this is the way!
It takes a lot of commitment and hard work. It is much easier for a single person to be able to do this. If you are in a relationship or married then I would like to warn you now that the following information, should you decide to follow the advice, is very hard (stress this point again – very hard) on relationships.
- Identify the discipline you want to get into.
- Show up to a local club match with what you have, if you don’t have any gear then spectate and ask questions about gear you should get as a newbie.
- Start shooting local matches.
- Screen the top level shooters by talking with them to see if your personality and theirs clash or work well together.
- Then take a class with the person that you can learn from. Be prepared to pay because time and lessons learned are valuable.
- Buy Books on Dryfire and Live Fire Training. Take a look at the Matt Burkett videos on YouTube, study them, follow the guidelines. There are other GM’s with their content on Youtube as well.
- Dryfire 5-7 days a week minimum 20 minutes daily.
- Practice pistol or shotgun reloads at least 3 times a week, even while watching TV.
- Shoot once a week at local matches if available and plan to drive if not.
- Get yourself to the range and practice with purpose and intent to become better.
- Do not reload and drink alcoholic beverages or watch TV at the same time – stay focused on loading ammo. Reload well in advance of a match, not the night before.
- Shoot some more matches and travel to bigger matches.
- Take some more classes with different high level performance shooters
- Eventually if you stick with the above you’ll get noticed, start winning local and regional matches, pick up some sponsors and you keep repeating 3-11.
- Win a national title and keep working at it.
- Win another national title to prove that the first one was not a fluke.
- Do not forget those who help you! As you grow in the sport be thankful for what you have and those around you. Be humble and be nice!
It’s a lot of work and the bulk of it is all on you. The first 10 or so years it’s 100% out of your pocket. There’s a rare select few that are paid to shoot so you’ll need a job that allows you the funds to pay for this sport yet also affords you enough time to put in the work.
