This Is The Time of Year to Join A Bullseye League

wlambert · Post by **wlambert** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:17 pm

Hi Friends,

If you are reading this forum, you probably like to shoot. If you enjoy target shooting with hand guns, you should give some serious consideration to joining a Bullseye Pistol League. This time of year many leagues are between sessions. If they shoot a Summer and Winter league they are just about ready to start their Winter league. If they shoot an annual schedule, they will probably start the new league in early January. This is an excellent time to stop by the range, meet new friends, and sign up for the new league session. You will have time to get in some practice before the serious shooting begins.

It doesn't take much equipment to start. Most leagues will require eye and hearing protection, and a small staple gun. A pistol like a Ruger MKII, MKIII, or 22/45 is an excellent way to start Bullseye shooting. A stock Ruger will probably need a trigger job, but most gun smiths can accomplish the job for a reasonable charge. A Ruger with a good trigger is capable of shooting Master lever scores, possible even High Master.

In Bullseye, you stand up, unsupported, one handed, and shoot at a target 25 yards away. Out doors, the slow fire target can be 50 yards away. The emphasis is on technique, good trigger control, and a steady hold. You can not buy your way to success. The best equipment will not get you a Master rating if you can not do your part. The challenge is to continually shoot better this time than you did last time.

If you live in the Lehigh Valley, we have two excellent clubs. Check out the Lehigh Valley Police Revolver League (not police and not only revolver) at Hellertownsportsmen.com or Queen City at Guthsville.com. LVPRL will take a rank amateur and teach you the ropes. Guthsville would prefer that you are already familiar with safe gun handling. Stop by and check us out.

Wherever you live, find a local Bullseye League and check them out. Time goes faster when you have a league night once a week and it gives you an excuse to get out and shoot. Give it a try this year. Don't wait too long like I did.

wlambert

langenc · Post by **langenc** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 1:51 pm

Excellent advice.

If you are somehwaht interested or think you are-stop by a local club anyway. You dont have a gun, or dornt know how to shoot it-great. Bring the gun along and you will be helped. Hav an old gun in the 'sock' drawer-take it to the range/club and we would show you how to strip and shoot it.

Dont have a gun-stop out on shooting night(s) and someone will let you shoot their gun and help you make an intelligent selection when you are ready to buy a gun.

GooseYArd · Post by **GooseYArd** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:33 am

I just started shooting bullseye, its my first competetive shooting although I've been shooting pistols all my life. What a great time it is- there are shooters of all ages and experience, and my league uses a handicap system so everybody has the same incentive to shoot well. Also a young new guy has a fighting chance against the old sharpshooting fogeys as their eyesight starts to slip

I've been shooting a 22/45 with an ultradot and a VQ kit and I am certainly not limited by that pistol at all. It seems to me what you want is a pistol you trust foremost, fancy comes second.

jaeger45 · Post by **jaeger45** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:34 am

GooseYArd wrote:I just started shooting bullseye, its my first competetive shooting although I've been shooting pistols all my life. What a great time it is- there are shooters of all ages and experience, and my league uses a handicap system so everybody has the same incentive to shoot well. Also a young new guy has a fighting chance against the old sharpshooting fogeys as their eyesight starts to slip

I've been shooting a 22/45 with an ultradot and a VQ kit and I am certainly not limited by that pistol at all. It seems to me what you want is a pistol you trust foremost, fancy comes second.

Amen to that, brethren.

It's the prints on the paper that counts, and not the bells/contraptions on the gun.

jjfunk · Post by **jjfunk** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 12:48 pm

Is there a listing of Bullseye groups or leagues for different areas somewhere? I was just wondering if there is one in my area.

El Paso, Texas area?

wlambert · Post by **wlambert** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:23 pm

Two good sources for finding ranges are NRA.ORG and ODCMP.COM. ODCMP is the Civilian Marksmen Program site. You can also use Google to find clubs in your area that have web sites.

wlambert

Hardball · Post by **Hardball** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 12:58 am

jaeger45 wrote:
GooseYArd wrote:I just started shooting bullseye, its my first competetive shooting although I've been shooting pistols all my life. What a great time it is- there are shooters of all ages and experience, and my league uses a handicap system so everybody has the same incentive to shoot well. Also a young new guy has a fighting chance against the old sharpshooting fogeys as their eyesight starts to slip

I've been shooting a 22/45 with an ultradot and a VQ kit and I am certainly not limited by that pistol at all. It seems to me what you want is a pistol you trust foremost, fancy comes second.
Amen to that, brethren.

It's the prints on the paper that counts, and not the bells/contraptions on the gun.

Double Amen to that.

I shoot a MkII as well as I shoot my Hammerli in slowfire. The Hammerli has a slight edge in T&R. Probably due to the Morini grip. Your technique is far more important than the dollars you spend in bullseye.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 9:45 am

Bullseye shooting is a rewarding experience. I like the instant feedback I get from my target. Plus, there's always folks who'll help the new shooters improve their techniques. You don't see that type of bonding in too many other sports. Many a time a shooter has had their gun fail out on the line, only to have the person next to them hand them one of their own to use to finish up the competition. I know I've been beaten by my own gun a few times over the years.

R,
Bullseye

Adam67 · Post by **Adam67** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:22 pm

Bullseye wrote:Bullseye shooting is a rewarding experience. I like the instant feedback I get from my target. Plus, there's always folks who'll help the new shooters improve their techniques. You don't see that type of bonding in too many other sports. Many a time a shooter has had their gun fail out on the line, only to have the person next to them hand them one of their own to use to finish up the competition. I know I've been beaten by my own gun a few times over the years.

R,
Bullseye

To get beat by your own gun......classic.

I just started bullseye training. This is my very first gun. Well I had some air guns as a kid.......now I'm 41. I bought a Ruger Mark III competition target 5.5" bbl. I will see how it goes for a while to decide whether or not I want to get into the center fire portion (not this year). The way prices of ammo and accurized 1911's are going I might just stick with 22. Even though I'm just getting started (and I suck) it is a lot of fun......mastering that trigger is my primary focus. Summer outdoor league starts the first week of June.....hopefully that is enough time for me to at least not embarrass myself out there.

I love a good challenge and it looks like I have found it with bullseye.......and I thought golf was tricky.

wlambert · Post by **wlambert** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:28 pm

Unless you want to shoot NRA 2700 matches, you probably don't need a 1911. A lot of leagues have a rimfire and center fire class. A revolver in .38 or .45 will work for center fire. Actually, a revolver in .45 would work for a 2700 match, but I haven't seen anyone in our area do that.

Generally, a Smith right out of the box will work for Bullseye. They cost less than a custom 1911, and a revolver can be a lot of fun. I shot my second year of league shooting with a Model 15 that I bought second hand. Shooting rapid fire with a revolver is a challenge, but it is fun.

wlambert

Post by **Bullseye** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 10:15 pm

Adam,

Shooting bullseye is a very enjoyable experience. The 22 is a versatile training platform and many leagues have matches set up around them. One of the favorite pistols for shooters across the board is the 22LR rimfire.

I'm also a big fan of the 1911. The trigger and functionality of these are such that they are very bullseye competition friendly. Plus, there are a lot of these pistols out in the general population. Many are accurized and available at a reasonable price on the used market. There's always someone who's decided either to get out of the game, or a family who has lost someone who was a shooter, and is looking to put their equipment back in circulation within the shooting community. I see many 1911's out there for $600 to $850, fully tuned, and ready to shoot.

As for centerfire ammunition costs, reloading is one way to offset the high cost of production ammo. It takes a little practice to develop a custom load. But once you have one that works, your confidence and performance will climb significantly.

Good luck with the new hobby. Don't worry about comparing your performance to others, in the beginning go for personal bests. This way you are striving to be your best within your abilities. This is one reason why bullseye competition has awards based experience levels. This way everyone is competing at their own level and it makes it fun for all involved.

R,
Bullseye