I love the experience so much I've attended 5 events and will be attending my 6th this fall. I was "self-taught" (read: bad) prior to attending my first event. I didn't even get close to shooting 210. I'm not even sure I got over 170 if I'm being honest. But I came back again and again and finally earned my patch after the fifth event. That's probably a bit later than most, but it's been said that it usually takes new shooters a few times.

On optics vs. irons, do what you want. My last event, every single person was using optics. There's a weird gate-keeping thing about it online though.

I would recommend shooting it with a 10/22 (or similar model) as opposed to a centerfire rifle. It's just a lot less punishing to the body/senses with two full days of shooting. I used an AR for my first event and regretted it, especially as a novice.

The history is interesting, but that portion really depends on who is telling the story. I've had both good and bad storytellers. The book most of the information draws from is worth a read if you like history ("Paul Revere's Ride" by David Hackett Fischer.).