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When a conversation starts with a guy who started his career as a clown, magician, juggler, fire-eater, actor, Ringling Brothers circus performer and uni-cyclist, you know things are going to be interesting – and of course, fun. And Jonathan Rockett, Co-founder and CEO of The Shooting Club did not disappoint.

Not surprisingly, trash-talking between Jonathan’s dad and uncle about who’s the better shot was the genesis of the whole notion. (Imagine that… Two guys beating their respective chests and claiming to have superior skills!) Why not have a simple way to compete and compare target shooting skills regardless of where you are and when you get the chance to get to the gun range?

Of course there’s an app for that.

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Only there wasn’t! So Rockett wrote one. And he really thought it out well:

Don’t know how to get started? Check out the “Train” section of the app. It helps you find a shooting range, an instructor and targets.
Can’t find anyone to compete with? Check out the “Compete” section. There are literally thousands of folks already signed up.
Don’t think you’re good enough to compete? Use the handicapping function. Just like with golf, there’s a way to level out the scoring. (…yes, raw scores are tracked and still count for those with the skills of a retired ex-cop.)
Want to track your progress? Just check out “My Stats.”

Seriously, it’s all there!

Even the official shooting target is cool.

It’s got 4 sections. You shoot 5 shots at each. The 1st from 5 yards, then 7, then 10, then 15. Watch out for those “0” sections right next to the bulls-eye. Better to aim for a safer-but-lower-scoring spot? Curious about how good I am? Turns out, not very… Out of a possible total of 200, I got a 75. (But that was just my first effort!)

“Achieved” the above score just this week. Believe me, my three buddies & me had WAY more fun discussing the target, making excuses, watching and throwing verbal cheap shots, examining the evidence and yeah, trash-talking.

Can’t wait for my next session with The Shooting Club!