Do you want to know what separates a champion shooter and the person on page four? Simple, it’s the guiding hand of a mentor. Trying to learn a shooting discipline without a mentor is your first step to becoming that weird guy in town who talks to trees.

You wouldn’t be reading this article right now if it wasn’t for the guidance I received while clawing my way up the ranks. You will never come across a single successful competition shooter who did it independently.

What can a shooting mentor teach you?

A more appropriate question would be, what can’t they teach you? Let’s take handloading as an example. Most mentors have years, even decades, of experience. An experienced mentor can save you an immeasurable amount of time throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. They have been there and done that, and they know what works.

I just saw a video where Erik Cortina worked with one of his students. At first, the gentleman was having a hard time. Erik adjusted his setup slightly, and then the guy cleaned his target. That is only one example of a whole list of things that shooting mentors can teach.

What should you look for in a teacher?

First, your instructor should participate in the same discipline that you do. Every shooting discipline is different; what you do for one, you would never do for the other. Extreme long-range (ELR) shooting is one example. The reloading practices are not even close to, let’s say, PRS. Everything has its place.

How to find a shooting mentor?

I don’t think there is any single way to accomplish this. I would advise talking to people at a match and asking for help as long as you’re polite, patient, and willing to listen. You shouldn’t have any problem. Wearing deodorant may be a good start. LOL! Also, it’s not unheard of to have more than one. I have several, and each one adds another piece to the puzzle.

The quickest way to send a tutor running for the door would be not to listen when they are attempting to help you. They have more experience than I do, a résumé, and are willing to help. If one of my teachers tells me something, I don’t sit there and debate them.

Should you look for a shooting mentor online?

In short, I would give searching online for advice a wide berth. Ninety-nine percent of people giving shooting advice online don’t have a clue and love to hear themselves talk. Taking their advice, you’ll find it won’t be long until you realize you got the fuzzy end of a popsicle.

Then again, a handful of reputable shooters online go out of their way to help. The problem is they are in very high demand. There aren’t enough hours in the day to answer all the emails they receive.

Conclusion

I will be honest. In the beginning, I struggled. I made every mistake out there, but I also invented some new ones. The veteran shooters realized I wouldn’t give up at a certain point and started mentoring me.

I can’t stress enough my appreciation for all those who guided me over the years. I am writing these articles to help as my way of paying it forward.

I hope this article on how to find a mentor hits home with you. I think it’s one of the most important things when you start this journey. Remember that someday, you may be someone’s mentor, which is not bad.

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