Getting Started in Bullseye Shooting?

Hi,
I have followed with interest much of the content of this site. I like it because it is shooting oriented and not about collecting or tricking out the latest guns. 

I am now 78 years young and enjoy life and shooting is a favorite hobby for me. I've shot F Class and attained Expert in Long Range and Master in Mid Range. My handgun shooting goes clear back to the 90s when I shot USPSA Limited class with my 80 Series Colt Gold Cup. I've been shooting handguns again for about a year now and I can see that I'm not improving much so I am planning to start Bullseye Shooting with a club that I belong to. 

Our club has it's own range and hosts many handgun matches each month, mostly running and gunning stuff. The Bullseye matches are non sanctioned with club rules which suits the aging membership like me. They have rimfire and center fired, one handed and two handed shooting classes. I intend to start with one of my 1911s in 45 ACP shooting two handed. I found a place in the back of the range which has steel set up as the normal practice. I have used that bay and like it and found a way that I can put my 25 yard targets up at the proper distance. I am excited about this find.

I did try it out a couple days ago and it works perfectly for me. I also found that I need a lot of practice. LOTS of practice. But that's ok as I know I will improve over time. I just received Bruce Martindale's online book and have started reading it. Since I will be using two hands I am puzzled with the differences that will make. Stance is one that comes to mind right now.

Anyway, I just wanted to open up about my situation and look forward to learning all I can from any and all of you.

Thanks,
Richard

Thank you for your order, many have liked it so far. Re 2 hands vs 1, unless it’s a fast second shot, I find it’s a handicap for me. Maybe I just don’t do enough of it, but a good one handed grip resists trigger induced motions and lets you establish better balance as opposed to having the weight of two arms hanging out there and one extra hand possibly causing other errors.

I’m 70 and come from a rifle background. Distinguished and Master in rifle and long range. Achieved this almost exclusively by dryfiring and shooting 1 or 2 matches a month. I’m a Marksman in Pistol so take my recommendation accordingly. 
If you want to shoot bullseye use only one hand. Also, start with a 22 till you have developed a level of competency in the basics. There is a lot of info available. The AMU manual is also a good source. Zins has some utube videos that I like. Develop a shot process and train using that process. Learn proper grip and trigger control then dry fire to improve them. I try to dryfire 3-4 times a day but generally only get a couple of sessions in. 
Also, at your (our) age physical fitness and overall general health is important. Diet and exercise is in my training plan. This should also make growing old more tolerable. 
Just my thoughts. 
Rush

rckendall wrote:Hi,
I have followed with interest much of the content of this site. I like it because it is shooting oriented and not about collecting or tricking out the latest guns. 

I am now 78 years young and enjoy life and shooting is a favorite hobby for me. I've shot F Class and attained Expert in Long Range and Master in Mid Range. My handgun shooting goes clear back to the 90s when I shot USPSA Limited class with my 80 Series Colt Gold Cup. I've been shooting handguns again for about a year now and I can see that I'm not improving much so I am planning to start Bullseye Shooting with a club that I belong to. 

Aging eyes will be your biggest challenge! Have you decided on Open, optical or red dot sight?

I you choose metallic sights be sure to find and optician that will let you bring in at least your slide so that you can get a prescription to see your front sight clearly. Your opposite lens can be set up for distance. 
I am 77 and used that setup for several years before switching to a red dot for indoor Gallery Precision Pistol.

Thanks for the responses and please bear with me. There are a couple reasons that I have chosen this path. First is a couple recent incidents that caught my attention. First was a shooting at a church in Texas, I think, where the intruder had entered the sanctuary in front and stated shooting. Someone from the rear of the sanctuary took him down in one shot, from the back!

The other was the shooting at the mall where the guy with the rifle was shot by a shopper who was in the same area. He pushed his girlfriend to a safe place and shot the bad guy, taking him out. 

I don't carry often but it showed me that as a responsible gun owner and shooter that I should be able to protect others as I am probably more capable, or at least want to be more capable. I love my church family and I feel an obligation to help where I can.

I shot USPSA back in the 90s and I liked that it was practical. I am passed the running and gunning part but I want to be able to defend defenseless people if required. As far as the sport of Bullseye shooting goes, two hands is not correct and I understand that. But as a club function of old guys getting together once a month to shoot our handguns, two hands is fine with me.

https://www.shooting-performance.com/

https://www.shooting-performance.com/

Thanks for the link. It looks like a lot of good stuff there. I'll check it out. It does bring something else up that pertains to my situation. and that is self defense being different from defense of others. One range where I often shoot handguns, most everyone has their targets at 7 yards. I refuse to do that. There is steel set up at 25 yards and that is my primary target. It is a 2/3 size IPSC silhouette which is 12"x16"body with a 4" square head. There is also a full size ISPC silhouette at 50 yards which I also shoot, but not on my bad days. 

What I have realized is that I need to aim small and miss small. I need a smaller target. That is where the bullseye target came to mind. So regardless of what others may or may not like about my path, it seems right for me. I have a lot to learn and I look forward to this quest.

BTW, I am in good physical condition, walk a lot getting my heartrate and body temperature up, don't take medications (drugs), and can still use iron sights with my shooting glasses.

for BE, you will learn more from one hand shooting. I am 87, and began
BE after 30+ yrs of absence-I learned the hard way two hand will teach
you mistakes. Bruce's book, NRA 20yd practice targets at 25 yds- ED Hall's
series (on a sticky above) is also great.

rckendall wrote: So regardless of what others may or may not like about my path, it seems right for me. I have a lot to learn and I look forward to this quest.

BTW, I am in good physical condition, walk a lot getting my heartrate and body temperature up, don't take medications (drugs), and can still use iron sights with my shooting glasses.

Getting coaching, even from a distance, like here. is better than "choosing your own path". Bullseye pistol shooting is different from anything else you have done. Listen to those who know. Good for you for keeping fit. Having the physical stamina to stand and shoot one-handed is difficult even for young folks who are physically fit and can improve their hold and endurance rapidly. Have fun.

Self defense shooting and bullseye are different. When my son Adam was in the AMU they sent him to various self defense shooting schools. One of them used paint balls accelerated to a speed that if it hit you with no protection it would kill you! With protection impact would cause a welt and hurt like he**! Done to support not getting hit with a bullet!
 Bullseye requires precision shooting and no possibility of the target returning fire and done in a position that best for precision yet bad for self defense!
 One thing to consider is when Adam was the coach of the AMU team he found teaching a new shooter to shoot well was easier if they had little to no shooting experience! Bad habits are hard to break and information from shooters that know very little as to how to shoot a good score will provide information that will develop into bad habits!
 Simply put get help from those that have proven to be top shooters! That is also true with self defense!
 If defense is you main goal the action shooting would be a better sport to get into.