About Me

I started pistol shooting about 1980. The gun store and range I went to (Fletcher Arms, Waukesha, WI) was an indoor facility and the majority of the customers and staff were Bullseye pistol shooters. Naturally, that being my first exposure, led me down the path of Bullseye shooting. I don't consider myself a driven competitor although I like to compete on a friendly level and certainly like to win! However, I don't go to the extremes some athletes do. I don't arrange my life around it, I don't alter a lot in my life to accommodate the sport. I do what I can to improve, I try to just enjoy the sport, and I try to push myself to be better at it.

During the early 80s I shot mostly indoor matches because that is what the other guys did. Like most shooters I started out in Marksman class and moved up to Sharpshooter class. I would win some categories at matches which kept the competitive spirit going. I never allowed myself to get "worked up" at a match, back then I usually shot better at a tournament than I did in practice or on league night. In 1985 I moved to Illinois and kept shooting for a while longer but traveling to Wisconsin to shoot took too much time and Illinois isn't the most gun friendly state around. I quit shooting around 1986 or 1987, but kept my guns, my treasured model 41 and model 52.

In 2010 I started watching a show on the history channel called Top Shot. It was fun to watch and see the excitement of competition and I think that got me interested again. Effective January first of 2011 a new law had been passed in Illinois where if you had guns and no FOID card or even an expired FOID card, the penalty was made more severe. I checked through my papers and found out I was expired and owned guns so I filed the papers and waited for my FOID card to arrive which was March of 2011.

With a rekindled interest and my required FOID card in hand, I decided to find a local range and try shooting again. I also started looking for tournaments to shoot at again - it is a competitive sport so you have to compete! I practiced a few times at the local range and started to get back into the routine. I found it easier to relearn how to shoot than it was to relearn all the terminology and rules of competition. While much is the same from 25 years ago, a lot has changed too.

My first tournament was the Wisconsin Indoor State in Beloit WI (what a great facility). This was a 2700 point match and not having a 45 I had to borrow one from another shooter. It was a Clark long slide from the late 70's or early 80's. I didn't have much ammo to learn how to shoot it and left just enough to make it through the match so I knew it would be a tough match. Without a classification I had to shoot as unclassified, however, I tracked my score as Sharpshooter (where I left off 25 years ago). The match started out bad, I didn't pay attention to the slow fire range commands for rimfire so I only shot 5 rounds instead of 10. But I didn't let that rattle me too much and laughed it off with the other shooters. At the end of the match (relative to my previous class as a sharpshooter), I ended up taking 1st place for 45 slow fire, and 45 aggregate. My NMC scores were:

Rimfire (S&W Model 41)

Slow 128

Timed 192

Rapid 177

Center fire (S&W Model 52)

Slow 150

Timed 174

Rapid 185

45 (1911 Clark long slide)

Slow 180

Timed 188

Rapid 185

Aggregate score 1559 27X (86.6%)

Certainly not stellar but it was a new start for me.

Throughout 2011, I shot every match I could make it to and met a lot of great people. My scores quickly improved and by mid-summer I was starting to get a routine going and my NMC averages were solid in the Expert class with:

Rimfire 291 (97%)

Center fire 280 (93%)

45 273 (91%)

The Illinois state outdoor was held in September and it was a cold, rainy day. I was still shooting with all three guns (Model 41, Model 52, and 1911) but I should have benched the model 52 by that time, I was not shooting good with it. My scores for the NMC were:

Rimfire 280 (93%)

Center fire 264 (88%)

45 270 (90%)

Shortly after the ILL state, I benched the model 52 so I could focus on only 2 guns. I spent a lot more time and effort doing training as opposed to general practice. I had to change something so I could move forward and it seemed to help. The next tournament I shot at was the Sectionals in Kenosha WI (Southport Masters Club). The Sectionals is a rimfire only match so it wasn't a solid statement of my performance, but it was that last match I have shot at as of this writing. A score of 294 in the NMC portion and a solid performance in the rest of the match put me in second place overall and I took home a silver medal. There certainly is a sense of pride taking a silver medal in a competition like that. I was shooting against a lot of the guys I admire and I look up to and honestly, beating some of them is not something I thought I was capable of.

During the winter, I joined two leagues: Tri-County Pistol & Revolver League and an informal league at a gun club I joined (Elgin Rifle Club). The Tri-County league is a lot of fun because it is team based. There are six teams and we shoot at each others home ranges. With six teams, you get to shoot with, and against a lot of other shooters and at different ranges. The informal league at our gun club is all about fun. The guys calling the line have fun, the shooters have fun, atmosphere is relaxed, and we do what we can to help each other. We only shoot every other Tuesday and with that club being close, it isn't a heavy burden on my time.

I also took a class to be an NRA Certified Pistol instructor. I don't have enough spare time to devote to it as a commercial venture, but I do like to help people shoot and shoot better so I wanted the credentials for that reason.

I also train & practice very regular, nearly every Saturday and Sunday morning I shoot for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Between practice and leagues, I go through about 600 rounds of ammo a week. Sometimes more if I am working on rapid fire, sometimes less if I am working on slow fire. My current running average consisting of my last eight shooting sessions is:

Rimfire -->287 (95.65%)

Center fire & 45 --> 285 (94.9%)

My current hi-score for NMC is:

Rimfire --> 296 (two times)

Centerfire & 45 --> 294 (two times)

Even though my performance is pretty good and I am within a few points of all the top shots I normally shoot with, I honestly don't believe I am a good shooter. I look at the other guys targets and see amazingly tight groups and I am in awe of their capabilities.

NRA Certified Pistol InstructorIndoor Expert (as of 6/18/12)

Outdoor Expert (as of 4/1/12)

If you would like to contact me to offer comments, opinions, or to ask a question, please use the following email address: chrdeh @ Yahoo.com (remove the spaces).

Thanks for visiting!

Chris D.