Why We Compete (When We Aren’t Busy Selling Your Guns @ Lock Stock & Barrel) & Where To Buy Your Competition Guns…
Taking Stock #38: Why We Compete.
Pretty much all of the shooting sports revolve around this one, fundamental truth: shooting stuff is fun. Ever since the time of the caveman, I’m sure the moment that cavemen Thag and Gort figured out how to fling pointy rocks, competition was born.
We all know this; if you shoot a little bit, you’ll get a little better. If you shoot a lot, you’ll get a LOT better. If you take a class, watch a video, or, most importantly, put in trigger time, you’ll get better still. Do so under the crucible of competition, and you’ll get better yet, and even perfect those skills.
IDPA. IPSC. USPSA. Steel Challenge. 3-Gun. Western 3-Gun. Trap, Skeet, Sporting Clays, Long-range Precision, Cowboy Action, or Wild Bunch Shooting. There are so many ways to fling lead or copper projectiles down range, that there would be something in the list of shooting sports that will tickle you. I’ve included a list of websites for you to peek in on.
Once you find something that looks fun, go to a match! Information about where, when, etc. is online. Additionally, you can find a magazine or a forum (or ten!) for each of the above shooting sports. There’s Youtube, if you want to see your favorite sport in action. See it, learn it, DO IT! Go ahead; jump on in. Lack of familiarity should be no barrier. Most of the men and women in the shooting sports are almost evangelical in their zeal to welcome new shooters on board.
It gets you out of the house. It trains the eye, tunes the reflexes, and requires mental discipline. You may enjoy the zen-like experience of total concentration. For others, it may be handy for more than just exercise. If, God forbid, someday you need to employ your firearm in a life-or-death scenario, you’re going to tighten up like a banjo string. What happens next may determine whether you, or your loved ones, live or die.
If you compete, you have drilled, trained, and rehearsed the simple fundamentals of shooting, over and over, and over again. Eyes to the target, target to the trigger. You’ve practiced acquiring the target, making certain of an unobstructed flight path, pressed the trigger just…so, and in short, practiced sending that projectile, the end point of the entire firearms experience, accurately on its way.
That, of course, is where Lock Stock And Barrel Investments comes in. Whatever lights your fire, you will find a matching firearm on our website. Want to hang out with the genteel set at the trap range? Lace up your penny loafers. On lsbauctions.com, you will find anything from Perazzis to Parkers, from Brownings to Baikals. Instead, if a duck blind on a clear, cold morning is your thing, imagine how the time spent busting clay birds will translate to success when the pintails are racketing overhead.
Long Range precision shooting taxes man, equipment, and ammunition. What a good shooter can do at ranges far beyond what the unaided eye can see, is just ridiculous. But imagine having the ability to line up, and take that shot, when the rack of your dreams cautiously edges into view, way out there. Eyes to the target, target to the trigger.
Ever want to be a cowboy when you grow up? Cowboy Action Shooting should be in your future. Heck, I got my last 1897 Winchester from lsbauctions.com, and it’s a good one. Need a Smith & Wesson for home defense? How about a Glock? Shoot IDPA, and when the pressure is on, and you need to fall back on your training – it’ll be there for you.
You see, working under pressure is what competition is all about. Master that, apply the fundamentals of shooting correctly, even under pressure, and you’re a world ahead of the wild-eyed, mouth breathing hordes.
And it’s a hoot. find a competition that appeals to you. Watch our online auctions. You’ll find what you need. And reflect on the good things that focus and discipline can project onto the rest of your life. Spencer Hoglund, shooting under the nom de guerre, Lead Dispencer, Head honcho at Lock Stock and Barrel Investments, is a 5-time national, 3-time world Cowboy Action Shooting champion, and is about to be inducted into the SASS Hall of Fame. Focus helps.
Thag and Gort would be proud.
www.idpa.com/
www.sassnet.com
www.ipsc.org/
www.international-benchrest.com
uspsa.org/
By Mark Romano