Well, 3 gun season is opening up around the country. The Superstition Mountain event was held last week, and all the local events are beginning to show up on the schedules as well.
When I decided to get back to shooting I had one thought in mind, I needed to be better equipped to protect my family. With 3 daughters, I have become more than a little paranoid about keeping them safe and having more than just the dogs and my combative skills. Knowing that bringing a knife to a gun fight would put me in at a disadvantage it was time to dust off some old skills, and learn some new ones. At the time 3 gun was out there but not as well known as it is today.
So, I bravely went out and taught myself about pistol handling. Resurecting what I already knew, and trying to incorporate newly developed techniques. A couple of training classes and I was much more confident and comfortable with a handgun.
Then I broke out the rifle skills. After some very minimal refam time with a rifle, I jumped right into Boomershoot. None of this 100 yd stuff for me, I was reaching out 4oo, 600, 700 yds in wild winds and connecting with 3″ – 7″ square targets. As such Boomershoot has become my recurring recharge trip every year. A trip back to the PNW. Some time outdoors, and a fair amount of “zen” time behind a scope and on the trigger.
But, my path was on 3 gun. I was intrigued. I was challenged, and I have a goal. Last year I set myself firmly on the path. Working on equipment was in itself a challenge. Then finding the time to get to the necessary safety briefing, then on to an introductory match itself was a challenge. The fine folks at Action Shooting Sports do a great job of introducing people to the sport, and I finally got to shoot my first match with them last September. A series of events cut short last year’s season but this year, a new venue and more 3 gun opportunities throughout the region have me pretty excited.
The sport as a whole though is taking off, and event directors as getting very creative. The folks over at Crimson Trace have come up with what will prove to be a very challenging event in July. I wish I had the equipment, time, and night time experience to work this event into the schedule. I don’t even know where I could execute a training plan to develop the necessary light and laser skills to make this work. Hell, running down a trail in the dark with a loaded weapon after having blasted your night vision using a flashlight to illuminate, and identify your target before shooting it sounds like a lot of “fun” and out there on the edge. The solutions that are developed by the competitors are going to be awesome. I really want to be able to do this.
UPDATE: I wrote, “Hell, running down a trail in the dark with a loaded weapon after having blasted your night vision using a flashlight to illuminate, and identify your target before shooting it sounds like a lot of “fun” and out there on the edge”. For the record, I have done this and after the first time that you trip on a root and wind up in the mud on your face hoping like hell that you actually put your weapon on safe, and that you don’t have and ND or break anything “fun” becomes a relative term. The entire event is going to be a challenge and the competitors are going to be stretched to meet that challenge. Attacking and overcoming the challenge, that is one of my definitions of fun.