I think I'm burned out

[rob_s]

It is great that you found a way to enjoy the in-betweens, and especially with family. I usually find myself on squads of people that I don't know, or only know from matches, also many are in ethnic groups where I don't speak the language. And I am not at all social, so more like MSA wanting a different pace with less downtime. I don't mind the set-up, or the scoring and patching, or the clean-up, or even the safety briefings, because I see all of these as directly facilitating the match. Other than a few A and Master class, watching other dudes shoot just doesn't hold my attention as a fellow competitor.

Not sure of what level you were/are shooting at, but for me watching the superstars proved to be a detriment sometimes. What I like to focus on is the guy(s) that's just barely beating me and figure out why. Incremental improvement. Also, like it or not, (and some folks get mad at this) there's an element of natural ability that comes into play (especially now at 46) wherein I'm just never going to be as good as those guys.

living in SE Florida, I can definitely sympathize with the language barrier issues. For whatever reason, I found there to be a lot more all-Spanish-speaking squads at our local USPSA matches than IDPA.

Another way I was able to engage more in IPSC was by training and working as a range officer. Learning how to do this (ongoing) was interesting, and there was a time we were really hurting for ROs in this area, so more ROs helped get more matches. Most matches here have dedicated officials, i.e. they are not part of the squad as I have seen in some USPSA matches, so in small matches you would shoot half the day and work the other half. Big (level 3) matches have dedicated officials for the whole match, officials would usually shoot the day before the match started. But it is a bigger time commitment, and mostly on weekends when it is more difficult for me to get time off work.

There are no perfect solutions, and a solution that works may stop working as things change.

that is a great suggestion, and maybe even be a good suggestion for the OP!

I was never a USPSA RO, but I started out shooting IDPA in... I dunno like 2003 and by 2005 I was an SO with my club, and eventually a board member, and eventually running my own 2-gun matches with the club as well as a drills night, and worked a couple of state matches as well (at the time, the free entry fee to said matches was really helpful to me)...

And becoming an SO really gave me a chance to stay active during the match and (eventually) I learned to learn from the shooters I was managing. I tended toward scorekeeper duties because I felt that (a) I was less likely to get shot and (b) my natural organizational skills and willingness to tell the tourists "hey, this'll all go much faster if you would help paste" helped keep the squad moving. Scorekeeping also had the benefit of helping me learn the game, the points, what mattered and what didn't, etc. And I could watch the shooter whereas the SO running the shooter really should be watching the gun.

[Snapshot]

It is almost like... the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

Popular "additional" languages here include Tagalog, Russian and other Slavic / eastern European, and of course Chinese - mostly Mandarin I think, but only they know for sure.

My favorite squads were with the Filipinos, they are mostly excellent shooters and always fun to be with, all of them speak very good English so my shameful lack of Tagalog was never an issue.

[MGW]

My first thought is, “so what?”

Not in a “ Who cares about some stranger and there’s silly Internet problems?“ kind of way but in a “ if you’re burned out on some thing, and it’s not your livelihood, it’s probably some kind of clue“ kind of way.

What’s the negative impact or downside of stopping? Even just for awhile? What have you been filling the extra time with?

Running, jits, and learning life again. I did go through a huge life change recently which has resulted in new habits, old friends going away, new friends, and time filled with a lot of other activities. And you're right. There really isn't a negative to stepping away from shooting other than I enjoy most of the people that I see only at matches.

[MGW]

Sometimes changing it helps. Buy a revolver?

That's just crazy talk! But seriously, changing divisions has been high on my list of considerations.

[MGW]

Sporting clays have come up multiple times. And that doesn't sound like a bad idea. I love to pheasant hunt but don't do much of it anymore. I have a friend that manages a local facility.

[JCS]

New gun and new division plus some new goals. Then post your goal on here. There’s something about putting something out there in text or writing versus keeping it in our heads.

Carry Optics is all the hotness. Reliable guns with reliable ammo and high capacity. Running around and not having to reload often is fun.

[Joe in PNG]

One of the reasons I built a six string contrabass guitar is to give myself something challenging to play if I ever get into a four string bass rut. I'm forced to think about what I'm doing, I take the risk of getting lost on the strings, it's physically harder to play, and I wind up super glad to return to my more normal 4 string afterwards.

Swapping to a different system, like a revolver, just might have the same effect.

[Trooper224]

Shoot to live, don't live to shoot.

[littlejerry]

You might be too focused on competition. I drifted away from IDPA when I shot a stage clean in 2.6 seconds and realized that I'd been waiting 45 minutes to get to the line. Repeat that eight times in a day and that's six plus hours waiting to shoot for a total of about 30 seconds. Not a good use of training time.

Okie John

That is definitely a drag. State level matches can alleviate that where you are paying a larger entry fee to show up, shoot, then leave.

This is also a reason why I love the biathlons/run n gun events that have been gaining popularity. You show up, get your start time, then you're on the clock for 1-3 hours depending on the length of the race. Once you're done you can wait for the awards or go home to have a shower beer.

Biathlons also reinvigorated my shooting focus because they required me to diversify my training between rifles, pistols, running, and rucking. It allows me to do what I want to do at any given time while still applying myself toward the same competitive goal.

[GJM]

To follow-up on YVK’s post, I don’t think you are burned out. I think the opposite, you just need to get lit up. Maybe it is shooting, maybe it is something completely different.