It's not about the Gear, it's about the Effort !

[Lowlight]

Not about the gear, about the Effort

It's not about the Gear, it's about the Effort!

Follow Sniper's Hide and pick up the latest information on all things precision rifle related. Sniper's Hide Training is for the serious tactical marksman.

www.snipershide.com

Sniper's Hide is a gear queer's wet dream. All we do is talk about the latest and greatest gear from the time I wake until we all go to sleep. It's a constant barrage of pick my favorite color posts noon til night.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, and it's important to wade through the pros and cons of each piece of equipment out there before wasting your hard-earned money. Giving you better information is a personal goal of mine. It's often stated we don't suffer fools on Sniper's Hide, and when it comes to picking and choosing, we try our best to get it right. That usually means the products with the proven track records, or in many cases of new products, ones that don't needlessly waste your money. We have a lot of solutions in our industry looking for a problem.

Here is what I see as a bigger problem,

Trying to buy a hit versus putting the sweat equity in to earn the impact.


Full Article on the Home Page

 

[spife7980]

How do I go about buying some of this "effort"?

 

[Lowlight]

How do I go about buying some of this "effort"?

Have a plan, walk out the front door, execute plan, record and analyze results upon return

 

[1moaoff]

Can we make this a mandatory read for new users?

 

[Mormegil87]

For the record I'm primarily a match shooter with a little hunting. I get both sides. Especially coming from a different but a similar profession in which experience matters.

I go through gear like crazy. I enjoy trying new things and I also want gear I trust and that I'm comfortable behind. It's a lot like buying guitars. They won't necessarily help you play better or replace a diligent practice. But when you find "the one". You know it, you enjoy using it just that much more. My approach is the same for rifles, scopes and gear. I've slowly settled on the equipment I like and have paired down what I carry at matches.

That being said I also enjoy the process of developing a load, gathering the data, working out the intangibles and using matches to get better. Putting in the dry fire time along with the live fire time.

I guess my point is, I like all of it.

 

[JBoomhauer]

It is an easy trap to fall into. People don’t like accepting the fact that they are usually the problem, not the gear. I have learned that a lot of my problems come from not knowing how to use the gear I have to it’s potential.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Sitting here at the computer trying to occupy my time waiting to drive a couple hours to a meet tomorrow morning.
Read your article, NOT wasted time. Thanks.

 

[pmclaine]

Is it being sold in the PX?

 

[Lowlight]

If you have the means to do both, test gear while you are actually out shooting, then none of this really applies to you does it?

This is guys who chase gear but then barely go out and shoot.

 

[pmclaine]

This is guys who chase gear but then barely go out and shoot.

Eff those guys..........unless it's family or some other good responsible reason for not shooting.

If they have the good fortune/circumstances to buy the best but having "possession" means more than ability to use it that's a shame.

Edit.....little too harsh. It's their money, their gear do as they please.

I'd rather shoot with an enthusiastic shooter using a Tasco and. Mossberg though than the other guy.

 

[_Windrider_]

You said gear queer! Hahahahaha

 

[pmclaine]

You said gear queer! Hahahahaha

Yeah you have to go to special places to get "queer gear".

 

[Jefe's Dope]

?‍

I'd just like to say that there's a huge difference between good, reliable gear and shit gear. This is important no matter what level you're shooting at unless you just want to hear things go boom. It's more true for inexperienced shooters chasing errant bullets that go different directions under identical conditions. If you can't narrow the results down to shooting error vs. gear error, you're lost before you've started.

 

[Rocketvapor]

So gear whore would be a better term?

 

[Lowlight]

You said gear queer! Hahahahaha

Grammerly actually warned me several times about the sensitive nature of the word

 

[_Windrider_]

Grammerly actually warned me several times about the sensitive nature of the word

i use the Grammarly plug in on my iPad nits always warning me about that stuff.

 

[Lowlight]

It was like,

Really?

Yes,

Are you Sure?

Yes,

Some people might not like it...

Yes

It's a sensitive word, try replacing it

No

 

[pmclaine]

It was like,

Really?

Yes,

Are you Sure?

Yes,

Some people might not like it...

Yes

It's a sensitive word, try replacing it

No

If I wrote as much as you and had to deal with that, that would make me go back to smoking fags......

 

[Lowlight]

I like Grammerly, it's super useful, but...

If you don't correct a suggestion or blow it off, every time it check the writing it will come back to it

It helps though so I just say no a lot.

It really hates when you write in a passive voice. I get dinged the most for passive voice use

 

[_Windrider_]

If I wrote as much as you and had to deal with that, that would make me go back to smoking fags......

I don’t even know how to respond to this. Grammarly keeps asking me are you sure?

 

[pmclaine]

?‍

I'd just like to say that there's a huge difference between good, reliable gear and shit gear. This is important no matter what level you're shooting at unless you just want to hear things go boom. It's more true for inexperienced shooters chasing errant bullets that go different directions under identical conditions. If you can't narrow the results down to shooting error vs. gear error, you're lost before you've started.

Problem with this sport is that when you have the eyes to do it you don't have the income. Than by the time you get the income you no longer have the eyes.

I see a lot of really enthusiastic kids with new guns at my club. Often the gear isn't going to give them what they want.

Who am I though to break their hearts.

Expectations are so high now.

When I was a kid if you could hit a beer can at 100 you were an all star. Now the shot has to pass through the loop in the B.

It was a lot more fun back than. Shooting should be about enjoyment for most of us.

Im lucky in being able to buy the gear and be able to enjoy it.

 

[_Windrider_]

Problem with this sport is that when you have the eyes to do it you don't have the income. Than by the time you get the income you no longer have the eyes.

I see a lot of really enthusiastic kids with new guns at my club. Often the gear isn't going to give them what they want.

Who am I though to break their hearts.

Expectations are so high now.

When I was a kid if you could hit a beer can at 100 you were an all star. Now the shot has to pass through the loop in the B.

It was a lot more fun back than. Shooting should be about enjoyment for most of us.

Im lucky in being able to buy the gear and be able to enjoy it.

Do you even loophole bro?

 

[lash]

Thanks Frank. That needed to be said again. It happens all the time that guys show up with a nice rifle and scope and factory ammo, only to tell me that they don’t have a zero at 100 (or at any other distance for that matter), that they haven’t shot the rifle and/or that they don’t really know how to use the fancy scope they bought. Then they expect that the $40 they spent to have access to the 1000 yard range gets them personal instruction and a personal guarantee that they will be pounding the steel at 1000 yards in half a day.

 

[pmclaine]

Do you even loophole bro?

Is that like Glory Hole?

 

[isofahunter]

The Man not the Machine that gets the hit.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

...but if you aren't shooting competitions...or training for competitions...or at least thinking about what will be needed for competition...then is it really "shooting"?

 

[Gunfighter14e2]

Interesting thread,... Seems there has been comments about this before yet the bulk after scout still wanted to hawk, if your going to do X you have to use Y to get results. Otherwise you don't have a clue about shooting X distance.

 

[Steel head]

I see the same in fly casting.

People buy stuff to be a better fisherman or caster instead of spending the time to become a better fisherman or caster.

My rifles aren’t 10k Uber rifles but they are capable and certainly don’t hold me back.

 

[JBoomhauer]

 

[lead.rain]

Really well written article Frank!

 

[Walter Haas]

Thanks Frank. That needed to be said again. It happens all the time that guys show up with a nice rifle and scope and factory ammo, only to tell me that they don’t have a zero at 100 (or at any other distance for that matter), that they haven’t shot the rifle and/or that they don’t really know how to use the fancy scope they bought. Then they expect that the $40 they spent to have access to the 1000 yard range gets them personal instruction and a personal guarantee that they will be pounding the steel at 1000 yards in half a day.

I hate those guys.

 

[lash]

I hate those guys.

I don’t. We all had to start somewhere. But they are not doing themselves nor anyone else there any favors by not at least taking the time to be prepared in some way.

The best thing I can tell someone who is really new at it and isn’t sure how to proceed, is to pay the money for a good two or three day introductory class. Instructors will be prepared to teach you from square one and can spend the time with you necessary to get you up to speed pretty quickly. It can save you hundreds if not much, much more in wasted time and effort for not knowing.

 

[DOA]

This is guys who chase gear but then barely go out and shoot.

Or do go out and shoot....the cheapest ammo they can find and blame it on the gun or scope. Sometimes, it is the ammo and sometimes its the tool behind the gun.

 

[Walter Haas]

I don’t. We all had to start somewhere. But they are not doing themselves nor anyone else there any favors by not at least taking the time to be prepared in some way.

The best thing I can tell someone who is really new at it and isn’t sure how to proceed, is to pay the money for a good two or three day introductory class. Instructors will be prepared to teach you from square one and can spend the time with you necessary to get you up to speed pretty quickly. It can save you hundreds if not much, much more in wasted time and effort for not knowing.

I was actually joking, some people on SH know I've only been shooting for 4 or 5 weeks. So I'm actually one of the people you're talking about, with my $9K rifle with the price tag still hanging off it. I find it comical to be looked at the way your describing, and I was worse than you're describing. On my first day I tacked my target over someone else's target who was in the middle of some kind of analysis and we didn't realize it until the ceasefire was over. I tried to pay his range fees but he wouldn't take the money. Then some guy had some kind of muzzle brake that was blasting particles and gun smoke right into my face from four feet away and I didn't know what to do so I just took a few dozen blasts into my face while trying to learn my gun. I was wheezing for two days. Then there was the rangemaster who shouted to me to stay behind the red line during ceasefire and I said in front of everyone, "even during the ceasefire?" and he says "ESPECIALLY during the ceasefire." And I said, "oh, you're right, that makes sense....that's a good rule" while he just looked at me.

When the bullets start blasting around me my IQ seems to fall about 30 points.

 

[pmclaine]

I was actually joking, some people on SH know I've only been shooting for 4 or 5 weeks. So I'm actually one of the people you're talking about, with my $9K rifle with the price tag still hanging off it. I find it comical to be looked at the way your describing, and I was worse than you're describing. On my first day I tacked my target over someone else's target who was in the middle of some kind of analysis and we didn't realize it until the ceasefire was over. I tried to pay his range fees but he wouldn't take the money. Then some guy had some kind of muzzle brake that was blasting particles and gun smoke right into my face from four feet away and I didn't know what to do so I just took a few dozen blasts into my face while trying to learn my gun. I was wheezing for two days. Then there was the rangemaster who shouted to me to stay behind the red line during ceasefire and I said in front of everyone, "even during the ceasefire?" and he says "ESPECIALLY during the ceasefire." And I said, "oh, you're right, that makes sense....that's a good rule" while he just looked at me.

When the bullets start blasting around me my IQ seems to fall about 30 points.

You get a pass.

You are behind enemy lines in the belly of the beast.

We need more of you there.

 

[M8541Reaper]

Excellent article with a great takeaway Frank. ?

Everyone always wants to dump money into gear but never wants to dump a fraction of it into quality training. ...yet act surprised when they miss and can’t figure it out. ...or why their eyes start to hurt, have a migraine, or their neck cramps up. But hey, they have the best gear according to ________, so why is this happening?

??‍

 

[Mark Coffey]

Great article Frank!

I agree “Not about the gear, about the Effort” . As long as the gear functions.

Having mentored a co-worker that insisted on buying Chinese, Ebay, scopes that didn’t track.... It was very frustrating! His reasoning was that after buying his 338 LM MRAD, he couldn’t afford a good first focal plane scope. Every time I would suggest buying a value, second plan, scope he would defend his scope by proudly proclaiming “it first focal plane”! In response I would say... It doesn’t track?‍...

And don’t get me started on his made in China “Atlas” bipod... Instead of a “functional” Harris I suggested.

Keep up the great articles and this great website!

 

[Guns&WhiteWater]

Not about the gear, about the Effort

It's not about the Gear, it's about the Effort!

Follow Sniper's Hide and pick up the latest information on all things precision rifle related. Sniper's Hide Training is for the serious tactical marksman.

www.snipershide.com

Sniper's Hide is a gear queer's wet dream. All we do is talk about the latest and greatest gear from the time I wake until we all go to sleep. It's a constant barrage of pick my favorite color posts noon til night.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, and it's important to wade through the pros and cons of each piece of equipment out there before wasting your hard-earned money. Giving you better information is a personal goal of mine. It's often stated we don't suffer fools on Sniper's Hide, and when it comes to picking and choosing, we try our best to get it right. That usually means the products with the proven track records, or in many cases of new products, ones that don't needlessly waste your money. We have a lot of solutions in our industry looking for a problem.

Here is what I see as a bigger problem,

Trying to buy a hit versus putting the sweat equity in to earn the impact.


Full Article on the Home Page

It’s the same in most activities, hunting, mountain biking, paddling, etc. The more time you spend doing it, the less time you spend thinking about the best way to “upgrade” your gear, and the more time you spend upgrading your own skills.

 

[pmclaine]

I didn't take from the article the emphasis being on buying "cheap" accessories to "complement" high end gear and than suffering the expected inability to achieve goals.

I kind of saw it as gaining superficial "expertise" by buying expensive gear but lacking the most important thing - actual knowledge - thinking the gear in itself constitutes knowledge..

Guys go out and buy an AI with TT than show up on the line seeking status but have no motivation to actually learn.

The gear becomes the goal rather than the hits.

We should guard against becoming "snobs" and "looking down" on "lesser" gear that may not be great but it is the best that shooter can afford or likewise attributing knowledge to the guy that has top shelf gear just because of his gear.

Classes are my best money spent.

I learn shit like positioning rifle as close to spine as physically possible, get critiques of fundamentals I have been lazy and let slide, get forced to do things outside my comfort/usual shooting zones.

I make poor gear choices.

I tend toward nostalgia, historical firearms worship, and personal preference of aesthetics - pretty rifles make me feel pretty.

My desires tend toward me having some pretty "dated" plain jane looking gear.

Most of my shooting is twenty round sessions on my ride home from work off the bench.

There is an experience I enjoy.......I begin my set up on the line with the guy at the next bench with the latest and greatest, has his Labradar set up, and is bragging of the prowess of his gear to all that will listen, and believe me many do - they are drawn to him as his gear identifies him as the Oracle of Delphi.

I don't talk to anyone by choice at the range. They begin the conversation and I reply politely.

Typically conversation from them is initiated by asking "What are you shooting?" as an ice breaker to talk about their gear with the inevitable end question "You want to shoot it?" to which I always say no and than have to deal with "No its okay, really you can shoot my rifle!"

They are disbelieving a guy with a plain jane R700 doesn't want to shoot their rifle and there have been times where tone of voice needs to be used to let them know I have no fucking desire to shoot their fucking rifle.

Anyway, nothing warms the cockles of my heart more than when this type guy is there and I am having a good day, and you know he is looking at everyones targets because that is what we do, and you can tell he is impressed with my nothing special groups because he cant do it with his high end gear and starts asking questions like "Do you hand load?" as if that's cheating and the reason he isn't getting good groups is because his "best money can buy" commercial ammo cant shoot as good as hand loads, not realizing its not the handloads or the gear - its him.

The cherry on top is when this guy asks "What do you write in your book you have there?"

I enjoy the young kid with the Ruger American struggling and asking good questions much more than equipment guy.

 

[Tokay444]

I can really appreciate the jab at the guys that ask questions so subjectivist, if you ask 100 different people you’re likely to get 100 different answers. It’s worse and worse the younger the generations get.
I moderate a few car forums, and you can tell who just got their first car by how subjective the questions are. “What’s the best oil?” “What are the best tires?” “What’s my favourite air freshener?” I tend to just reply with “7”, and let the threads decent into chaos. It filters out the weak. Just say no to spoon feeding.

 

[Deleted member 10043]

Thank you. I've noticed over the years that the forums have drifted from shooting to a virtual SHOT show year round. The answer to almost every problem is to BUY BUY BUY. And there something to the repetition thing. My most consistent varmint style rifle to this day is my ol' Savage 12 .308 Varmint. And that is a tried and trued old hunting rifle. The word Tactical is nowhere to be found on it. The repetition thing is so persuasive that I've been seriously thinking putting most my shit on consignment. It started out reloading as many different cartridges as I could. That turned out to be less time behind the rifles. KISS...

 

[Ds91]

Great article! This seems to be a trend. I notice and have been guilty of using gear as a crutch.

 

[Deleted member 10043]

Queer fits. "What is the best cock out there?" Asking for a friend.

 

[Bourbon_and_Bullets]

This really hits home.
I am in that weird middle ground where i grew up hunting and shooting but am just now learning the long range side of things. I recognized immediately i’d need some better gear as my 20 year old hunting rifle wasn’t going to pull double duty and a sfp duplex 3.5-10 wasn’t ideal either.

however, buying a .5 moa gun and thousand dollar scope didn’t all of a sudden make me a sub .5 moa shooter. I am very much in the thick of spending money on ammo and correcting years of bad habits that no gear would overcome. Next steps are to get out to range and really put these lessons into practice and start getting real world DOPE.

i’d just like to say that the SH community has been extremely welcoming and an invaluable resource for getting into the game.

 

[sleeplz]

I personally like the guys that buy all the gear without learning it. They help move the industry forward and I get to buy from them in the PX. Plus they blame their gear on all the matches and I get a decent show. Win, Win, Win.

 

[JohnnyAuto]

I am new to this forum. I have been shooting for many years, since I was a young boy. I was also a Navy Instructor where I taught all sorts of tactical skills from riverine to jungle warfare not only to our guys but also to foreign military personnel.

The reason I put that out there is because I've instructed all types of people, from very knowledgeable to know-nothings. One of the most important things I learned over many years is that oftentimes someone who is new to something doesn't even know what to ask! How can a person ask how to deal with parallax if he or she has never even heard of it, let alone knows what it is?

And so I think a lot of people who are new to the shooting sports purchase the gear that they thought was the best available, even if they don't know how to use it. It's a vicious cycle for someone who is new to a sport, knows nothing about it other than what they've read, and doesn't know anybody who knows. They don't know HOW to learn other than trial and error, and from watching other people.

So, you watch a guy lay behind his new rifle, sideways "like a green Army man" because he watched a guy who was slung in with a service rifle, and blast away, barely making 3 minutes. Can you blame him for inviting you to shoot it his rifle? He's proud of his kit and he's trying to be neighborly and make some friends.

Some people have a natural talent to shoot sub-minute even though they don't know the first thing about weaponry, internal/external ballistics, or proper shooting form; such people might want the best gear they can get in order to take full advantage of that talent - they can learn the other stuff along the way from people who aren't so judgemental. Other people want the same kit that they see successful people use, with the presumption that if they learn how to use it then they, too, can be successful. They learn along the way that there is much more to it than they thought, and so they drop out and sell their kit for a song, while others stick with it and become very competent and competitive enthusiasts.

A couple of years ago at my local outdoor range, there was a guy who was blasting away with a .338 Lapua at the covered 300 yard line while I was trying to shoot my .30/06 deer rifle. There were only three lanes, so needless to say that guy was shaking my teeth loose every time he torched one off. I swiveled my spotting scope over to view his target, and I was surprised to see that he was all over the target as if he had cut loose with a short-barreled 12 gauge. He invited me to shoot his rifle, but I declined because I knew that his ammo was supremely expensive, but he insisted. Fuck. Okay. After 3 dry fires I made a 4" group on a new target, and he wanted to know how I did it. At the expense of my own precious range time, I watched him shoot a few - there was so much wrong I scarcely knew where to start. My first piece of advice? "Dude, you have to keep your eyes open when you yank the trigger!" Second piece of advice? "You yank the trigger like your setting a hook on a bass. Pretend you're stroking your girlfriend's face." Every time he released the trigger he would screw his eyes tightly shut and his entire body would spasm, as if he were getting his prostate examined by Mike Tyson. Third piece of advice was to use a smaller and less expensive/less brutal rifle combination and learn the basics of rifle shooting.

Go easy on the new guys who don't know shit. We were all there once ourselves, but many of us are fortunate to have had someone teach us along the way, who let us use their guns and ammo before we went bought our own.

 

[pmclaine]

I am new to this forum. I have been shooting for many years, since I was a young boy. I was also a Navy Instructor where I taught all sorts of tactical skills from riverine to jungle warfare not only to our guys but also to foreign military personnel.

The reason I put that out there is because I've instructed all types of people, from very knowledgeable to know-nothings. One of the most important things I learned over many years is that oftentimes someone who is new to something doesn't even know what to ask! How can a person ask how to deal with parallax if he or she has never even heard of it, let alone knows what it is?

And so I think a lot of people who are new to the shooting sports purchase the gear that they thought was the best available, even if they don't know how to use it. It's a vicious cycle for someone who is new to a sport, knows nothing about it other than what they've read, and doesn't know anybody who knows. They don't know HOW to learn other than trial and error, and from watching other people.

So, you watch a guy lay behind his new rifle, sideways "like a green Army man" because he watched a guy who was slung in with a service rifle, and blast away, barely making 3 minutes. Can you blame him for inviting you to shoot it his rifle? He's proud of his kit and he's trying to be neighborly and make some friends.

Some people have a natural talent to shoot sub-minute even though they don't know the first thing about weaponry, internal/external ballistics, or proper shooting form; such people might want the best gear they can get in order to take full advantage of that talent - they can learn the other stuff along the way from people who aren't so judgemental. Other people want the same kit that they see successful people use, with the presumption that if they learn how to use it then they, too, can be successful. They learn along the way that there is much more to it than they thought, and so they drop out and sell their kit for a song, while others stick with it and become very competent and competitive enthusiasts.

A couple of years ago at my local outdoor range, there was a guy who was blasting away with a .338 Lapua at the covered 300 yard line while I was trying to shoot my .30/06 deer rifle. There were only three lanes, so needless to say that guy was shaking my teeth loose every time he torched one off. I swiveled my spotting scope over to view his target, and I was surprised to see that he was all over the target as if he had cut loose with a short-barreled 12 gauge. He invited me to shoot his rifle, but I declined because I knew that his ammo was supremely expensive, but he insisted. Fuck. Okay. After 3 dry fires I made a 4" group on a new target, and he wanted to know how I did it. At the expense of my own precious range time, I watched him shoot a few - there was so much wrong I scarcely knew where to start. My first piece of advice? "Dude, you have to keep your eyes open when you yank the trigger!" Second piece of advice? "You yank the trigger like your setting a hook on a bass. Pretend you're stroking your girlfriend's face." Every time he released the trigger he would screw his eyes tightly shut and his entire body would spasm, as if he were getting his prostate examined by Mike Tyson. Third piece of advice was to use a smaller and less expensive/less brutal rifle combination and learn the basics of rifle shooting.

Go easy on the new guys who don't know shit. We were all there once ourselves, but many of us are fortunate to have had someone teach us along the way, who let us use their guns and ammo before we went bought our own.

Good points.

Always willing to help someone out when humble but if they are already speaking as an expert based on their high speed gear I tend to turn away. I see a lot of the latter at my club. My time is limited there and I readily admit Im kind of anti social wanting to use the limited time to work on something I planned on working on. When I take a day of vacation and get to do it with the luxury of time different story.

Similar to you. 100 yard line. Guy had some species of .50. He had 4-5 five gallon jugs of water on the berm. He was about 2 of 5 hitting them.

When it comes to those cannons I hope there was a progression in caliber. Im not so sure though. Lots of people have the money and just decide such beasts can be handled without working up to them.

 

[Gunfighter14e2]

Another thing that many miss, is the ability to shoot in all different kinds of weather. Many here say, when the weather gets better, it was a over cast rainy mess today, or if the wind was not blowing sideways I would have went shooting. Those are the times you need to go as most anyone can shoot in CoC weather. Besides if you get to choose the weather you fight it, the worst possible is to your advantage, an that is bankable. Besides, most all local out door ranges are all yours, when the weather is bad. Went it's CoC weather all the locals are out in force.

 

[pmclaine]

Another thing that many miss, is the ability to shoot in all different kinds of weather. Many here say, when the weather gets better, it was a over cast rainy mess today, or if the wind was not blowing sideways I would have went shooting. Those are the times you need to go as most anyone can shoot in CoC weather. Besides if you get to choose the weather you fight it, the worst possible is to your advantage, an that is bankable. Besides, most all local out door ranges are all yours, when the weather is bad. Went it's CoC weather all the locals are out in force.

That's another great thing about classes. You get what comes your way.

Im a member of two clubs. One cancels scheduled shoots at any sign of inclement weather. At the other club everything is under cover so you really don't get to experience weather. If there were no cover due to the time allotted in my schedule to shoot I would cancel anyway as I could not appropriately dress/prep for inclement weather.

At classes though money is spent and schedules are steadfast. The worst weather I have shot in has been at classes.

 

[seansmd]

I was actually joking, some people on SH know I've only been shooting for 4 or 5 weeks. So I'm actually one of the people you're talking about, with my $9K rifle with the price tag still hanging off it. I find it comical to be looked at the way your describing, and I was worse than you're describing. On my first day I tacked my target over someone else's target who was in the middle of some kind of analysis and we didn't realize it until the ceasefire was over. I tried to pay his range fees but he wouldn't take the money. Then some guy had some kind of muzzle brake that was blasting particles and gun smoke right into my face from four feet away and I didn't know what to do so I just took a few dozen blasts into my face while trying to learn my gun. I was wheezing for two days. Then there was the rangemaster who shouted to me to stay behind the red line during ceasefire and I said in front of everyone, "even during the ceasefire?" and he says "ESPECIALLY during the ceasefire." And I said, "oh, you're right, that makes sense....that's a good rule" while he just looked at me.

When the bullets start blasting around me my IQ seems to fall about 30 points.

Take one of us locals up on a range session, you can really knock through a lot of the learning curve and equipment mistakes we all have made. Most of it comes from q&a around your intentions, budget, and access to shoot.