Ladies.... Do you compete???

[Jules]

I'm a member of that Winton range, but I don't shoot IDPA. I do, however, shoot on a winter league trap team. I think our team will be all women this year, as my son is off to join the Juniors team, the little turkey.

[stacym]

If we get enough maybe we can form our own squad.

Now that would be fun - just to put faces w/ names from Calguns!

[cep55]

I don't currently shoot competitively, but I'm looking to get into bullseye...

I'm in the San Jose area, and would love to join in some ladies only events!

Christina

[onequickshift]

I don't currently shoot competitively, but I'm looking to get into bullseye...

I'm in the San Jose area, and would love to join in some ladies only events!

Christina

Nice! I am looking at buying another home in San Jose or Santa Cruz by the coast a bit more.

[BadKitty]

I'm interested in competing, but I just don't know how these things work, what the rules are, etc, etc. I don't want to be that dork woman who doesn't understand the competition format and holds up the entire line because I wasn't doing the right things. How can I learn more about what's expected? Should I just go to one and watch to get a feel for it?

BK

[stacym]

BK - I looked up my local IDPA club and checked out their website. They have an orientation class for those new to the sport, which is mandatory before shooting with the club. That gave me all the do's and don'ts I needed to get started. I also went and watched a match before my first match. During the one I was simply observing, a woman approached me and asked, "Why aren't you shooting?" That made me feel good about getting involved.

I also kind of lucked out, in that I was in a local gun store (when shopping for my first pistol) and mentioned I was interested in action pistol competitions. Another customer overheard, and offered some info about the local club. He also mentioned that it was family-friendly and they had several women who were regulars. That helped further my motivation to give it a shot. I'm so glad I did - I'm having a great time.

I encourage you to research here or via google. Here might be better - post something over in the 'competition' sub-forum. Just ask where a good, friendly competition is in your area (location) and area of interest (pistol, rifle, etc.) People on the board seem pretty friendly, and I'm sure they'd make a nice recommendation for a first-timer. I see you're in SoCal, otherwise I'd say come join us at SacValley.

Good luck with your search, and if you find something you like, come back & post about it to encourage other ladies to get involved!

[IPSICK]

I'm interested in competing, but I just don't know how these things work, what the rules are, etc, etc. I don't want to be that dork woman who doesn't understand the competition format and holds up the entire line because I wasn't doing the right things. How can I learn more about what's expected? Should I just go to one and watch to get a feel for it?

BK

You'd be surprised at how friendly and inviting action pistol competitions are to the new shooter. I think some great ones near you are at Piru and Norco.

Here are a couple links:

http://www.isishootists.com/

http://nrg.jvdynamics.com/nrg/

Most clubs offer intro classes and are really great at getting shooters into the sport.

Btw, there are no dork women shooters only dork men who get perplexed on why you women are kicking our butts at the range.

[stacym]

Btw, there are no dork women shooters only dork men who get perplexed on why you women are kicking our butts at the range.

[OliveCookieMonsta]

Everyone is new to it at some point... then we get used to it and try to share the joy...

: )

[katokat]

I do pistol matches down in San Diego. Anyone interested, the Lemon Grove Gun Club (range is in Alpine, CA, go figure) has IDPA on the third Sat and action pistol on the first Sat every month. My husband is the shootmaster for the IDPA. It's fun and the more experienced shooters are helpful to the novices. Would love to see some more women there.

[Steyrlp10]

I still need to break in my Les Baer, but being sick has put me behind in my progress. I'm going to shoot Free this Sunday in Concord and see how I survive.

The last time I shot a match in Concord, it was 90+ degrees! I was trying to keep my glasses from sliding off my nose and thought was going to melt

Olive, it would be fun to get together with all of you when I can get my act together. I think you did pretty well at the CRPA event and hope you win the High Woman Trophy next time

[CGT80]

I'm interested in competing, but I just don't know how these things work, what the rules are, etc, etc. I don't want to be that dork woman who doesn't understand the competition format and holds up the entire line because I wasn't doing the right things. How can I learn more about what's expected? Should I just go to one and watch to get a feel for it?

BK

Hope you don't mind some input from a guy.

Watching and then participating is a good idea. You can learn from others. That is how I got into competition shooting about two years ago. Since then I have learned a great deal from other shooters and have also had a chance to help others become better at the sport.

In norco/corona at Raahauges range there are a variety of competitions, including steel challenge, ipsc, cowboy, and steel madness. My mom and dad both shoot with me at the Steel Madness competition. There are a handful of women shooters there. We are very new shooter friendly. The match is not sanctioned like idpa or ipsc. There are always 6 different stages or courses of fire, and they change every time. All of the targets are steel plates in one form or another. Matches are at 9am on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th sundays of the month. If your near the area check it out. Let me know if you have any questions.

http://sites.google.com/site/ssaresults/

[stacym]

[QUOTE=CGT80;7125786]Hope you don't mind some input from a guy.

QUOTE]

CGT80 - I for one thought your post was great - supportive, friendly, and welcoming. If I lived in your area, I'd feel comfortable going to your range, based on what you posted. I hope more people can use these Calguns forums to reach out, meet others, and get a feel for what kind of people they will find at different ranges and events. This can only be good for our sport/hobby/rights!

[OliveCookieMonsta]

yeah!!! This is part of what Calguns is about!!!

Remember our booths always need volunteers too! Share and spread the news! Shoot and enjoy!

CGT80 - I for one thought your post was great - supportive, friendly, and welcoming. If I lived in your area, I'd feel comfortable going to your range, based on what you posted. I hope more people can use these Calguns forums to reach out, meet others, and get a feel for what kind of people they will find at different ranges and events. This can only be good for our sport/hobby/rights!

[KillerRabbit]

I'm not a woman either

But I did wear a dress to our Team Dinner in 2008 after telling the California Grizzlies Junior Rifle Team that I would if they won the Minuteman Trophy at Camp Perry. It was a small price to pay for winning the trophy. Seriously I help coach the Grizzlies Junior Team and many of the members are young women. I also compete with the Coalinga Rifle Club Team (the Killer Rabbits) and we have several women on our team. They range in age from teenagers to Grandmothers and from a manager of a fast food establishment to an MD. The top junior in the nation with a service rifle is a young woman on the Grizzlies Team, Sagen Maddalena from the "gold country" of California. One of the best long range shooters in the world Noma Mayo lives in the same area. She is on the Palma Team and will be going to Australia soon for the Palma Match. In the late 90's Nancy Gallagher Tompkins was the NRA High Power national champ. In 2010 her daughter Sherri was the national champ setting a new record score. What other sport has a woman been the overall champion in? My point is that it's a great sport for women (it's a great sport for everyone actually) and women are not at a physical disadvantage compared to the men. Size or stature does not matter in this sport, if anything I feel being on the smaller side is probably an advantage (at least in High Power Rifle competition). If any of you are interested in competing with a rifle please don't hesitate to do so. You will be welcomed at most clubs and most "old" shooters are always willing to help newer shooters. The High Power shooters are a relatively close knit community so if you are looking for a match in your area please let me know as I can ask around and probably find a match near you. Hopefully I can find someone who shoots near you to help you at your first few matches. The idea of competing scares some people away, but it shouldn't as it is a great way to improve your skills and you get to shoot as much as you want that way (you can shoot a High Power match every day of every weekend if you want to travel a little). Like CGT80 I am a little hesitant to post in the womens forum so I hope this was OK. If any of you have specific questions I can probably get some of the women on our team to talk with you if that would be preferable.
Dirk