This is the kind of thing that makes me realize just how many great folks are active in the shooting sports community.
Rob Leatham, the Wayne Gretzky of the shooting sports, hosts a monthly match the 4th Sunday of every month, at the Rio Salado range in Mesa Arizona. The purpose of this match is to give folks interested in competition, a way to get their feet wet in the sport.
This is not a class. It's not meant for someone that doesn't know basic firearms or how to use their own equipment. What it is, is a way for folks that know their firearms to learn about how matches are structured and let them go through a 'simplified' match surrounded by folks that are there to help.
The safety briefing for new shooters is at 8am. The experienced folks head out and started to run the stages, while we hung back for a quick safety briefing and overview of what we could expect and what to do provided by Rob's wife, an exceptional shooter at the national level herself.
Even the stage design was 'new guy' friendly. In order to help the new folks learn, they also have you shoot the stages 3 times, keeping your best score. It's great practice, in that you can get enough repetition to really get a feel for it. Unlike some of the other local matches, where large numbers of people need to get pumped through the stages, so keeping things moving is encouraged, new shooters were helped out on each stage. As I went up to each stage, the RO made sure I understood the stage mechanics and briefed me on any things to keep in mind to stay safe on that particular stage.
If you've ever thought about getting started in practical pistol/3 gun/etc, this one is a great starting point. I'll definitely be out again next month.
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