Nine years ago I stopped competing in precision pistol shooting, also known as bullseye pistol, and a couple months ago, at the urgings of a friend and of my wife, I began again.

So far, I’ve only fired my .22, a Pardini SP with open sights, through which I had not even fired a thousand rounds, maybe not even 500, before I hit pause on shooting. That is to say, I hadn’t figured out the gun.

I joined a local pistol league that shoots one night a week at an indoor range at Duncan’s in Bay City, Michigan. The regulars are a mix, men and women, some of whom have been shooting bullseye for decades and others for only a year, and so there is also a real mix of expertise. Ernie runs the firing line like a pro.

I started competing when I was about 14 or 15 years old after attending a junior shooting program held at the Petrarca Range at Camp Perry, OH, concurrent with the National Pistol Championships. That was in 1990. I shot bullseye quite a bit in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, slowing down until 2016 when I stopped. After over 25 years of bullseye shooting, life was getting too busy.

Over those years, I mostly competed with a Ruger Mk II .22 and a Clark Heavy Slide .45 ACP built on a Colt 1911 Series 70. I always shot my Clark with iron sights and went back and forth over the years between iron sights and a dot scope on my Ruger. I added a Marvel .22 conversion kit and competed with that for a while, and I also picked up a .45 for hardball (Excellence in Competition/EIC) matches. I did pick up some points in a National Trophy match, but have a ways to go to reach Distinguished.

My classification for official competition has long since expired.

I have my shooter’s diary from 9 years ago, and just kept up keeping score in the same notebook. When I started back up, I was shooting about 10 to 15 points lower out of 300 than when I stopped 9 years earlier. But now I’m closing in, with my last gallery course at 272 out of 300.

That’s a slow fire, timed fire, and rapid fire target, which I would normally call an NMC, National Match Course, but if I understand right it’s generally called an NRA Gallery Course?

Slow Fire is 10 shots in 10 minutes.
Timed Fire is 2 strings of 5 shots in 20 seconds each.
Rapid Fire is 2 strings of 5 shots in 10 seconds each.

Indoors we’re firing at 50 feet. Outdoors I would expect to shoot Slow Fire at 50 yards and Timed and Rapid Fire at 25 yards.

When I left off, I was shooting in the 270s and low 280s.

I ended with a 97 Rapid last week, and so I expect it is just a matter of time (and execution) that I’ll shoot a 100. There’s something satisfying about cleaning a target.

Historically, Slow Fires have been the area I can improve the most. I’d typically shoot in the mid 80s, and too rarely shoot in the 90s.

So, that’s the area I’ll focus on now. Keeping my Timed and Rapid targets in the high 90s shouldn’t be a problem now that I’m remembering how to shoot, so I can focus on my shot process for Slow Fires and look to keep my scores on those in the 90s. When I do that, I’ll have exceeded my norm from 9 years ago.

I’d like to prove that out for myself by the time we wrap up the indoor season, which I think will be the end of April. I have about a month.

To do that, I will need to consistently execute my shot process.

What shot process?

Well, it’s pretty straightforward at this point.

With my gun in hand on the bench, eyes focusing on the wall of the shooting lane and taking deliberate breaths, I tell myself and visualize:

1. Inhale while raising your gun.
2. Find your sights on the way up.
3. Exhale and settle the sight picture.
4. Align your sights perfectly. Fight for the front sight.
5. At your normal respiratory pause, move the trigger: One, two, three. (I know that if I pass the count of 3 and the gun hasn’t fired, I put the gun down and restart the process because I’ve extended past my minimum arc of movement.)
6. Follow through and call the shot.

Having told myself that and visualized, I take a breath and then do it.

In a Small Arms Firing School training, I remember an instructor saying cheekily, “The secret to winning? Don’t fire the bad shots.” So if I do something during a shot process that signals it won’t be a good shot, this little voice in my head reminds me, “Start over.” I need to listen to that voice more.

I’m glad to have started shooting again. I find the discipline of the sport brings me a sense of peace, and provides something trivial that I can work on myself. There’s something simple and mindful about it, like a meditation. It’s something that I can work to master, but may never truly master.

Oh, closing note, there’s isn’t much on YouTube about this kind of shooting, but a couple years ago a shooter did start a channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BullseyePistol. I’ve been enjoying his posts.