There is some controversy about the value of competition shooting in preparing for a violent confrontation. One valuable thing that shooting sports do is force shooters out of their comfort zone and require complex weapons manipulations under stress. Don’t believe that there is stress in competition? Watch these guys learn some painful lessons about situational awareness and safe manipulation.
Always cheaper to learn from the lessons of others. Think you can do better? Come out to a local match. Everybody there wants to see new shooters come out. Just focus on smooth safety, not speed.
Photo courtesy of Craig Outzen