Why Do You Not Shoot In Line Matches?

[zimmerstutzen]

I really liked shooting in paper competition matches. If I won one match in an entire weekend that was good. But several clubs went over to woods walks and a few developed some goofy rules I preferred not to deal with. I simply prefer paper targets, Mostly to see if I can beat my prior scores. Sadly there are few matches for pistols any more in this area. One nearby club requires fixed open sights and that eliminates most interested guys who have production hawkens. I also miss the banter on the firing line. Seeing what new loading gear a fellow has made or bought. friendly needling about shots etc. For the most part such shooting has disappeared in these parts.

 

[pat i.]

I was a serious cast bullet BR shooter. Ran all over the country attending matches until I got completely burned out. Turned to MLers to enjoy the slow pace. Now I just like an occasional rendezvous/woodswalk and shooting with friends. No line matches because some people take it way too serious for my tastes anymore. Give me an impromptu camp, a couple of good friends, and a lot more laughing than shooting and I'm a happy man.

 

[Zonie]

Back in the 1980's our company had a pistol club that held weekly matches. I think there were 6 different teams with 5 shooters on each team.
I did these shoots for about 6 years. The guys were great but they took the team shooting scores very seriously.
After 6 years of this with 4 first place and 2 second place trophy's, I got burned out. The weekly shoot was just adding pressure to the daily pressures of my job so I quit.

Several years later I took some of my muzzleloaders out to the big shooting range north of Phoenix and joined a muzzleloading club.
They were nice guys but once again, they took their scores seriously and for me, that took all of the fun out of it.
I did a few shoots but then I just quit going.
After that I have done all of my shooting just for fun. I might shoot a bunch of shots at the target to see how good I can do or, I sometimes shoot at a small rock or stick. It really doesn't matter. No pressure. Nothing but fun and when I get tired of shooting I can go home without upsetting any of my non-existent team mates.

 

[BrownBear]

They were nice guys but once again, they took their scores seriously and for me, that took all of the fun out of it.

Our local club (modern guns) followed much the same trajectory. In an effort to stimulate more participation and new members, they started monthly shoots with rifles and pistols for prizes. Attracted lots of people at first, but after about 6 months you could watch familiar shooters drive up, see me or a couple of others shooting, then drive off again without ever getting out of their cars. You could read it on their faces: "No sense shooting if THOSE GUYS are shooting today."

I sat the other usual winners down with me and the club president and range master and had a little talk. All of us had more guns than sense and didn't need to win any more. We came up with a Master's Division, the prize for which was an engraved "perpetual" coffee mug. Winner got to use it until the next shoot, when it was up for grabs again. The arrangement was that anyone who won a gun in the regular matches was automatically moved up to the Masters Division and shot only for the honor of a month with the coffee mug. You NEVER saw anyone try harder to win than those of us in the Masters, and winners sure crowed about it between shoots. The club has pretty much died out today, and I frankly have no idea where the cup is. Maybe I oughta find out and get something started again, because that kind of match shooting was more fun than any prize I've ever won.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I've shot high school and collegiate small bore matches. I've qualified five times expert rifle and pistol USMC. I've done IPSC, and CAS, and The Governor's Firelock Match, as well as woods walks, and bead shoots. I don't go looking for any kind of match, but I'm not against it if I hear about it in time to move my schedule around.

Some places matches have died off. IF you're lamenting such, perhaps you are meant to be the person that starts them up again ???

Some places get waaaay too serious about scoring. If it's not a qualifying match for the next higher round of competition, GIVE IT A REST! Next year nobody's going to remember who you beat today, except you.....

Some folks get waaay too serious about prizes. BrownBear's "master class" was sheer genius. A bead match is fun too...

Some folks get way to clique-ish.
I took two guests to a range, going to the pistol range portion, and they also wanted to take a gander at the rifle range portion, so we went over. There was a "military musket shoot" in progress on the rifle range. Eight fellows with various rifled musket repros from the ACW era. My guests, being avid ML shooters wanted to take a look at what kind of muskets were being used. So we slipped in and stood at the picnic tables about 10 feet behind the covered, shooting line. The match director said to us, "There is a match in progress. You should've checked the website". I explained that we were all ML shooters and just wanted to see what kind of rifled muskets were being used. Again he said, "There's a match in progress". I replied, "GOT IT!..., But spectators are not prohibited by club rules". He just glared, 'cause he knew I was right. Seems he and his seven buddies had become accustomed to they and only they being on the line during "their" match. OH and later I learned spots for shooters were limited too..., seems their match was an excuse for them to have the range exclusive to themselves one Saturday morning every other month. (And they wonder what turns off membership enthusiasm ???)

Some clubs in general are old-fart-ish, and discourage new shooters by attitude when the range is open to all members and the member's guests....
LOOK I don't like loud, sharp noises, especially in rapid succession, and the slow pace and deeeep thud of ML's don't bother me near as much as something modern being mag-dumped. I agree with old farts as I'm an old fart, but I also understand that it's better for me to wear double hearing protectors and be on the far end of the line, than to be a schmuck and say things like, "Spray and pray just misses all day", OR "Now I know why I don't shoot here that much", or, "Nice shootin', Tex"..., and cause some new shooter to lose enthusiasm. Some of those "kids" might actually get more satisfaction from making a precise shot, especially with a flintlock...how many of their buddies who all own "black rifles" can hit a bullseye at 100 yards with a long rifle ??? You have to be there with them when they're turning fixed cartridges into noise, to offer to let them shoot your rifle, right ?

LD

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I shot in an intercollegiate small bore league for 4 years. Mostly fun. A few shooters took things too seriously, but over all we had fun. We were one of the only two coed teams in a 12 team league. We shot against ROTC teams from several all male colleges. We had this really "Partonesque" young lady named Delores on the team. We talked her into coming to the mataches against those all male school teams wearing a tight t-shirt and no bra. She had this habit of sort of jumping up and down when she laughed. We noticed the prone scores of the opposing guys dropped a couple of points. I would wear a bright orange shooting cap. The underside was dark green, so I could not see it, but it was a slight peripheral distraction to the shooters on either side of me, especially if I was on the left side of a right handed shooter. I had a little gumby type bendable figure of Marvin the Martian that I put on the huge globe front sight. If somebody asked about it, I said it was my gyroscopic sight stabilizer. The university of Delaware coach made me remove it for the match with his team. We realized after a few months, that the times we had been up partying all night, we got the best scores at matches the next day. Also, when we were all strapped in our shooting gear, the only thing that really moved the front sight was our heart beat. So the lower the heart beat, the more time we had to squeeze a shot between beats. So some of us started running two miles every night to get in shape an so our heart beats would lower. In addition, My room mate and I would take sleeping pills before a match. Somebody actually had to wake us up to go and shoot our relays. My last two years, I was second highest shooter in the league. Yes we took shooting scores seriously, but it was always with a some clowning around and having fun.

One of the fellows that I first shot muzzle loaders with competitively was Ron Griffie, who ran Death Wind rifle works. My first memory of Ron, was him showing up to a match with a thumb hole stocked flint lock rifle, with built in palm rest. The stock was painted a bright metal flake green and the vent rib barrel was painted orange under the vent rib. Some of the other shooters also had what they referred to as "Buck Rogers muzzle loaders" I liked him from the very start. I learned so much from those guys about match shooting and muzzle loaders. You could come in dead last and still have fun shooting with them. Ron taught me the trick of shooting just under neath cans to pop them up in the air and a few other shooting tricks. Ron introduced me to Hoppy of H&H Barrels. Hoppy and his buddy Mike Bell taught me a lot more about match rifles and shooting.

 

[SDSmlf]

Local club I belong to, as previously mentioned has no organizated muzzleloader shoots, and very few traditional shooters. They do have Milsurp CMP shoots. Difficult to get participation from general club population, so to maximize participation opportunities, they tell everyone to bring anything and you shoot. Actually shoot may have only one or two actually shooting to ‘rules’ In some matches, but all are invited to bring and shoot what they have. They just don’t win or place in the actual match, but their scores are published.

Interesting point. Members will bring ‘extra’ correct guns and ammunition in case someone shows up that may be talked into shooting with the appropriate firearm. Last weekend heard ‘my gun will shoot, although I may not’. Some of the regular shooters will even forgo shoot to coach a newbie. Whatever it takes to get someone shooting...... one of the things I remember hearing at muzzleloader matches years ago was that I had the wrong gun. Or wrong sights. Or that I wasn’t dressed appropriately. Currently not aware of any regularity scheduled traditional muzzleloading matches with two hours of the house.

 

[sawyer04]

.... one of the things I remember hearing at muzzleloader matches years ago was that I had the wrong gun. Or wrong sights.

Like building guns now a days. I guarantee if the old smiths had Dremel's and shapers they would have used them. Some just take themselves to serious in my opinion.

 

[Pete G]

Like building guns now a days. I guarantee if the old smiths had Dremel's and shapers they would have used them. Some just take themselves to serious in my opinion.

I do have a dremel and I don't use it on muzzleloaders because it can cause more problems than it solves.

 

[Huntschool]

Shot line matches for a bit but was kinda burned out on them to start with. Sooooooo….. went to shooting fun matches and "woods walks" only. Now, due to physical/medical stuff I just shoot casually on my at home range or at short woods walk stuff if there is someone there to get me "back up the hill" after the round..... LOL

 

[sawyer04]

I do have a dremel and I don't use it on muzzleloaders because it can cause more problems than it solves.

Patients and skill my friend. Yep when I first started using a freedom shaft drive I definitely screwed some things up. I don't mean to question anyone's skill or ability, but my hands, being in the shape they are, I wouldn't be able to accomplish what I do if I didn't have power.

 

[Sunkmanitu Tanka]

I competed for several years ....Those were 13 shot matches - 10 best count ... to be delivered in 30 minutes... In most cases I had to compete in the same line-up with sharps shooters, percussion shooters and lever action shooters.... out of the ten or 12 shooters I was always the last one doing his business ... while others (who otherwise demand silence as long as they are shooting) don't give a **** when they are done... So even if liked competing, I gave up because of the un-even contest that I was always up to ... Also I like more of a competition against myself with good gun control - follow up - tight grouping and enjoying my gun and shooting ... I keep track of my shooting in a log-book and even an Excel file complete with graphics which give me a clear idea where I stand that given day and moment ... I like it where it is at the moment! Now if there were to be a flintlock only contest ... I would be the first to enter competition!

 

[sgeisz]

I have found, over 65 years of shooting, that if I want to get better I need to have skin in the game. Competition gives you something to measure against. I threw a ton of lead downrange with my musket and did learn how to load, hold and shoot it for accuracy. Competing taught me patience, handling pressure and humility. I did set a National record even though it only stood six months.

 

[tenngun]

Not my thing but tip my hat to you sir.

 

[Rudyard]

I understand Sunkamitu. I'me the same as to recording shooting results & conditions I don't think breechloaders and muzzleloaders mix too well under those conditions .But when I've got all sorted to shoot a match Per these conditions lasts thing I want is chatting and scope borrowing by spectators .& pestered by nitro guns going off . Rudyard

 

[Rockvillerich]

I have found, over 65 years of shooting, that if I want to get better I need to have skin in the game. Competition gives you something to measure against. I threw a ton of lead downrange with my musket and did learn how to load, hold and shoot it for accuracy. Competing taught me patience, handling pressure and humility. I did set a National record even though it only stood six months.

Well done!!! If you only won a match at Friendship it would be an accomplishment. Setting a record there is pretty awesome even if it stood for six minutes. Hell, I was proud to have them need to score my freaking target.

 

[Spur8]

Appears to be a pattern in the responses. Twenty or so years ago there were one or two BP matches an month in my area. Then In-lines became legal for hunting and the shoots started dwindling and then disappeared. Now it has been years since I saw a BP matches on an events calendar. I have dusted off the TC Hawkens and I am going to do some solo fun shooting for my own pleasure. I compete in HigPower, but most of the interest in the area seems to be Steel Plate pistol or "run and gun" events.