Pool and pistols

Andrew Manning

Andrew Manning

Aspiring know-it-all
Silver Member
Had some time to kill with my father-in-law the other day, so we partook in one of his favorite pastimes: going to his cabin in the mountains and wasting ammunition. We brought two semi-automatic pistols, a Glock .40 and a Colt .45. This was the second time in my life I'd fired a handgun, and the first was over 10 years ago, so my experience level was zero.

According to my father-in-law, I'm a bit of a natural. I have no basis for comparison, and so I don't know if he was just being nice, although I did shoot considerably better than he did, and I thought my grouping was pretty decent.

So the point is, he thinks I'm a good shot because I've spent so much time and effort shooting pool (he's a pool player, too). Do you guys think there's any cross-over? It seems like a very different skill, since with the gun you're trying to stay totally still, and with the cue, you're moving the cue with considerable force and speed in some cases. Just wondering if there's a commonality I'm not seeing.

-Andrew
 
Andrew Manning said:
Had some time to kill with my father-in-law the other day, so we partook in one of his favorite pastimes: going to his cabin in the mountains and wasting ammunition. We brought two semi-automatic pistols, a Glock .40 and a Colt .45. This was the second time in my life I'd fired a handgun, and the first was over 10 years ago, so my experience level was zero.

According to my father-in-law, I'm a bit of a natural. I have no basis for comparison, and so I don't know if he was just being nice, although I did shoot considerably better than he did, and I thought my grouping was pretty decent.

So the point is, he thinks I'm a good shot because I've spent so much time and effort shooting pool (he's a pool player, too). Do you guys think there's any cross-over? It seems like a very different skill, since with the gun you're trying to stay totally still, and with the cue, you're moving the cue with considerable force and speed in some cases. Just wondering if there's a commonality I'm not seeing.

-Andrew
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I am not sure if there is any connection but lets just all be happy that you went up to the mountains with your father-in-law with a bunch of guns and came out alive. :D:D:D After all you are doing his daughter. :D:D:D:D

BVal
 
They both require similar skills, mainly hand/eye coordination. Though shooting doesn't require a stroke. If you can be good at pool, you should be good at handgun shooting.
 
I think its general hand and eye coordination as well as the competitive spirit.

I was a pistol and rifle expert while in the Marine Corps, play decent pool, and like alot of pool players I play other games like bowling, golf, and softball at high levels.
 
yes, it's been said here before, shooting pool and guns have a lot of the same aiming skills. i went recently to shoot (first time in maybe 10 years) and was getting good groupings too.

as an aside, nice friggin comment BVal. +1

-s
 
steev said:
yes, it's been said here before, shooting pool and guns have a lot of the same aiming skills. i went recently to shoot (first time in maybe 10 years) and was getting good groupings too.

as an aside, nice friggin comment BVal. +1

-s
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I love that comment also lol.:D
 
BVal said:
I am not sure if there is any connection but lets just all be happy that you went up to the mountains with your father-in-law with a bunch of guns and came out alive. :D:D:D After all you are doing his daughter. :D:D:D:D

BVal
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Yeah, I wasn't so nervous this time; the first time I went to visit them, while my wife and I were still dating, his pool table was up at the cabin at that time and we went up there to shoot a game or two. He decided to start cleaning a few of his guns while I was running out. I figure as I was the new guy his daughter was bringing home, who was beating him on his home table, if he didn't open fire then he's never going to. Or at least he would have done it before paying for my wedding; he could have saved many thousands that way. So I guess you could say I feel pretty safe at this point.

-Andrew
 
just breaking in the new guy

A friend always makes a point of being in the middle of cleaning an AR-15 or shotgun when a boy comes to pick up his daughter for their first date. The lesson is seldom lost on the young men.

My brother has a beautiful daughter who owns a gun or two. Her fairly new boyfriend expressed an interest in seeing one. My brother opened the safe and commenced taking out shotguns, AR's and other assorted rifles and pistols for awhile to get back to his daughter's guns. That was a very respectful young man after that!

As far as you shooting well, no surprise. I have competed at many different things requiring physical skills over the years and found a certain amount of crossover between all of them.

A quick tip about the pistols, nobody on earth can hold them still. The trick is to achieve the maximum level of stillness and then break the shot as you move onto the bull, all before you get too tired and your wobble increases. Never lock an elbow either, it increases wobble. Of course you don't want to beat your paw-in-law too bad anyway. My son-in-law never outshoots me with guns. I think he plans it that way!

Hu


Andrew Manning said:
Yeah, I wasn't so nervous this time; the first time I went to visit them, while my wife and I were still dating, his pool table was up at the cabin at that time and we went up there to shoot a game or two. He decided to start cleaning a few of his guns while I was running out. I figure as I was the new guy his daughter was bringing home, who was beating him on his home table, if he didn't open fire then he's never going to. Or at least he would have done it before paying for my wedding; he could have saved many thousands that way. So I guess you could say I feel pretty safe at this point.

-Andrew
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Pool and Guns are my favorite pastimes and require many of the same basic skills, as outlined in earlier posts ... Actually, I am much better at shooting firearms than shooting Pool, since I shoot the same with either eye (right eye as a Cataract) ... Switching to left-eye-dominant took several months of practice to perfect (for pistols) ... I have been a USPSA GrandMaster since 1999 and IDPA Master since 1997 ... I also compete in 3-Gun (rifle, shotgun, pistol) as a GrandMaster ...

If anyone out there is thinking about greatly improving their shooting skills, they should check out www.uspsa.org and www.idpa.com for more information about Clubs in their area ...
 
A serious "WOW"

"grand master" is shooting pretty sporty to put it mildly! To also be a fan or owner of the side-oiler 427's, you almost have to be talented and an all around good guy besides.

There was once a guy in the next town that had one of the overhead cam nascar 427's new in a crate. I used to go to his shop every few months to make him an open ended offer if he would just sell it.

Hu


Str8PoolPlayer said:
Pool and Guns are my favorite pastimes and require many of the same basic skills, as outlined in earlier posts ... Actually, I am much better at shooting firearms than shooting Pool, since I shoot the same with either eye (right eye as a Cataract) ... Switching to left-eye-dominant took several months of practice to perfect (for pistols) ... I have been a USPSA GrandMaster since 1999 and IDPA Master since 1997 ... I also compete in 3-Gun (rifle, shotgun, pistol) as a GrandMaster ...

If anyone out there is thinking about greatly improving their shooting skills, they should check out www.uspsa.org and www.idpa.com for more information about Clubs in their area ...
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Wow. I just happened to be shopping for a pistol today, and imagine my surprise when I flipped back to AZB and see a thread about pool and pistols. Weird.

Anyway, I've always been a fan of the Glocks myself. They are virtually indestructible, will fire any kind of ammo, and are fairly easy to shoot accurately as long as you don't have issues with flinching or limp-wristing, in which case you won't be very accurate with any handgun. I'm currently looking for a CCW pistol for the wife, and am considering a Beretta Tomcat, but if anyone has any other suggestions (other than a kel-tec's), I'd be happy to hear them.

As far as being good at firing handguns and playing pool, I would assume that it is simply the hand-eye thing. I am decent at both, as is my father, as was his father; it's hard to say whether that's nature or nurture or a bit of both.

Aaron
 
ShootingArts said:
"grand master" is shooting pretty sporty to put it mildly! To also be a fan or owner of the side-oiler 427's, you almost have to be talented and an all around good guy besides.

There was once a guy in the next town that had one of the overhead cam nascar 427's new in a crate. I used to go to his shop every few months to make him an open ended offer if he would just sell it.

Hu
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The awesome Cammer engine !!! i'll take one. :)
 
Andrew Manning said:
Do you guys think there's any cross-over? It seems like a very different skill, since with the gun you're trying to stay totally still, and with the cue, you're moving the cue with considerable force and speed in some cases.
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But your front hand has to stay still. I think there is definitely a mental crossover with billiards and marksmanship. You control your breathing, stroke (squeeze), sighting, etc. in both specialties. It's all about touch and focus in both.
 
cuejoey said:
The awesome Cammer engine !!! i'll take one. :)
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For the Blue Oval guys:
 

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Andrew Manning said:
Had some time to kill with my father-in-law the other day, so we partook in one of his favorite pastimes: going to his cabin in the mountains and wasting ammunition. We brought two semi-automatic pistols, a Glock .40 and a Colt .45. This was the second time in my life I'd fired a handgun, and the first was over 10 years ago, so my experience level was zero.

According to my father-in-law, I'm a bit of a natural. I have no basis for comparison, and so I don't know if he was just being nice, although I did shoot considerably better than he did, and I thought my grouping was pretty decent.

So the point is, he thinks I'm a good shot because I've spent so much time and effort shooting pool (he's a pool player, too). Do you guys think there's any cross-over? It seems like a very different skill, since with the gun you're trying to stay totally still, and with the cue, you're moving the cue with considerable force and speed in some cases. Just wondering if there's a commonality I'm not seeing.

-Andrew
Click to expand...

You might recall a thread I started re: aiming...the heart of which was using the cue shaft as a rifle barrel to point it to given cue tip positions on the OB.

Doing so provides extreme sighting accuracy IMHO relative to using ball parts to aim. The issue, then, is where to aim the "rifle" but WHATEVER system you might use, the tip will point at the exact same spot...of course, assuming a center ball hit on the cb.

Regards,
Jim
 
Shooting a pistol with accuracy ?

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Shooting Arts

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