Taking the plunge

[CharlesP]

A few months ago I took part in my first competition, a registered 100 bird ESP at my local shooting school. I had wanted to experience a competition for some time, but kept putting it off for one reason or another. I have now done three, and I'm hooked. My first attempt was pretty poor, nerves got the better of me, even though there's actually nothing to be nervous about. All the other competitors were a grand bunch, friendly, polite, helpful, and in the main vastly better shots than myself. Now I find myself counting the days to the next one.

The competitions offer me rather more than my normal Tuesday morning "50 bird wandering around with chums". There's no argument about "do we shoot that stand at the end even though we can't hit 'em" or "shall we keep scores" or "whose turn is it" because in a competition someone tells you where to go, what to shoot, and keeps the scores. It's formal in a way, and structured. You also get to see some excellent performances and meet some great blokes (no ladies have yet appeared on any squad I have joined)

But there's a reluctance to enter competitions among my chums; none of them can adequately articulate a reason but they're not interested. It's not the money. Nor is it (in most cases) fear of not doing very well, nor of lack of time.

In the view of fellow forum users what are the barriers to entering competitions?

 

[Nimbusgb]

Some people are put off by competition in any form, you are not going to get them to a registered shoot, ever. I shoot regularly with one such bloke. He's a pretty good shot but just not in to competing! 

Others may be wary of looking out of place or messing up etiquette wise, breaking rules or generally 'getting it wrong'.

My first reg was a full blown Fitasc ( 45 scored ) and I must say, much as you have found, that shooting has been particularly accepting of a newbie unlike some other pursuits I've had a go at.

Southdown 100 Reg sporting tomorrow and may squeeze in Northall club Saturday comp on the way home!

 

[schmokinn]

i think a lot of people think the targets will be to hard for them but maybe do not want to admit it?
i enjoy the challenge of targets that are harder to hit,i probably concentrate more at registered competitions than at local club events where i can be distracted by the people i am shooting with and generally relax to much.
incidentally how was Purbeck on wednesday...i almost made it but the clowns at BMW took 6 hours longer than the estimate to program a key code!
mind you its the cleanest the car has been this year

 

[CharlesP]

I wasn't at Purbeck on Wednesday - their ESP is next week. I was there for a wander round on Tuesday, a number of stands have changed, none of them any easier. The breakfast is still good, though! (I have a theory that an awful lot of men my age go clay shooting just for the bacon bap/full English or what have you that their wives simply wouldn't allow)

I'm not convinced that the competitions are actually offering much more difficult targets. "When we wander around" we just do whatever targets are there on each stand, and we go round them in sequence to make a stand of 8 or 10 birds. In the competitions there will be two birds, you get to try them four or maybe five times. Naturally on our Tuesday wanderings we haven't been trying simultaneous pairs, at least not until recently.

When  you have a look at the scores of registered shoots on the CPSA web site, sure there are people well into the nineties, but there are loads with much lower scores. And of course these are the same people that you've seen me shooting with at Pilford, where every shoot is effectively a competition, complete with trophies (they've all won at least one there) and classifications - indeed a rather more common sense classification than the CPSA one.

Coime over and join us next Wednesday, there's a distant rising left to right target that has defied all my efforts to hit it. They're bound to include it as well as the invisible blaze one that comes down the banking.

I feel your pain about car key codes...

Nimbus you may be right about the "doing it wrong/etiquette" stuff. I still don't really know what the rules say about carrying my semi-auto around, but nobody has complained yet with me carrying it in its sleeve right into the cage...

 

[Will Hewland]

A few months ago I took part in my first competition, a registered 100 bird ESP at my local shooting school. I had wanted to experience a competition for some time, but kept putting it off for one reason or another. I have now done three, and I'm hooked. My first attempt was pretty poor, nerves got the better of me, even though there's actually nothing to be nervous about. All the other competitors were a grand bunch, friendly, polite, helpful, and in the main vastly better shots than myself. Now I find myself counting the days to the next one.

The competitions offer me rather more than my normal Tuesday morning "50 bird wandering around with chums". There's no argument about "do we shoot that stand at the end even though we can't hit 'em" or "shall we keep scores" or "whose turn is it" because in a competition someone tells you where to go, what to shoot, and keeps the scores. It's formal in a way, and structured. You also get to see some excellent performances and meet some great blokes (no ladies have yet appeared on any squad I have joined)

But there's a reluctance to enter competitions among my chums; none of them can adequately articulate a reason but they're not interested. It's not the money. Nor is it (in most cases) fear of not doing very well, nor of lack of time.

In the view of fellow forum users what are the barriers to entering competitions?

Firstly, I'm only replying with your quote, as there is a bug that precludes me from just replying below. Matt!

Well, it's nice that shooting is available in any manner you like, but if there were no competitions then I think I would probably quit. Practice is something I only do to dial out some of my many deficiencies. I very rarely just do a round for no reason. As somebody who has been shooting a while, it's just breaking pottery for no purpose in my book. The whole progression of scores, testing yours against others, having a purpose to be shooting, all comes with competitions, preferably registered ones, so that the scores count and grade you..

When I do practice, I hate it when the caddy asks me what I want to shoot. It's all about being presented with it and dealing with it.

 

[Ian Lawrence]

I'm the polar opposite of Will Hewland, I think? (Perish the thought!).  :smile:

The thought of shooting for competitive purposes makes me shudder. For me shooting is all about practice, and that is practice for live game shooting. The use of inanimate targets was invented for this very purpose but has been corrupted into the "measuring oneself against another" type of competition ever since. It lends itself to this as a set of clay targets can be repeated to ensure fairness for comparative reasons, which cannot be reproduced in the field on live game.

Personally I don't feel the need to be analysed and graded against anyone else. How I perform is purely personal to me, and how happy I am about my performance is measured by my own personal expectations.

Yes, I am spared the occasional humiliation, but I am also unable to have many witnesses to some particularly outstanding shot. The only way this can be put across is to re-tell the story, in the hope someone will believe you. Those are the shots that are forever etched on the brain, and which are cherished forever. For me this is my reward, and so much more valuable then some plastic trophy or a handful of cash (which is easily forgotten).

I have shot in competitions over many decades, but never with any other purpose than to be challenged by the targets and to put in a creditable performance within my own parameters.

Each to their own however. Competitions are there for all to enjoy for whatever reason you have. Make of them what you will. (Just avoid the politics, it will kill you!!) :wink:

 

[Will Hewland]

Nobody is right or wrong. Great to have the choice and to do what floats your boat!

 

[schmokinn]

good job i didn't get there then!!

if work allows i will be there on wednesday...shooting tuesday though so will have to see

as Will says everybody should shoot how they enjoy it,rough,comp,practice...i am relatively happy as long as the gun goes bang,breaking the clay is a bonus!

 

[ips]

fear of failure.... Simples

 

[Doctor Lecter]

I use to do a bit of game shooting and pigeon shooting ,  you can miss half a dozen then hit a screamer  , down the pub its only the screamer talked about  , no one keeps score !  anyway I discovered clays  esp  and loved it  no living creature harmed  ( only the shooter mentally )     im only a average shot but love the sport   , different grounds and targets  to enjoy  really don't miss killing stuff   but each to their own  we must all have choice  , .  ips is about right imo .      :bye:

 

[Ian Lawrence]

fear of failure.... Simples

Or, confidence in One's ability, without feeling the need to prove it, constantly?  :smile:

I guess a man has to know his limitations (To quote a certain character of film).

 

[bisondan]

I was in a similar situation to you, I was going to the same local shoots on a Sunday morning and I was shooting the same targets over and over again.

I am quite a competitive person by nature but I also like a challenge and I got to the stage where Sunday morning shooting became boring and repetitive so over the last few months I've got myself out there.  I had a three hour lesson with Ed who set me on my way with a good plan of attack and I've felt rejuvenated my shooting by entering registered competitions, getting round different grounds, and practicing on quality targets on a regular basis.

I'm not worried about winning anything I'm just concentrating on improving my shooting and pushing myself as far as possible and I'm really enjoying it.

This might not be for everyone but I think the way I'm shooting at the moment gives me more purpose and a reason to get out there.

 

[Les53]

As a trap shooter, over the years I've shot plenty of comps, both registered and non registered. I've now become an old git who quite frankly cant be bothered with comps most of the time. If it happens to start raining for example, I just want to pack my gear into the car and head for the pub, or stay in the clubhouse and wait for the rain to stop! Or I may shoot a couple of rounds and decide to call it a day. You can't do those sorts of things when you've booked in for a comp! The other issue for me is time, my nearest trap ground is about 1.5hrs away now and to shoot a comp means being out all day, however I always have other things going on, especially on a Sunday, the day when most comps seem to take place. Most of my free time is during the week and on Saturdays, so that is when I mainly shoot these days. I guess most would say I'm not a serious shooter anymore , I guess its probably true if comps are taken into account! But who cares? Certainly not me!

 

[Stolly27]

A few months ago I took part in my first competition, a registered 100 bird ESP at my local shooting school. I had wanted to experience a competition for some time, but kept putting it off for one reason or another. I have now done three, and I'm hooked. My first attempt was pretty poor, nerves got the better of me, even though there's actually nothing to be nervous about. All the other competitors were a grand bunch, friendly, polite, helpful, and in the main vastly better shots than myself. Now I find myself counting the days to the next one.

The competitions offer me rather more than my normal Tuesday morning "50 bird wandering around with chums". There's no argument about "do we shoot that stand at the end even though we can't hit 'em" or "shall we keep scores" or "whose turn is it" because in a competition someone tells you where to go, what to shoot, and keeps the scores. It's formal in a way, and structured. You also get to see some excellent performances and meet some great blokes (no ladies have yet appeared on any squad I have joined)

But there's a reluctance to enter competitions among my chums; none of them can adequately articulate a reason but they're not interested. It's not the money. Nor is it (in most cases) fear of not doing very well, nor of lack of time.

In the view of fellow forum users what are the barriers to entering competitions?

hi charles

i really want to get into competition shooting could you tell me where to start or do i need to join the cpsa im confused how it works hahah

 

[CharlesP]

Hi Stolly.

Just find your nearest Clay Club or Shooting school, and see if they run competitions. Pop in and ask - usually they'll be very helpful. They will tell you if you need to be a CPSA member.

CPSA membership seems to arouse lots of controversy, so I will leave it to others to discuss the merits of membership!

Good luck.

 

[Sian]

Hi Stolly.

Just find your nearest Clay Club or Shooting school, and see if they run competitions. Pop in and ask - usually they'll be very helpful. They will tell you if you need to be a CPSA member.

CPSA membership seems to arouse lots of controversy, so I will leave it to others to discuss the merits of membership!

Good luck.

It's very simple really - if you want to shoot the registered shoots and have your scores recorded so that you can see what you've shot over time, your averages and if you want to be classed then join the CPSA.  There is insurance with that too although you can get insurance elsewhere of course.  

 

[P1Fanatic]

I was in a similar position - shoot with a regular group most weekends between 2 grounds which I enjoy but doesn't push me enough. I fancied a bit more of a challenge but there is the fear factor of competing i.e are the targets a lot harder. Decided I was going to bite the bullet and some registered comps this year and have done 8 so far but week after next I have 3 in 5 days .. It is addictive and you do learn a lot from watching the better shots.

Luckily I have managed to entice one of my regular party into joining me on most shoots but have no issues going by myself as everyone is usually super friendly and if your having a bad stand will give you some words of wisdom. In fact if you are a solo shooter registered are a great way to shoot. You cant shoot targets only round for £35 where you get a trapper and scorer. You just rock up and shoot. No matter what people say I personally think that is amazing value for money. And I love the fact the sport is so accessible to us newbies - so much so that you can be shooting alongside world champions and Olympic gold medallists. Not many sports let you do that.

I usually do the monthly registered at Owls Lodge and Churchills and have been doing the CPSA Premier League (don't let the name fool you its just another registered with the additional option of shooting for a club). Round 4 is a week today at Bisley Shooting Ground.

hi charles

i really want to get into competition shooting could you tell me where to start or do i need to join the cpsa im confused how it works hahah

Yes and make sure its a competition membership. There is a cheaper clubman membership but that wont track your scores online. And you the insurance as well which is needed for some grounds anyway for pay & play type shooting.