Sat down next to a "natural" the other day

F

frumious

New member
The other day I was at the 15-yd range and a guy next to me was sighting in a 22lr Beretta Neos with a red dot. He started out in the upper-left hand quadrant of the target and steadily worked his way down to the center. Then he put up a fresh target and proceeded to shoot the center out of it. We're talking about an inch, inch and a quarter tops. At least 100 rounds, too. He shot some standing and some sitting rested, some CCI's mini-mags and some Remington subsonics and other ammo. I loaned him my red-dotted Mark-III and the 10 shots he put through it - standing - didn't even show up on the target (just went through that gaping hole he'd already made in the center). I complimented him on his shooting and he indicated it was his first pistol, and first time out with it. I was quite impressed. Especially considering what he did with my Mark-III, which he had never handled up until that point. Guy looked to be in his early to mid-20's. Seemed really nice too. Wish I had shot like that on my first time out with ANY gun :o

-cls
 
Wish I had shot like that on my first time out with ANY gun
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I wish I COULD shoot like that with any handgun. Best I've been able to do at 15yds is about 4" 5-6 shot groups:o.
 
As an NRA instructor I can assure you that there are some people out there who can shoot a gun for the first time and immediately grasp exactly how to hit a target. Believe it or not almost all of them of them are women. They don't try to "muscle" the gun or try to look macho. They do exactly what they are instructed to do and they hit right away. And most of exclaim "this is easy!" I love it. :D With men you have to constantly correct all of their bad habits from watching TV and movies.
 
As an NRA instructor I can assure you that there are some people out there who can shoot a gun for the first time and immediately grasp exactly how to hit a target. Believe it or not almost all of them of them are women. They don't try to "muscle" the gun or try to look macho. They do exactly what they are instructed to do and they hit right away.
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Amen, drail!

The only phenomenally good natural shot I've ever known watched the guy who introduce him to shooting fire about five rounds of .45 ACP, and immediately began to outshoot him. Once in a great, great while, someone gets born with eye-hand coordination that leaves everybody else's in the dust. I'm sure not one of them.
 
I've been around a few "Naturals" I always think they're joking, but they are that good.


Kinda irks me TBH

Edit: Yup, I'm Jealous:mad:
 
Drail,

I hear what you are saying about women. Our youngest daughter never shot a gun in her life and had no interest in them until she graduated college and got a job with one of the agencies in DC.

An LEO friend of mine was wanting to change his backup gun and offered to sell his Glock to her. It was a .40 caliber and he took the time to teach her how to shoot and maintain the weapon. They spent two days at the range shooting and cleaning and so forth.

I talked to him about her progress and he told me she was easy to teach because she did not have any bad habits to unlearn.

She shoots quite a bit and is adding to her collection. I am very happy for her.

As for starting out with a .40, it did not seem to pose a problem for her.

She now has two Glocks. A .40 and a .45 and one Sig P226 in 9mm.

Geetarman:D
 
Maybe he was a long time shooter of rifles and/or shotguns? I grew up shooting hunting rifles with a heavy focus on trigger control, breathing and position. When I began shooting pistols, 19 years old or so, I was able to shoot tiny little groups and do it with most pistols styles.

My years and years of high powered rifle practice made trigger control and breathing easy for me. What rifle shooting didn't give me an edge in was proper grip and rapid fire proficiency. I've adjust my practice and now I practice more specifically for the firearm and application than I used to.

Kind of got off topic there, but sometimes it's less that a "natural" is inherently gifted over everyone else and more that they just applied prior applicable skills to pistol shooting.
 
That's cool. When I started shooting I seemed to be a lot better than when I first shot with my friends about 8-10 years prior. I attribute it to all of the FPS (First Person Shooter) games I play. Most of these games have you looking down the iron sights to hit a moving target, it certainly helped my aim in real life. Looking forward to Battlefield 3 by the way!
 
I've seen a few naturals when I was in the military. Most of them were actually women. (We had one Lt that had never shot a pistol before and she was scary during the class room portion of the qualification. I do not remember how many rounds she fired before she began hitting the target just like the OP described, but when she had it figured out, it was beautiful!)

I always thought my father was a natural, but he said he just had lots of practice growing up. He gave up shooting about 15 years ago. He recently got back in to shooting a handgun and if he was not a natural, he definitely practiced enough, years before, to keep his eye/muscle memory well tuned.

I think naturals are rare, but they are so much fun when you finally meet one, you have to smile.
 
My dad was a natural with rifle, pistol or shotgun. He never used sights just pointed and fired. I've wasted thousands of rounds trying to duplicate what I've seen him do. He always said just look at where you want the bullet to go and it will go there. It never worked for me. I have a niece that's almost as good.
 
I see a lot of natural ability in some musicians. Some just have that little "extra" ability that seperates them from the pack.

Couple that with a penchant for practice and the first thing you know, you have a super star on your hands.

Geetarman:D
 
Am I missing something here? 15 yards with a red dot sight. With a 22.

Good shooting but a natural? Just sounds like someone who did not flinch and had a decent grip.
 
Yes, they do exist !!

I too have seen folks like this and in just about most activities. For instance, I have only known two natural Hunters, in my lifetime and yes, both did not give it a second thought. I can only boast that I grew up and hunted with them. One of them can even track a wounded deer where others have given up. Not only can he read blood, but he actually can track. The other one has slept all night, in his stand in order to watch game movements. Both are fantastic shots and shoot every week. ... ;)

I have taught women's classes and they generally do better then men, starting out. They pay more attention and really eager to learn. .... :)

Be Safe !!!
 
I've been shooting since I was about 7, and I'm not half bad...

My wife, who has shot a rifle maybe 3 times, shoots as well as I do, maybe better, at reasonably close range.

My step-mother, who handled a gun for the first time the day before she took the hunters safety course, was the only person in the class to shoot a bullseye. She's never shot since either.

Some people just have it, I've known others too, and mostly women.

It's infuriating. ;)
 
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