In May it will be ten years since my wife Delia Rose and I started Cowboy Action Shooting. As of Trailhead last week at THSS, I've now competed in 99 matches! Here's a chart with a moving 5-match average of my average time per stage. (I'm a math guy I can't help myself)
It took me about a year to get the hang of things and dramatically reduce my stage times. The spikes you see after that are when I did our local club's Wild Bunch category, which adds extra rounds and time.
I switched from regular two-handed pistols to Gunfighter category four years ago at Trailhead 2020. My times went up a bit with it at first, but I have really improved within the last year after getting some good advice from other Gunfighter shooters. The best part of this sport is the interactions with other shooters. My stage times are now in the upper-20s or low-30s most of the time. I hope to eventually average in the 20s every match. I've done it a couple of times now, so I know I can keep getting better.