Best way to meet other folks to shoot and train with?

[TheRealMcCoy420]

I understand we are waayy in the sticks lol. We love thu. It's such a plus to sit on the porch and deer hunt with your coffee 😁

 

[goobermensch]

I understand we are waayy in the sticks lol. We love thu. It's such a plus to sit on the porch and deer hunt with your coffee 😁

Oh I hear ya. That's the life. I'm on a decent amount of land and it's so nice just going out my back door and shooting. Sadly it's right by the road so no shooting off the front porch

 

[robchavous]

I've looked at both of those for matches and have been really tempted to go, but I know next to nothing about competition. Do I need any specific gear? Or just go with whatever gun is necessary and a way to hold some mags?

It depends on the type of match. Typically anything pistol (USPSA, IDPA, Steel Challenge, Action Pistol) will require a holster and a few mag pouches. Rifle matches depend on what it is. If it's an established sport there's rulebooks online, if it's just a outlaw / local match they'll have the rules posted somewhere.

Cherokee is having their annual Carry Gun match in a few weeks if you are interested. It's pretty beginner friendly and minimal gear requirements.

https://practiscore.com/cherokee-gun-club-carry-gun-match-11-8-2025/register

 

[TheRealMcCoy420]

We can hear the road but not that close. First is the back 40 lol.

 

[BHPSteel]

It depends on the type of match. Typically anything pistol (USPSA, IDPA, Steel Challenge, Action Pistol) will require a holster and a few mag pouches. Rifle matches depend on what it is. If it's an established sport there's rulebooks online, if it's just a outlaw / local match they'll have the rules posted somewhere.

Cherokee is having their annual Carry Gun match in a few weeks if you are interested. It's pretty beginner friendly and minimal gear requirements.

https://practiscore.com/cherokee-gun-club-carry-gun-match-11-8-2025/register

It's a bit of a trek for you, but typically, you'd also be welcome as an observer if you have interest in any particular type of competition but would rather just check out how it all works first.

 

[goobermensch]

It depends on the type of match. Typically anything pistol (USPSA, IDPA, Steel Challenge, Action Pistol) will require a holster and a few mag pouches. Rifle matches depend on what it is. If it's an established sport there's rulebooks online, if it's just a outlaw / local match they'll have the rules posted somewhere.

Cherokee is having their annual Carry Gun match in a few weeks if you are interested. It's pretty beginner friendly and minimal gear requirements.

https://practiscore.com/cherokee-gun-club-carry-gun-match-11-8-2025/register

Sweet, I'll check that out. I'll try and attend but we'll see. I'd mostly be interested in USPSA and IDPA for sure. I have a belt kit set up for a Glock 34 so that should be good for non-concealed. I need to practice with it more though. I'll make an account on there and get ready for it.

 

[BHPSteel]

Sweet, I'll check that out. I'll try and attend but we'll see. I'd mostly be interested in USPSA and IDPA for sure. I have a belt kit set up for a Glock 34 so that should be good for non-concealed. I need to practice with it more though. I'll make an account on there and get ready for it.

GSSF competitions tend to be very newbie-friendly too.

 

[goobermensch]

It's a bit of a trek for you, but typically, you'd also be welcome as an observer if you have interest in any particular type of competition but would rather just check out how it all works first.

I think I'll do that the next time they have a match I'm interested in. Don't want to show up and get embarrassed or look like an ass lol. Cherokee is about 45 minutes for me, Riverbend about an hour. I'd love to join one of the clubs but I can't justify the prices of them. Grateful they let non-members compete.

 

[robchavous]

I think I'll do that the next time they have a match I'm interested in. Don't want to show up and get embarrassed or look like an ass lol. Cherokee is about 45 minutes for me, Riverbend about an hour. I'd love to join one of the clubs but I can't justify the prices of them. Grateful they let non-members compete.

I have yet to meet a person who showed up to watch a match that didn't say they regretted not bringing their stuff. Just shoot. Nobody cares how you do as long as you are safe (don't point a gun at someone). You are almost certainly going to be at the bottom of the scores so don't put too much stock in that. If you want to watch just go on YouTube there are 1000s of uspsa/idpa/ipsc match videos online. You aren't going to see anything different by watching in person. You have to just do it to really get an idea.

 

[goobermensch]

I have yet to meet a person who showed up to watch a match that didn't say they regretted not bringing their stuff. Just shoot. Nobody cares how you do as long as you are safe (don't point a gun at someone). You are almost certainly going to be at the bottom of the scores so don't put too much stock in that. If you want to watch just go on YouTube there are 1000s of uspsa/idpa/ipsc match videos online. You aren't going to see anything different by watching in person. You have to just do it to really get an idea.

You got it boss 🫡 just doing it really is the best way to get experience.