I wrote this article a few months back to hopefully help anyone who might be interested in getting into competitive shooting.  While it's all common knowledge to people who are already into the sport, there are a lot of misconceptions by people on the outside looking in.

Feel free to share this with anyone who might find it helpful.  Also, let me know if you have any additional info that should be added.

http://shootingsportscalendar.com/beginners-guide-to-action-pistol-shooting/

(I know that the calendar portion of the site is extremely slow.  I'm working to figure out how to speed it up.)

Don't forget Steel Challenge.  Also a great sport for beginners (rimfire divisions are a plus).

Anything with a fast stage reset is a plus. That's what burns most people out of competition is how long it takes.

8 hours to shoot for 2 minutes…

Thanks for the writeup.  I'm about 3 weeks out from my first attempt at USPSA, and getting plenty nervous!

Don't feel bad.  I've been shooting USPSA for over a year now and I still get nervous as hell.