Were you a Natural at shooting?

[mousegunner]

I started out as an o.k. shooter, not bad not great but o.k. Marine Corps taught me a lot about rifle shooting and academy more about pistol shooting. Nothing fancy just basics and that counts for a lot IMO.

I've seen shooters that were very good and it's something that came natural and always amazed me. They really couldn't explain fully how they did it but they just had all the basics down without thinking about it.

So how did you start out, were you just naturally good or started o.k. and worked your way up?

 

[Dub]

was always decent but have worked my way up to where I think I can compete. Time will tell...

 

[Uthink Uknow]

What do you mean “were”? I still am.

 

[vmaxpro]

Since 5 years old! I think I was better then, then now. Atleast at offhand shooting.

 

[MoneyWaster]

I always thought that I was a pretty good shot until I built a decent precision rig and really started to send rounds down range to make 5 shot groups. It seemed like the more data that i gathered, the less awesome I became. Sure, I’ve posted a number of groups in the .2s and .3s, but my average is considerably larger than that.

 

[Adam in WI]

I was naturally mediocre if that counts...

 

[500yards]

No i am not, i have been shooting since i was just a kid, Still not a very good shot. Not as good as my Son. He is so unserious yet shoots like a pro.

 

[jds holler]

I don't think that I was a natural, but I grew up with a guy who was/is. I guess it gave me something to "shoot" for.

Among the guys who I've hunted and shot recreationally with, I'm usually the best, but I think it is because I take it more seriously than most of them. I shoot a lot more, and my equipment is sighted in and shooting good ammo.

I've never competed except informally and I imagine that most of the guys who have would kick my butt. jd

 

[Rsadams]

My grandfather started me around 5 I guess and I was really good with rifles , shotguns and even bows as I grew up but now at 51 I can't see anymore up close and it disappoints me everytime I shoot because I mainly shoot pistols or iron sight rifles a ton... A scope can be adjusted so there's no problem there but age still shows up one way or another anymore.... If I put my glasses on I can see the iron sites but I can't see the target and vise versa.... I wish I could see again like in my young days with the amount I shoot now I would like to be able to see the results....

 

[whatsupdoc]

LOL, went trap shooting once when I was like 17, forward 40 years I take the same field 1100 shotgun to a trap range near me. I shoot 3 rounds 19, 23, 25. Couple of the shooters asked me how often I shoot, I told them once 40 years ago. He is a natural they said. I laughed all the way home thinking what a lucky day.

 

[Dolomite_supafly]

I want to think I was but I think it was because I started shooting very young. I figured out what worked and what didn’t. By age 8 I was squirrel hunting alone. I also practiced a LOT.

Before my helicopter accident I was shooting 5K rounds a week. Mostly 22lr but at least 500 of that 5K was centerfire Rifle or pistol.

The only way to truly become better is practice. Live fire as well as dry fire practice goes a long way towards maintaining and improving skills.

 

[500yards]

I was naturally mediocre if that counts...

Yes it does, As a kid shooting was fun and cool but now its a sport.

 

[natdscott]

I was a “natural” at it, if there is such a thing.

That being said, I started extremely young, took SUCH a liking to it, had excellent instruction and philosophy, was blessed with truly exceptional retinas, and was provided nearly unlimited arrows and rounds with barely-limited time in the woods to use them.

25 years hunting like it was a job, followed by 10 years of hardening in competition and formal training, and I find myself with little excuse for a poor shot with most weapons.

...but was that nature..or nuture?

Despite a literal bookcase full of attempts to understand a lot of this, I am totally unable to tell the difference now, even with the significant increase in perspective from having my own child.

I bet I’m not the only one.

 

[gman47564]

when I was a young man in my late teens me and my buddy hunted and shot quiet a bit with 22's and thought we were pretty good shots... we pull in to his grampas place and his grampa was sitting outside in a old steel chair with a rifle in his lap.. he was sitting there shooting hickory nuts out of a hickory tree about 50 yards away... his grampa was in his late sixties... and every time his old rifle cracked pieces of hickory nuts fell out of the tree... we thought that was pretty cool for a old man but we was going to show him just what a good shot could do so we get are rifles out and sit down there beside him... the old man had a big grin on his face and me and my buddy went to shooting... after a box of 22 shells narry a hickory nut fell from the tree... the old man laughed and gave us the best advice of our lives when it come to shooting... he said boys if you want to be a good shot you have to shoot a lot... shoot every day if you can... I took that to heart and became a pretty fair shot...and continue to shoot all I can which is about every day...

 

[ShootDots]

I can shoot reasonably well BUT that's it! I have been shooting BB-Guns to rimfires to centerfires since I was 8 years old. I started handloading when I was about 19-20. I have been intrigued with accuracy and tiny groups since that time. I load and shoot A LOT during the year. I do get better, however, the returns on time and money are getting smaller each year. I am not a natural, however, I try like a BIG-DOG! My pleasure comes from the fact that I am in a competitive discipline that allows me to shoot at my age and beyond! If I win here and there, so much the better. I have a saying that helps me keep perspective.. I say this every time I go to the range, whether it's at a competition or just "at the range"! It goes something like this: "I am 6 foot ABOVE ground and NOT 6 foot BELOW, and I am at the range! Does it get any better than that?"!

 

[jmkasza]

One of my best friends has the gift of being a fantastic off-hand shot. As long as he’s hunting game. Great shot placement and very rarely misses.

However, put him on a bench or solid rest at 100 yards and he’s putting up 3” groups most of the time.

 

[jds holler]

The natural shooter that I grew up with was phenomenal in our little pond, and I think would have kicked ass in a big pond. Shooting shotguns and hunting birds was what we did most of, and none of us could hold a candle to him. If he wanted to be a hog, no one else would even have a chance on a bird.

We used to do a lot of aerial shooting with our rifles, and some of us got pretty good at it. "The Natural", got good at it with his pistol. Of course, these days, there is almost no where that it would be safe to do this.

He could pass shoot ducks and geese, killing them at ranges that were unbelievable; he simply hit them with a lot more pattern than the rest of us.

I've gotta admit that I kind of quit going with him -- he is a guy who is very good, and knows it. And isn't very humble about it. jd

 

[mousegunner]

I can shoot reasonably well BUT that's it! I have been shooting BB-Guns to rimfires to centerfires since I was 8 years old. I started handloading when I was about 19-20. I have been intrigued with accuracy and tiny groups since that time. I load and shoot A LOT during the year. I do get better, however, the returns on time and money are getting smaller each year. I am not a natural, however, I try like a BIG-DOG! My pleasure comes from the fact that I am in a competitive discipline that allows me to shoot at my age and beyond! If I win here and there, so much the better. I have a saying that helps me keep perspective.. I say this every time I go to the range, whether it's at a competition or just "at the range"! It goes something like this: "I am 6 foot ABOVE ground and NOT 6 foot BELOW, and I am at the range! Does it get any better than that?"!

I'm gonna borrow some of this and when people ask how I'm doing "I'm 5'8 above ground not 6 feet under, it's all good!"

 

[JFrank]

I’m terrible

 

[Terry_M]

I was just naturally lucky. Seems the more I shoot and collect data the more I realize how lucky I've been in the past...