Four Reasons To Shoot Action Pistol

I have been a shooter since I was a little tike. As with most of us, I started with a red rider and moved up to a .22 caliber sometime after that. My Grandfather used to make Maple Syrup on his farm in Vermont and the chipmunks loved to chew his sap lines. Gramp was always happy to see us grandkids come through his yard with a rifle in hand. I have been a hunter all my life and I have loved shooting firearms with friends over the years. Plinking away at paper plates and soda cans in sand pits everywhere. For the first 40 years of my life, I didn't know what I didn't know. Two years ago a friend of mine introduced us to Action Pistol and I am super happy we finally showed up. Here are some of the benefits that we have reaped in this short time.

First off: Skills or Lack Thereof. My lack of skill became painfully obvious when I accompanied some friends to our first Wednesday night Action Pistol practice. This was two years ago and, at that point in my life, I probably owned five or ten handguns. I knew how they all worked. I knew the basics of safety taught by my father three decades prior. What I didn't know was that I probably couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with any of them, especially when actually moving. I have video evidence of the poor performance of my first couple of Action Pistol practices. Now, I have learned how to draw safely, draw the slack of the trigger and squeeze the trigger past the wall while moving at a decent pace. I have learned how to count how many rounds I have fired vs how many rounds the magazine holds. I have learned how to reholster the firearm safely when done. All of this has become second nature. Practice and repetition have pushed these disciplines into the subconscious.

Do you currently shoot action pistol?

• Yes, I love it
• No, I do not currently shoot action pistol

Second: Stress Mitigation. There is a large percentage of shooters that say USPSA and the Action Pistol courses that we set up have no practical application to defensive situations. This shooter begs to differ. Our Wednesday night practices are not competitions. Sure, we use a timer and we score the targets when we get done, but these scores are barely for bragging rights and nobody remembers them the following Wednesday. But when the shooter steps up to the line and the timer sounds the beep, even the most well planned strategies go out the window. Seasoned shooters lose round count, run past targets, hit the wrong targets, or and fail to engage targets altogether. Fumbled magazines when reloading, balance is tested when forced to lean around walls, and the pace of the shooter is pushed faster and faster. This can be stressful but in a good way. I am sure this stress isn't nearly a degree of a defensive situation but it is certainly greater than the stress I had felt previously, firing single shots from the firing line at paper plates in the back yard, and after joining these practices, I can now operate a firearm safely during stressful situations.

Would you like to know what to expect from your first Wednesday Night Action Pistol attendance? Click HERE to read Ready, Aim, Fire: A Beginners Guide To Action Pistol with Cheshire County Action Pistol.

Thirdly: The clientele that joins us for Wednesday Night Action Pistol is second to none. I previously said that we are shooting under the stress of careful onlookers. Its true that there can be 20 pairs of eyes gazing at the shooter as they progress through an elaborate stage of twisting, falling, spinning, dropping and timed targets. The stages are designed to be difficult (if not just shy of impossible) it seems. But the group knows that they are all facing the same stage. We all plot and scheme the best ways to get through it. We are happy to give advice or tips. Sometimes, I will see something that they don't and vise versa. When my wife and I showed up two years ago, we only knew Jeff. Now we know everybody by name. We have a whole new group of like minded friends. The social aspect of this group is fantastic. For my wife and I, this is our social night of the week. I love that she even feels comfortable going without me on the days when I cannot make it. It's not the stereotypical "Good Ol' Boys" club. There aren't any egos. There isn't any judging. Everybody is welcome and cheered on for their accomplishments. We have 8 year olds and 80 year olds. We have different genders, races, religions and we have formed friendships that will last a lifetime.

Fourth: The Competitive Spirit. I am two years deep and I am still working on technique and stress mitigation. Now I have the fun of chasing Jeff. (Jeff is the friend that first invited me to these Wednesday night practices.) I have attended about 100 practices now and I have made considerable improvements. But... I can't beat Jeff. This competitive comradery was absent in the sand pits, once a year with my friends. On a weekly basis I have a guy that is a second or two faster than me going through a stage. A second or two may not sound like much but it can be an eternity when you are trying to shave it off. My brain has to figure out which technique of his is faster or more accurate than mine and I need to adapt to beat him. I need to push to twitch faster on the draw, get my first shot down range three tenths of a second faster, and move a little quicker through the second shooting position while transitioning to the third. And all this only makes the shooter faster if it becomes second nature to them. It needs to happen in the subconscious mind because every stage is different... every Wednesday is a new stage layout. It doesn't help to only practice excelling at this stage, I have to excel at the fundamentals involved in the sport in order to get faster. Par times, Splits, Transitions, Stage Planning; The speed is in the mental game and the fundamentals. I am chasing Jeff. Jeff's fundamentals and mental game is sharper than mine. There is always somebody faster. Even though Wednesdays aren't competitions, it doesn't mean there aren't competitors amongst us. My goal isn't to simply shoot faster, my goal is to simply shoot faster than him, consistently. And then it will be to shoot consistently faster than whomever is next. The best part is that he knows this, and he cheers me on and gives me advice on where I can shave time.

This is where the fun is at. It is seeing yourself grow at something you enjoy. The sense of pride when you run a course and everything goes right, you reholster, the RSO calls the range clear, you turn around and everybody is smiling and clapping because they know you just crushed your personal best. That is what makes us come back week after week.

Action Pistol practice every Wednesday night from 6pm until dusk. It's $5.00 and you don't have to be a range member. The Competition Schedule is listed on the home page of this website, currently costs $25.00 and happen twice a month. All are welcome. Steel Challenge and Practical Competition Shooting League (PCSL)

Cheshire County Action Pistol Tshirt

Buy Now