...and at the young and tender age of 51. Been looking into joining a local gun club here in the past 5-6 years. Never have really looked into it that deeply after I saw that it required that I have a Period of instruction under my belt in the past 9 months. That, and I already belong to a club that I love being a member of. My club is a 35 minute drive. This other club that I have been looking into is 7 minutes up the road. Driving factor that has been leading me to this club is that they are heavily into USPSA, IDPA, and Steel Challenge matches. Not to mention the archery side of this club is OUTSTANDING!!! Sooooooo, about 2 months ago I bumped into a fella that is on the board of this "other" club at my favorite Local Gun Shop. He convinced me to take the leap and get the requirements done. Take the 100 question saftey test with at least a 90% passing grade. Check. Go the the State Police and get a Criminal Background Check. Check. Go through a period of instruction on handguns. welllllll... So I emailed one guy for the training, and no reply after 5 weeks. President emails me and says that new member orientation is on Saturday, Dec. 9th at 0730 hours. Damn. I need that training requirement. Emailed Pesident and he gives me 2 more names for the training. Got an email back that this trainer had a block of instruction available on Dec. 8th to fulfill the requirement. WooHoo!!!
So this evening I was trained by a female that is far and above a better handgun shooter than myself. She is very established in USPSA Sport. Bear in mind that this was just a period of instruction to check "that box" in my mind. I mean shit. 8 years of service in the Marine Corps, 5 years in the Army, and 1 tour in Iraq. What the hell would anyone teach me about firearms safety? Well Sheeeeeet. This instructor went above and beyond. She noticed that my handgun grip was straight out of the military, and she showed me a new grip to try. DAMN!!! My groups tightened up from 20 yards. And I'm talking significantly!!! Just mind blown this evening. How many times have we read, right here, training training training. Well damn. We chatted about how I really want to try USPSA, and that's when she modified my grip. I tell ya. If I would of went into that period of instruction with a closed mind, I would of lost out on a lot of great information that was shared with me this evening. Life lesson for this middle aged guy this evening I tell ya. Looking forward to my next block of instruction with this shooter!!!
So this evening I was trained by a female that is far and above a better handgun shooter than myself. She is very established in USPSA Sport. Bear in mind that this was just a period of instruction to check "that box" in my mind. I mean shit. 8 years of service in the Marine Corps, 5 years in the Army, and 1 tour in Iraq. What the hell would anyone teach me about firearms safety? Well Sheeeeeet. This instructor went above and beyond. She noticed that my handgun grip was straight out of the military, and she showed me a new grip to try. DAMN!!! My groups tightened up from 20 yards. And I'm talking significantly!!! Just mind blown this evening. How many times have we read, right here, training training training. Well damn. We chatted about how I really want to try USPSA, and that's when she modified my grip. I tell ya. If I would of went into that period of instruction with a closed mind, I would of lost out on a lot of great information that was shared with me this evening. Life lesson for this middle aged guy this evening I tell ya. Looking forward to my next block of instruction with this shooter!!!