Should I stop helping my friend?? Is this the end of a friendship???

So a week or so ago I posted about my friend whose hands shake a lot, and about his interest in bullseye.

https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t20917-best-funny-but-true-reason-to-shoot-one-handed

Fast forward to today.  He’s going to join me tomorrow to shoot his first match NRA precision Pistol Rimfire 900. The only advice I’ve offered is focus on the sights / ignore the wobble, and use a continuous smooth pull to the rear so as to not disturb the sights.  Well okay, I did get him Bruce Martindale’s Feeling Center book figuring that that is better than me giving him amateur, bad advice. 

Today we drive to the range (in my car, with my gas, to my club range) so I can familiarize him with the location, distance, course of fire, and check our .22 sights at 50 yards. We get his bone stock Ruger mark IV dialed in using a sand bag and CCI SV.  Then he does some practice firing and starts hitting the target!    He’s barely been shooting at 25 yards, mostly at 5,7,10 yards —not a single round in his life at 50 yards. And it’s a crappy Ruger trigger, feels like dragging a brick down an asphalt road. 

To make matters worse, then he pulls out his new BONE STOCK $420 made in Italy “Charles Daly” 1911A1 with thumbnail military sights, short trigger, plain slab no checkering grips, and off the shelf S&B ball ammo. Okay, he did fiddle with the sear spring, so the trigger will no longer tow a tractor trailer rig.  To temper his expectations and soften the blow, I explain that I have had trouble even hitting the target at 50 yards… seemed like the right thing to do so that his enthusiasm doesn’t drop off…. but he then proceeds to set up his stance and put FOUR of five rounds on the target!  Three of them scoring… What he H-LL??!   I’m getting pissed.  And have to drive him home for thirty minutes.

It’s been fun having a shooting buddy and fun that he too got interested in bullseye.  And we’ve been friends for 25 years.  But if he out shoots me and my $700 High Standard Victor and 20 cents per round Eley ammo… I’m think our friendship may be on the line tomorrow!  Should I even shoot with him anymore??? 

Sounds like you need to put your big girl panties on for the match tomorrow 

There really needs to be a "Sarcastica" font.

I think you need to cut him loose. He should take up golf. And DON'T being him to New Jersey!

Yep, cut him loose before he gets dragged down into the equipment over shooter quagmire.
Honestly, this sounds like a person that has a great understanding of the basics. Just help him with the rules and match process and just wait for his questions!
Maybe there's a new lifelong bullseye shooter there

Make sure next time, he drives!!

Friends can be golden especially 25 year old ones, you know each other. I would help him as much as he wants and what time you can afford. I only have one friend that I go to long distance matches with and he's gone all winter, so we shoot together in the summer. He outshoots me most of the time (99%), so if that bothers you, too bad, you need to improve for yourself only.
 Stan

Well, turns out we can still be friends. But that wasn’t clear at the end of slow fire. He shot the long line quite well. Unfortunately the pressure eventually got to him. Lol On the last RF string he was down to the hubs when the wheels fell completely off: he incurred a 2 away alibi.

After he shoot’s the alibi string, we walk down to score and he says “well at least I got an 8 and a 6 on the repair target!”  Me: “Yeah those don’t count”.  We bust out laughing.

CR10X, you may be right. He really enjoyed the challenge, especially how quickly a person can go from greatness to ignominy in mere seconds. We are going to try to cae pool to shoot a match in Houston next weekend.

The COOLEST part was a contingent of Tx A&M Aggie ISSF college shooters who came in to try bullseye for the first time. Or, more accurately, they showed up to sandbag every one of us still unclassified shooters. Lol.  Great young “kids”. So polite and humble, yet clearly had well oiled shot processes!  Three visible here. Pink cap, white cap, and dark hair maroon shirt in the back.

Wow! $700 gun, you should be able to out shoot most every one.

Cmysix wrote:Wow! $700 gun, you should be able to out shoot most every one.

No doubt!  I thought I had bought some serious points!