My first investment in my competitive shooting career!

[Welly Wu]

I am so blessed to be given a two purposes in my life. One is to become a poet, writer, and playwright while the other is to become a competitive rifleman. I've accomplished much for the first calling by my parents' kindness and sacrifice for my education. I am grateful to God for them and I still have another two years before I earn an MFA in English Creative Writing to go.

It's the other purpose which is competitive shooting that I want to share with community members. I was in my local Borders store and I came across a Shooting Times magazine with an advertisement from a company called SpeedCoShooting. This is a traditional gunsmith turned cyber age. They are going to release a Windows PC game called X-Treme Accuracy Shooting Game TM. It will come out either on June 1st or June 14th, 2004. Here is the details: http://www.speedcoshooting.com/Pages...edco_games.htm . The reason why I am so excited is because I firmly believe this is a perfect albeit small investment to fulfill my dream. It's a virtual shooting simulator unlike any others that I have tried before. It simulates bench rest shooting and it is the first title in a series of 14 forthcoming titles from the same company. It simulates reloading, benchrest shooting, wind reading, online and realtime virtual benchrest competitions (populated by the best benchrest shooters in the world), etc. It is the closest thing to owning a firearms license and becoming a benchrest shooter for the PC. It was also designed to bring new shooters to the sport and community (in the real world). Its designers paid particular attention to teaching the fundamentals of shooting from building the proper position, teaching the NRA Ten Commandments of Gun Safety, Ballistics, and the art / science of reloading ammunition as well as the critical art of creating and reading wind flags. There is so much to learn an explore within the safe confines of a virtual world.

Since I am an avowed computer geek, I feel that this is kind of dipping my toes in the water without drowning myself in confusion or debt. I can't help but to conclude that this is the right tool that came at the right time in my life to help me learn the fundamentals of a challenging and often frustrating but rewarding sport -- competitive shooting.

Thank you all for reading. I am so excited that I pre-ordered it for a 50% discount via Amazon.Com under their Video Games section tonight. I should get it on June 9th. I am so damned blessed and giddy! This is got to be more exciting than audio.

EDIT: I am building my library of shooting references as well as visiting gun ranges across New Jersey (oxymoron) too.

 

[gsferrari]

I dunno...until you actually HOLD a firearm in your hand no amount of simulation will get you there...

You get an idea for what you have to do - thats all..the coarse and fine tuning has to be done in person in the range with a badass gun in your hand without all these meters, dials, etc.

Its like F1 racing. I can win regularly with a Renault or BAR and to a lesser extent - a Jaguar - in F1-2002 (2002 spec cars and performance). Put me in a real car and I am sure I will not last the journey out of the pits...

Cheers!

 

[Welly Wu]

I believe it is a step in the right direction. I expect to use it as learning tool or stepping stone until I have saved up $4,000 USD and have my NJ Permit to Purchase and Long Gun license by January 2006. I also expect to learn a lot from the tutorials and becoming a part of the benchrest community through visiting gun ranges and leaving messeges on their discussion board.

This is only one step in a series of steps in the future. I am ordering Krilling's Shooting for Gold and Klinger's Rifle Shooting as a Sport: Vol. I & II as well as Horneber's Rifle Shooting: Technique, Tactics, Training... later this month as well. My friend Donald Williams has the most comprehensive library of shooting resources in the USA in his home in Oregon. He loans out books, videos, and DVDs to competitive shooters of all stripes.

So, it begins...

 

[Orpheus]

just curious--why you want to shoot in competitions so much? and you kinda implied that you don't have much experience in this--what experience do you actually have? just wondering...

 

[minya]

Aren't you forgetting something, Welly?

I mean, you've made sure we're clear on "X-Treme Accuracy Shooting Game TM" and "Giant Metal Box TM" (or whatever the UE thing is) but I think you're neglecting to inform us of many other more readily-recognized trademarks. Are you getting lax in your old age, Welly?

- Chris

 

[Welly Wu]

Orpheus:

Competing is fun, safe, and it requires an extraordinary amount of focus, patience, and self-discipline. The competitive shooting sport is unlike other sports because usually there is an opposing team to try to thwart your ability to win the game. The only opposing team is yourself. You shoot for your best for yourself. No one tries to take away your gun or do anything to impede on your ability to succeed but there is a vibrant community (not unlike Head-Fi) that is down to Earth and friendly who want to help you succeed as well. There are so many different styles of competitive shooting involving handguns, shotguns, and rifles that it makes the solid state versus tube analogy kind of stale. It is my prayer that I may someday represent the United States of American in the World Championships or even the Olympic Games. We shall see.

Chris:

I am still unsure what you think I am missing. However, I caution to acknowledge that it is a step-by-step process. First, I'm interviewing for jobs. Next, I got to stick to a conservative budget to save up the money. That money will be used to purchase my NJ Permit to Purchase license and Long Gun license (sometime 6 months before January 2006). Then, there is the actual education and training phase. The NRA is great about teaching gun safety and hunter safety courses as well as Basic Rifle I & II training programs. Don't forget there are so many books, articles, interviews, and videos / DVDs dedicated to the different aspects of the competitive shooting sport. Lastly, there is the matter of shooting equipment including spotting scopes, mats, gloves, hats, shooting vests, and reloading ammunition / gunpowders.

I realize that I can not possibly do all of those things at once. It will take time. Patience. Saving and discipline. Focus. Just like the competitive shooting business.

Of course, if I am missing something in your opinion, then I welcome you to let me know. I think I'm covering most of the bases the best that I can with what I got when I can. As of now, the books, videos, and shooting simulator are the closest thing I can legally get to the real thing. Back to job hunting.

 

[Wodgy]

Welly, have you heard of Paladin Press? They have some awesome books and videos that are so accurate the mainstream press won't carry them. Check out:
Advanced Tactical Marksman
Accurizing the Factory Rifle
Home Workshop Silencers
Bullseyes Don't Shoot Back: The Complete Textbook of Point Shooting
Extreme Close-Quarters Shooting
Tactical Shotgun
and stuff that's just good to know:
Counterambush Driving Skills and Evasion Techniques
Contingency Cannibalism
Mantrapping

 

[Welly Wu]

Wodgy:

Yes, I subscribe to their catalog. You should realize that Paladin Press is a publishing company that specializes in the publication of the tactical end of the firearms business. To the best of my knowledge, they have very few publications dealing with the competitive shooting end of the firearms industry. I undoubtedly will turn to their company for expertise advice when the time is appropriate.

 

[Orpheus]

well, good luck!

but what i mean is, i'm assuming you've had quite a bit of experience already shooting for fun?