LOL do people actually shoot anymore?

[xsn10s]

I know plenty of farmers that are too cheap to actually become good. They are the box a year type.

Dropping a gopher bomb down the hole or opportunistically shooting one with a .22 @ 20yds out the tractor window is more likely than trying to hunt them.

That does not translate well at all to finishing top 10 at a match.

What it takes is dedication and drive. A guy has got to want it. Even then natural abilities may not allow the W.

There are those types. What the percentage of higher skilled to "too cheap to be good" who knows. Most of the farmers and ranchers I know are better than the average shooter. I got out of competitive shooting because I got tired of hearing "tactical" this or "tactical" that. Not much "tactical" about a lot of the matches. You can definitely build skills through competitive shooting of many disciplines. You can build a lot of bad habits too. For me I've been through enough classes, training courses, competitions of many sports to know what I want. So for the most part I'll start training again to accomplish what I want. Long story short don't worry about the nay sayers and such. Do what you do to the degree you want to do it at.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Ya need money and time to do well.

Absolutely. The people that want to win bad enough are scraping up the money and carving out the time.

I know world class shooters that have put in enormous amounts of time and money to get to a point where sponsors foot most of the bill. But I also know nobodies that show up in 98 Camry's with rust holes in the doors and camp at the range to save $262 over the match weekend and give the top dogs a run for their money. These two very different groups of people want it.
Then we have the guys I hear complaining every weekend. They show up in 2021 GMC Sierras with nice wheels and big tires. They go out drinking most Friday nights. They go trail riding in a $19k UTV on weekends with no matches.
They think they want it, but they really don't. It's a priorities thing. We all arrange them differently and that's fine. But pretending you WANT to win matches when the reality is that you'd LIKE to win matches is silly.

 

[Fig]

I've been training someone for roughly the last year while they were recovering from a back surgery and couldn't really shoot comfortably. He had wanted to get into it more seriously and we came up with a plan where we'd get together twice a week and I'd go through everything. I honestly thought I'd burn him out because it was a ton of work, learning and constant improvement on things you can't just YouTube (well you can, but they're mostly totally fucking wrong and/or Fudd level).

He had a bolt gun and nice Vortex scope beforehand, and shot a bit but was soon as I asked him how he adjusted for the huge temperature swings or the gigantic differences in DA from day to day we get out here and he just looked at me, I knew we were starting from the bottom. Which was actually kind of ideal.

So for months, we went over basics and built onto them. I had a mapped out plan of what we'd do, what we'd learn and how to use it based on what you should now know. He went from never even having data to knowing how to set everything up and take specific notes for the day and position we were in. He can spot and set up first round hits, immediate adjustments, get you on new targets, make decisions, has a very good understanding of how wind works and tricks you and communicates information as good as anyone I've ever had to do this with. He understands equipment selection based on the mission, gear layouts, options depending on what we're doing, basically everything. I still get random texts and calls from him studying things during the week and asking questions. And I thought I'd burn him out at the start.

All of this after roughly a year.

I had him learn everything while I used a 22LR and we started on targets at around 100-175 and then moved on to 22 sized targets at 250 out to 300. Then I started bringing out my Mk12Mod1 to mix things up and go much further. The first time he saw what a 77g round could do, to his amazement as he was under the impression you couldn't get far with 5.56, he put together a parts list and built a Mod0.

So whats my point in this?

He knows and works with a ton of 'gun people' that 'shoot alot'. Some are even the 'I shot a .5 group at a mile' types.

Anyone that he has ever told what we are doing as far as equipment and hits thinks he is 110% full of shit.

22LR with consistent hits at 200+? Fucking impossible.

5.56 at 712 yards on a 60% IPSC going 4/5 or 5/5? No fucking way. (literally did this yesterday to the point it got boring

Doing all of this in crazy southern Utah desert winds in canyons? You're a fucking liar.

What is this with people? I see this trend more and more. EVERYONE has a gun and/or a 'sniper rifle' and has all sorts of stories. Then when people actually do things, people literally lose their minds trying to prove to you how a 77g 5.56 round 'looses too much energy' to even go 700 yards LOL

Does anyone actually fucking shoot anymore or does everyone just buy shit and play Tactical Mr.Potatohead with gun accessories for pictures? Anytime I've had anyone out there (if theyd even show up) theyd be a total shit show but have like 8k worth of shit on their custom gun. WTF people?

And for those that are interested, the Mk12Mod1 I have (because I know you're going to ask):

Colt M16A1 lower US gov marked
KAC trigger
HCS built Colt upper with the Mk12 chamber
Douglas barrel
Ops Inc suppressor
Nightforce NAVSPEC 2.5-10x24 (second run version so it is mil/mil)
Nightforce rings
Wilcox MRDS ring half
Insight MRDS
Harris bipod
Wilcox RAPTAR

I shoot McCourt Munitions MK262 that he made specifically for this chamber/gun.

They don't know what they don't know. This is a tiny community. We tend to think that even basic shit is basic. It ain't.

 

[xsn10s]

They don't know what they don't know. This is a tiny community. We tend to think that even basic shit is basic. It ain't.

I think a lot of people are caught up with gear or equipment rather than the fundamental skills or techniques. Wowed or driven by the latest greatest stuff to get them to a higher level of performance. Gear helps, but imo perfecting basic skills is where you gt good. Doesn't matter if that's with martial arts, shooting, or playing the guitar. Gotta have the basics is where it's at. My 2 cents from the peanut gallery.

 

[hlee]

There’s a lot of guys in here taking enjoyable hobbies and turning them in to soul sucking jobs. Fuck a whole lot o’ that. I mean, practice, get better. But, fuck. Tournament fishing is the best way I can think of to ruin a beautiful day on a lake.

 

[Emerson0311]

They don't know what they don't know. This is a tiny community. We tend to think that even basic shit is basic. It ain't.

I didn’t know what was possible either. A 2 1/2” steel is in grave danger at 200 when I have my 22 out. A couple of the older hardcores asked what it could do at the range the other day. Ding, ding, ding…. They moved on without comment.