TargetTalk

Well I shot my first ever 10m air pistol match (or shooting competition period) on Saturday. I have only been training for about 2 months and got to attend a training camp all week at the OTC. I got an overall score of 328 (Paralympic SH1 women's pistol, 40 shots in 50 min) which I'm pretty proud of. Finished it off with a 10.5 just for good measure. More than my score I'm proud that my competition process (check in, equipment check, warm up, etc) went great. I finished with about 5 min left and took good breaks throughout and was able to keep my mind and arm fresh. My individual shot process was also something I improved this week and it was smooth every shot. Only 2 shots outside the 7 ring and I called everyone (should have rejected the shot and knew it.) Overall I'm really happy with my first performance and believe if this is a sign of things to come there's good things in my future. What are your thoughts? Anyone remember their first ever competition?

Hi first of all you should be happy that you have competed in your first competition and the great thing is you will improve from now on in. As long as you practice and get some more competitions under your belt you will see improvements. And to finish off with a 10.5 is great. Just enjoy your shooting and don't push yourself to hard.
I know when I first started to compete I was blown away buy the precision and accuracy of the shooters, but with patience and hard work it pays off and you see the results. Well Done.

kevin

That's great! It sounds like you did really well, and even more importantly you are happy with what you did and how you did it. After all, that's the real goal, right?

I remember my first 10m air pistol match very clearly. First of all, although I started the day excited about the match, that quickly changed as I listened to the radio about unfolding events on the news - it was the day of the Tucson shooting (of Rep. Giffords and others); that cast a somber pall over all. Anyway, once I was at the match, EVERYONE was very welcoming and helpful, and one very kind person (thanks, Steve!) even let me use his pistol because I had showed up with my Crosman 2300s, which most closely resembles a Star Wars blaster. If I recall, I shot a 460-something (out of 600) and I was very happy with that. I also remember that I was on the line with John Bickar, and I remember looking over at his shooting arm every once in a while and his pistol would be up there absolutely not moving at all - then I'd look back at my own sights and they'd be bobbing all around like a drunk squirrel (that's actually a YouTube thing, BTW).

Nearly four years later and now I have my own classy Russian target pistol (the German grips help), and my big accomplishment is that I no longer have a drunk squirrel hold.

You've had an auspicious beginning! Keep it up (as long as you're having fun, of course), and good luck!

Jr,
I don't mean to hijack this thread but I thought I would say "thank you JR" for the kind words. I'm glad you and your son had a good time at that match and even better to see you got involved in competitive shooting. As you and the OP discovered, 10 meter AP is a lot of fun and also a challenge to do well. The trick to stay focused on the fundamentals and most of all, have fun.
Looking forward to seeing you and your son at the 2015 California State Championship Int'l Air Pistol Match in January. In the meantime, keep shooting those 9s and 10s.
Best regards,
Steve