. Printed some targets out do that with this coming saturday. Those dang chickens look small. Anyway I am nervous and I hope I at least hit a few of those things. I was  a pretty damn good trapshooter and one time hitting many 100 straights but this game looks much more challenging.

Wish me luck

Kevin

[ajj]

The chicken is the second-easiest target. Wait until you see the turkey at 77 meters.
If you've learned to handle the competitive pressure of 100 straight in trap you'll be just fine. Good luck to you but, more important, here's hoping you have a fun time and that the sport grabs you the way it did us.

[Jerry G]

Heck, them turkeys are just big, skinny chickens.  Don't be too disapointed if you don't do very well for awhile.  I have seen lots of people show up and only hit 10 or 8 and never come back.  That's where most of us started.  Good luck!

[kevin p]

Thanks for the response. I am actually hoping to hit at least 5. I am sure i will have fun. Rifle shooting is the type I have the least experience with. I will find out how hard it is but that is half the fun. A new challenge is always something I like. How old were you guys when you got started. I hope this isnt a young mans sport. I am 39 by the way.

Kevin

[GeoNLR]

I got started when I was 26 or so. I shot 6/40's and 7/40's for the first year...LOL The challange is what kept me hooked, still is!

By the way, 40 (or older?) would probally be the average age on the line... We need more 39 year olds, I'm sick of geting beat by Women and Children!

Chicken

[kevin p]

Chicken, I relate to what you are saying. I have shot IPSC the last few years and realized I just dont run fast enough through a course of fire. I am real excited about this match. My boys are very interested in giving it a try to  9 and 11 year olds. What do you guys shoot by the way. I have a  CZ452 American.

Kevin

[shootingpaul]

good luck,
hey - my first match - I preety much spend in the washroom, so as lomg as you are on the firing line - you are doing soo much better
s-paul

[ajj]

I was a youthful and vibrant 50 y.o. when I started and I would have been very happy with a five.
Women and children just don't seem to understand how (1) important and (2) difficult the game is. Consequently, they shoot very high scores. Sorta like cheating.
I haven't shot just a whole lot of trap but, you know, you might find that it's not that different. Both guns are moving, after all. Just slide that dot up to the spot on the target and stroke the trigger confidently through. Don't drive yourself nuts trying to stop the dot. Give us a full report.

[kevin p]

ajj,  that makes me feel much better. How old are you now and what kind of progression have you seen since you started.

Thanks

Kevin

[nomad]

Kevin,

Let's just put it this way:
AJJ hit ALL the targets he shot at in his first match. The reason his score was  low was because gunpowder had just been invented and he was having trouble working out the loads!  :-D

Just come on out and have fun. Nobody worries about your score -- they're too busy worrying about their own!  :eek:

Look around, see what works and think about how to apply what you learn. This game is mostly played between your ears.

[ajj]

I'm now a youthful and vibrant 58 although I look much younger.
Let's just say that I've progressed steadily if not terribly rapidly. I'm sort of a slow learner. Honestly, I shoot a little better each season and damned proud of it. By the time I'm 70 I should be challenging Imas and Dan and S.Paul. Of course, they'll probably have gotten better, too.
Are you within driving range of North Central Louisiana? I've got a heck of a proposal for a good use of the weekend of June 3-4.

[1armoured]

Kevin,
Us 'Olduns' get a bit of fun out of beating all you 'Young Bucks', (under 60 that is !).

I started at age 44,  18yrs ago, shooting with a cheap and nasty Norinco and 3-9 Shinwa variable, and managed to get to 9/40 in my first year.

I've upgraded the hardware, and progressed steadily since, through the grades/classes and last year was my best, shooting a 36, and a 100/120, as I get my head around it a bit better.

It's getting a bit harder this year, as the wheels seem to be falling off the battered body, but it's still just as much fun !
(Just hope I don't run out of body parts to remove.)

Here's the secrets to my success.
(Just Don't tell anyone else. )

Once you get accustomed to the position and can place your crosshairs on the target consistently, and then get control of your head, your scores will steadily improve.

Get a good position.
Get a shooting vest that fits, and you feel comfortable in.
Get yourself physically and mentally fit, so you can shoot your last shot as comfortably as your first.
Get yourself properly sighted in for all the distances.
Shoot plenty of 'Paper silhouettes' to see where you're 'missing', as opposed to 'hitting' !
(Or 'Not Hitting' if you're a bit sensitive about the word 'miss', and I need to be a bit more Politically Correct with my language !)

Pick a spot on the silhouette, say just above the leg on a chicken or a turkey..(concentrate on the target, and not on your crosshair)
Try and reduce your wobble area (with plenty of practice.)
Concentration and Discipline....(wait for the shot, and wait and wait and wait)
Control your breathing....don't hold your breath.
Hone your reflexes to take the shot when your crosshair or dot sits and 'dwells' on your target.
Trigger control.......(squeeze, don't jerk)
and don't break too early. (Squeeze, one,two,three,...then break)
and follow through.....(look for the hit on the silhouette)

Master that and you're most of the way there !

Someone (in jest) once told me;
'Steady your crosshairs on the target and squeeze the trigger, while following through, and you should shoot 40/40 every time !

It's not easy.....that's why we shoot silhouette !
cheers, and good shooting,

Sean in 'Godzone'

[RamSlammer]

G'Day All
             Just a comment to Kevin never worry about your score. Unfortunately a lot of shooters in all disciplines forget why they started "TO HAVE FUN" if you are having fun who gives a rats arse what you get. We need as many new (young or old) shooters as we can get.
I've been shooting for a while and this year at the Tasmania (as in devil) state titles I turned in a big fat 5 in one match, I took a bit of a ribbing from my mates but after the next match who cares everyone has a shocker now and then.

As to your CZ I have 5 CZ's vintage 1951- a new American and they all shoot better than me, if it shoots well and you are happy with it just go out and use it.

I hope you get as much enjoyment out of hitting those little critters as I do.
Juddy

[kevin p]

Thanks for all of your replies. You all make be excited to start shooting. I have some silhouettes on paper and will try and sight in the scope this weekend before the match. As long as i dont get a big fat 0 I will be happy. I just love to shoot and that is what matters. There was some very very good advice on here and I will probably print it out and hang it up on the wall. If the wife will let me. I will post my results and my opinions of my match when I am done on Sunday.

Thanks

Kevin