I would also like you to read yet another blog post from yet another friend of mine, Caleb Giddings. This one postulates that “Winning is the Only Thing:”
I don’t enjoy competition shooting that much these days. Sure, I still like to shoot matches, but for me the juice isn’t really worth the squeeze. See, the problem is that I like winning more than I like getting better. You’d think those two things would go hand in hand, but they really don’t. Sadly, it’s an easy trap to fall into.
Sadly, true…a trap I’ve fallen into once or twice myself. Still, it is a trap, and traps are to be avoided. If we’re going to be the shooters we want to be, we have to learn to love the process. I refer you to Mastery by the great George Leonard. My few conversations with George were wonderful, like having a few friendly conversations with Yoda. Once a year I tread Mastery, and I learn something new each time.

via The Michael Bane Blog: John Farnam: “Little Mistakes”.

Maybe I approached IDPA the wrong way and luckily turned out for the best but I got cured of the competition bug early enough.  I did not have the money for a custom-tuned 1911 or tricked out G34 on a slick kydex holster and all the “legal” bells and whistles. When I got to reloading, I actually did it to save money and not find a  bullet & powder combo with enough recoil to operate a slide and make a hole in paper but as close as I could to my everyday carry +P ammo. In fact, my competition gear was my everyday gear. I was one of those freaks that could actually arrive at the range and start shooting without having to go to the tactical dress room and change into the performance stuff.

So who I competed against? Myself and the cardboard targets that came to life after the beep. Weird? why yes! In my mind they were bad guys doing bad things that required my intervention. . If you are practicing for life, those brown suckers  do have guns and they probably shoot better than you so.. take frigging cover and as much as you can!  Transitioning from Point A to Point B? The course of fire tells you there is nobody so you can run, but are you willing to take the chance in real life of going blind? screw that…go slow & scan.

And then put enough BBs where it hurts. Ammo is cheap, a coffin is expensive. My goal was zero points down for accuracy (never achieved) so if it took three shots instead  of the two required by the CoF, who am I to argue?  Shoot till you figure he is down, that is all.

Does that mean you cannot learn anything from those who do it for competition alone? Quite the contrary but be smart. A pound and a half trigger not the smart thing to do but gun manipulations & reloads? You may wanna bet they have it down with an economy of movement that is amazing and you should duplicate.

In the end, it goes back to mindset which is probably the most important part of shooting. Training begins in the mind, not with the finger.