Guest Blog: A Newbie’s First Competitive Shoot
Posted on June 20, 2011 by Katie in In Words
Guest writer Annette shares her experience earning an NRA Pro Marksman rating and shooting in a Bulls-eye Competition. We think both are great ways for ladies to learn more about shooting and competition. Do you relate to Annette’s story? Let her know in the comments!
Being pretty new to shooting, I decided a good thing to do would be to go through the NRA Marksmanship ratings, one by one. When one of the guys from the club emailed me to see if I wanted to go shooting Thursday afternoon, I jumped at the chance because I’m not all that comfortable being there alone yet. I let my 14-year-old daughter tag along with me, it would be her first real afternoon at the range.
One of my 10 paper plates, showing my grouping for my Pro-Marksman NRA rating
Geared up with my paper plates and my trusty Buck Mark Camper .22 pistol, I set my table to the required 15 foot mark for my Pro Marksman rating. I needed 10 plates, with 5 shots each, with none closer to the edge than a half-inch. I accomplished this easily and earned my first rating quickly!
One of the other gentleman from my club, whom I hadn’t met before that day, mentioned that I should join them on Sunday for the clubs Bulls-eye Competition Shoot. “Me? Seriously? No, I’m too new at this…” His reply? “You’re a natural, see you Sunday…”
My husband and I went down on Sunday, and they talked me into trying it. Gotta say, I had a lot of fun, and, I did OK, even scoring some 10s! I was the only female there (I think I may be the only female in the club!) and I was the only person not shooting with a Red Dot sight, just me and my Buck Mark’s iron sights. We had to shoot one-handed. I’d never done that before. And the targets? They were 25 yards away– yeah, never done that before either.
I’ll go back and join them again on another Sunday. You have to attend 4 shoots to qualify for the prizes, and while I won’t be winning any prizes, I’ll be ready for the next series of shoots later this year! Now to find time to earn my NRA Marksman rating… that’s my next goal!
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