At the Texas IDPA Championship, someone far more knowledgeable than I pointed out that the future winners of major matches will be those who can afford to practice enough to achieve a competitive performance level.
As I’ve mentioned already, the cost of ammo is a major factor in the decision to try to become competitive in combat shooting sports. It’s no stretch to extrapolate today’s ammo prices to the point where an insurmountable barrier will be created between those already established shooters and new shooters entering the sport. New shooters might not be able to afford enough ammo to reach the skill levels to be competitive with the established players.
I believe shooting (all types) is one sport that ANYONE can become good at given enough practice. It would be a shame if the high cost of ammo kept people away from an enjoyable and fulfilling sport.
I’d be interested in anyone else’s thoughts on the subject.
From a personal viewpoint, I go to the range MUCH less frequently than I used to, because I just can’t afford to pop off 200 rounds in an hour the way I could when I first started, when ammo was $3.00 cheaper for a box of 50.
I’ve had to abandon my “I’ll pay for your first range visit” offer, because I can’t afford to buy the ammo for the new shooter any more.
I mean, I’d LIKE to try to shoot some competitively, even if it’s just an e-postal match, but it’s just not going to happen.
It sucks.
Maybe someone can invent a haptic gun controller for the Wii and we can all get our practice done in front of the TV.