Hello from a new guy... IL in the house!

[Cundiff5535]

Hey gents, just dropping in as I think this could be right up my alley! I was referred over to target talk by a fella over at rimfirecentral. Let me start off by introducing myself and then give you a little background on how I fell in love with shooting and firearms.... not that most of you will give a crap, I just find it good to give some general history so folks can:

1. Have an understanding of me and what I am about
2. Give the veterans of the forum a solid bio so that there is more comfort if I ever want to sell or buy anything in the forum
and
3.Show how little or much I know in certain aspects of shooting. Most of the time I can find its easy to tell how experienced a shooter is within 5 mins of talking to them!

So, I have only been shooting for a little over a year! I fell in love with my uncles Kimber Custom Target II 9mm and that was the first gun I had ever shot in my life... by the way, Im 32!

In saying that, once that first shot was fired I was hooked.... I not only thought his Kimber looked amazing, it shot amazing.

My uncle is a retired LEO and range instructor and has a reputation as one of the finest teachers of firearms in the midwest! Esp. teaching fundamentals and mechanics to new shooters! In saying that, I was fully aware of what I was doing... grip, sight picture, aim point, breathing, squeeze, etc... before I ever pulled the trigger on a firearm. 1 shot with that and he never let me shoot it again...lol. So my first shot of my life at 10 feet (into a trap in his basement) was dead center hit.... awesome:)! I was then immediately transitioned into shooting his Ruger MkII Target and shot that exclusively for a few weeks... It was perfect as I was able to really get into the mechanics and avoid as many bad habits as possible.

I was also completely in awe everything that had happened... I was also in awe of John Browning! The engineering and mechanical workings that he thought of... genius!

So 17 handguns, 10 rifles and 1 year later I am hooked. I not only shoot, I reload almost everything I shoot. I have to since I shoot 3-4 times per week.

I must say of all of the types of shooting I do, target is by far my favorite! I do not compete in any "real" competition but, I do shoot against some older guys that are very well know across the midwest. I will keep from droppin names as its not important at this point.

My favorite pistol I own is probably my S&W 52-2! I can make a nice little group that thing!.!.!. lol

In saying that, I am a 1911 guy at heart and 100% love that platform as its what got me into shooting. I also love benchrest rifle shooting and have a Freeland BSA Martini, Anshutz 54, a custom Kidd .22lr and when I want some power... a Compass Lake 223 AR that can make a heck of a little grouping out to 300 or so (typically shoot it at 200 as there is NO PLACE TO SHOOT NEAR MY HOUSE)!

I am looking forward to meeting a lot of you guys and hopefully learn a lot in the process!

Cheers,
Bobby C

[mark61107]

So Bobby, are you interested in doing some competitive shooting? Where in Illinois do you live? There are a number of great clubs in the Chicagoland area, both for shooting indoor and outdoor, pistol and rifle.

I really enjoy shooting NRA Conventional Pistol or "Bullseye" in our league at Pine Tree Pistol Club in Rockford, IL. 18-20 shooters every Tuesday night. We always love to see new shooters come out. If you are more interested in International Style events other members of this forum can address that.

Good luck and keep shooting!

[Cundiff5535]

So Bobby, are you interested in doing some competitive shooting? Where in Illinois do you live? There are a number of great clubs in the Chicagoland area, both for shooting indoor and outdoor, pistol and rifle.

I really enjoy shooting NRA Conventional Pistol or "Bullseye" in our league at Pine Tree Pistol Club in Rockford, IL. 18-20 shooters every Tuesday night. We always love to see new shooters come out. If you are more interested in International Style events other members of this forum can address that.

Good luck and keep shooting!

Mark, I am not sure I want to move into real competitive shooting yet... To realistically shoot in competition I will need to improve my game a bit more. I know it will eventually come to it but, I'm just not there yet!

I am from Mokena... Just south west of Chicago about 30 mins from Joliet. I have never been up to our club but, have heard of it. I shoot at the ISRA but, this will officially be my first year as an actual member.

I can't wait to get out once thuis weather warms up...

Have you shot at Kapp Guns up there? A close friend of mine is the head of Zoning for Loves Park and worked with Kenny on getting everything up to speed. I have heard great things about their range and store!

If I am ever up that way, ill drop you a PM and maybe we can do some shooting!!

[corning]

... To realistically shoot in competition I will need to improve my game a bit more.

I don't believe there is any better way to improve your game than shooting in competition. In practice, I find that I can be sloppy. In competition, I find I have more of a focus, and more of a drive to excel. I personally believe that this will apply to any of the shooting disciplines.

John

[Cundiff5535]

... To realistically shoot in competition I will need to improve my game a bit more.

I don't believe there is any better way to improve your game than shooting in competition. In practice, I find that I can be sloppy. In competition, I find I have more of a focus, and more of a drive to excel. I personally believe that this will apply to any of the shooting disciplines.

John[

John, I actually 100% agree with your statement. Maybe ill jump into this faster than first thought