Is pistol marksmanship a lost art?

[H Richard]

I spent 30 years keeping a small indoor club going, and for about the last 25 years having a 10 week Bullseye League in the winter. The number of participants is now exceeding 20 people which is the number of firing lanes we have. This is strictly .22 RF, but a standard 30 round Slow, Timed, Rapid fire match. The top 4-5 competitors are shooting in the 280 range (out of 300 possible). The middle 50% shoot in the 250-270 range, and a few new shooters in the 150 - 230 range. It is great fun, and I have watched so many improve so much over the years.

I always recommend to anyone interested in shooting to join a league, so you have a commitment to shoot and so soon you look forward to every session. At the end of the year after trophy's are handed out I have given out the NRA Qualification certificates to those earning a new rank, and keep a master list with every club members ranking on it and when earned posted. There are quite a few Distinguished Experts there.

When you can be somewhat proficient in Bullseye, you will find all other handgun sports much easier to accomplish.

At my outdoor club, which is the host club for the "Masters International Shooting Championship", Doug Koenig, who is well known in the action pistol circles and winner of the NRA Action Pistol Championship, the Bianchi Cup, quite a few times, is also the winner of the professional division of the Masters for over 12 years. He has commented to many of us when he learned to shoot our "Precision Event" the focus and practice it required improved all his other shooting, and he will return th the "Masters" every year as long as it is held.

Bullseye is the foundation of all handgun competition.

 

[Kavinsky]

My range is a half hour drive away. I wanted to shoot more so I got a second hand Feinwerkbau air pistol. That thing is embarassigly accurate, and the cost of pellets is infinitesmal. I shoot from one end of the garage to the other, and have a makeshift backstop; the pistol has a lot of power and penetration is a problem, so I got an old 'Readers Digest Condensed Book' for a bullet trap, which works pretty well.

hmmm my father had one of those back in the day and still has it too.

said he used to shoot at things down the hallway at work at the radar station in germany against the germans back in the 60's, they basically had an office competetion with the thing at about 12 yards down a long hallway to see who was the better shot although make sure you wear ear protection when shooting something like that.

 

[H Richard]

Air pistol is an excellent way to keep your shooting up. There is a airgun Postal competition available, under international (Olympic) rules. I use an IZH 46M Baikal (Russian) pistol, and it is also scary accurate. One hole at 10 meters is capable.

 

[JamesFlowers]

The standard pistol manufacturer feels that the average owner will only shoot 500 rounds during the life of a pistol. Many of the non-competing pistol owners I know fall into that realm. They buy a pistol, shoot a couple of mags thru it, load it, and put it in a drawer for "Just In Case".

USPSA, ICORE, IDPA, SASS, BullsEye, NRA Action, and other competing handgun owners fire 500 rounds a month easily. While some don't push for extreme accuracy, most of those competitors are more than skilled enough to keep the art of the pistol alive.