how much practice
- Thread starter ashmaiz
- Start date
ultimate_monkey
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- victoria BC
I shoot 50ish rounds from my 308 per session but I spend ALOT of time behind my .22 working on the fundamentals , and shoot 500+ rounds each time out
sillymike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
You can learn the basics (trigger control, positions, working of the scope) with a 22lr... the technique is the same... but without the noise and $$... even though a nice 22lr with a nice scope can set you back as few $$
For me shooting is a passion i can be at the range for 8 hours and shoot 300 rounds of various caliber in a day but somethime, like when i take out my MR-1, i will shoot 500 rounds and will just feel happy, when you start to do good things easily, that when your getting the hang of it and since you do it good, you do it more... Cheers. JP.
It's not just rounds down range. If you have sound coaching a few hundred rounds will make you a better shooter than most. If you teach yourself it could take years and thousands of rounds for a small improvement. That being said, you have to have enough trigger time that behind the rifle is a comfortable, familiar place to be. The 22 is a good start. I found a couple hours at a time of intense concentration worked the best for me. Visualization of the basics often between shooting sessions and focusing on the mistakes from the last session worked well.
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
Depends on your natural ability and the level you wish to reach.
Getting the mechanical skill to SHOOT can happen reasonably quickly.
The ability to read the air takes a whole lot longer.
I shot 5000rds of 90gr 22cal this season for both R&D and practise. I am most certainly not the tops in wind reading.
But the practise has certainly helped me on my journey
Wind reading is a lifelong journey. Some pick it up pretty quick and excel. Others spend their career trying to improve.
The more you can practise and practise well, the better you can ultimately achieve.
Jerry
How much can you expect to spend?
Me, I'm Single, self emplopyed ... I could go out 6 days a week and shoot 30 to 50 rounds at a time ... that's 24x50=1200 rounds/month just in that one caliber.
My buddy is Married, with kids, an 8-5 plus commute M-F job ... He'd be doing well to get out every Saturday for a couple hours. Call it 3 outings a month @ 50 rounds each ... 150 rounds/month.
Very hard to judge how much time another person can dedicate to their hobby - and the more time you have to shoot, the more ammo you will use up. A rough Guess-timate would be 40 - 50 rounds per outing. Only you can figure out how many outings per month.
I'll also second the .22 statements ... Far cheaper to take it out for an afternoon and shoot a couple hundred rounds. If you are shooting < 1" groups at 100 yards with it, you're making progress and can relay those skills to your 308 and longer distances.
Don't knock the old .22 Cooey's either ... with the right ammo, they are a <$100 gun that will kill quarter sized targets all day long at 50 yards.
Every round you put downrange with purpose will make a small improvemnt.
In reality? No idea ... Everyone learns at their own pace, and some "inherent" bad habits can take longer for some to break than others. Expected Recoil Flinch is the toughest to overcome imho - even those that are used to shooting large calibers can have it and not even know it - the act of bracing for the recoil as you squeeze the trigger can be enough to ruin a shot.
Providing your equipment is up to the task, I'd think that@ 200 yards, dropping from a 6" group to a 4" group should happen in a few serious outings - especially if you have a "coach" to watch you and make constructive pointers. Add in another month of "maintaining" those good shooting habits and starting to make them habit.
The next 1 1/2" drop in group size may take a season, or may come in a month.
Getting consistent below 2" groups (1 MOA) will take the rest of your life to maintain.
The further you stretch the distance to target on your training, the more time will be required as well - get to the level you want at a realistic range (100 yds for .22 - 200 or a bit more in 308, then start walking the targets out and finding where your limits (and your gun/ammo limits) are. Then you are looking for answers to why.
Me, I'm Single, self emplopyed ... I could go out 6 days a week and shoot 30 to 50 rounds at a time ... that's 24x50=1200 rounds/month just in that one caliber.
My buddy is Married, with kids, an 8-5 plus commute M-F job ... He'd be doing well to get out every Saturday for a couple hours. Call it 3 outings a month @ 50 rounds each ... 150 rounds/month.
Very hard to judge how much time another person can dedicate to their hobby - and the more time you have to shoot, the more ammo you will use up. A rough Guess-timate would be 40 - 50 rounds per outing. Only you can figure out how many outings per month.
I'll also second the .22 statements ... Far cheaper to take it out for an afternoon and shoot a couple hundred rounds. If you are shooting < 1" groups at 100 yards with it, you're making progress and can relay those skills to your 308 and longer distances.
Don't knock the old .22 Cooey's either ... with the right ammo, they are a <$100 gun that will kill quarter sized targets all day long at 50 yards.
In theory? Just one
Every round you put downrange with purpose will make a small improvemnt.In reality? No idea ... Everyone learns at their own pace, and some "inherent" bad habits can take longer for some to break than others. Expected Recoil Flinch is the toughest to overcome imho - even those that are used to shooting large calibers can have it and not even know it - the act of bracing for the recoil as you squeeze the trigger can be enough to ruin a shot.
Providing your equipment is up to the task, I'd think that@ 200 yards, dropping from a 6" group to a 4" group should happen in a few serious outings - especially if you have a "coach" to watch you and make constructive pointers. Add in another month of "maintaining" those good shooting habits and starting to make them habit.
The next 1 1/2" drop in group size may take a season, or may come in a month.
Getting consistent below 2" groups (1 MOA) will take the rest of your life to maintain.
The further you stretch the distance to target on your training, the more time will be required as well - get to the level you want at a realistic range (100 yds for .22 - 200 or a bit more in 308, then start walking the targets out and finding where your limits (and your gun/ammo limits) are. Then you are looking for answers to why.
Just putting rounds down range will only help you build a larger supply of empty casings. You can't knock a .22 at 100 or even 50 yards to help you learn to read the wind. However only "perfect practice" is meaningful.
A lot can be said about dry firing. I know several top shooters that spend a minimum of 20 minutes a day dry firing in their basemant or livingroom floor.
A lot can be said about dry firing. I know several top shooters that spend a minimum of 20 minutes a day dry firing in their basemant or livingroom floor.
Personally I think it's a complete waste of ammo unless you learn and improve from each group, if you're just shooting for the sake of putting lead downrange you're wasting your time. If you are shooting and figuring out what you did wrong in the last group and what you need to do to fix those errors, then you're getting somewhere.
It doesn't matter if you put 500 rounds downrange if there is no lesson in it, you should be striving to improve with each shot/group.
It doesn't matter if you put 500 rounds downrange if there is no lesson in it, you should be striving to improve with each shot/group.
- Location
- Prince Albert, Sk
Every trip out I find small errors or things to improve on.
When it is decent weather I try to get out every weekend, load up 50-70 round during the week , then head out.
I am no expert by no means and I hardly tell I am making improvements due to their subtlety and gradual change. I usually go out alone about 50% of the time and it is nice to have no distractions or onlookers.I found that I actually saw my improvements once you go with someone and they challenge you, I have surprised myself on a couple of occasions.
I have no one to coach me but I do get priceless guidance and information from the shooters on here.
As for money to spend , I don't think you need to go all ape s**t crazy and burn 2000 rifle rounds a weekend, as long as you are out and getting quality trigger time.
Would eventually like to compete one day.
I have 28 years to retirement, that is when I will get in some serious range time.
When it is decent weather I try to get out every weekend, load up 50-70 round during the week , then head out.
I am no expert by no means and I hardly tell I am making improvements due to their subtlety and gradual change. I usually go out alone about 50% of the time and it is nice to have no distractions or onlookers.I found that I actually saw my improvements once you go with someone and they challenge you, I have surprised myself on a couple of occasions.
I have no one to coach me but I do get priceless guidance and information from the shooters on here.
As for money to spend , I don't think you need to go all ape s**t crazy and burn 2000 rifle rounds a weekend, as long as you are out and getting quality trigger time.
Would eventually like to compete one day.
I have 28 years to retirement, that is when I will get in some serious range time.
I don't compete, but on average, I do go through about 1000 rounds of centerfire per year, as well as 5000 to 10,000 rounds of rimfire per year. I also shoot 2000 to 2500 rounds at trap and skeet, and about 500 rounds through my handguns. On average I spend 25 to 40 days per year at the range. I would shoot more, but we have long cold winters, and I don't enjoy target shooting in extreme temperatures.
You will spend all that you have and as much as you can borrow!
It's not so much about round count, it's about perfect practice. If you shoot lots of rounds with bad technique, you will just reinforce bad technique and habits. Only perfect practice makes perfect.
Do you dry fire? Dry fire lots - again as perfect as you can be. The subconscious mind cannot differentiate between a live shot and a dry shot. If your technique is excellent your live shots will follow once on the range.
If you're not perfect get some instruction. Is your rig fit to you? Is it comfortable? How is your form? Your ammo? Your gun? Too many variables can throw off your performance on the range. Then there is wind reading too.
Spend $750 and a week of your time and get some serious instruction from people who know their stuff, it will save you thousands and years of frustration. PM me if you want more info.
I've been where you are, still am, and loving every shot fired!!
What discipline you want to shoot also comes into play. That will affect your round count as well. If your discipline involves things like movers, snaps, shooting off-hand or positions, you've just introduced a whole bunch of other things you have to practice, in addition to the breathing, trigger control, wind reading and the other things you would do in deliberate type shooting. If your training only includes shooting at stationary targets on a nice solid rear bag, you will be in for a big surprise if you try a match that involves any of the above. Many guys can print nice groups under 1" at 200 yards when they shoot deliberate. Now throw in having to realize your target has appeared, track to it and break a shot, cycle the bolt, track to a second target and break another shot (all inside of 8 seconds), and the same shooter has trouble keeping his rounds inside of a 4" circle. That is the first stage of the NSCC Precision Rifle match, btw. Things like this can be practiced with a .22 on stationary targets, at reduced distances.
And as other have said: if you're going to practice something, the results need to be measurable in some way. Otherwise, you have no way of tracking your progress and improvement will not come as quickly. Shooting strings at a paper target and scoring it under the same condition you will shoot in is going to give you a lot better feedback on your progress that leisurely whacking a gong. Measuring your results in a quantifiable way encourages you to improve them.
And as other have said: if you're going to practice something, the results need to be measurable in some way. Otherwise, you have no way of tracking your progress and improvement will not come as quickly. Shooting strings at a paper target and scoring it under the same condition you will shoot in is going to give you a lot better feedback on your progress that leisurely whacking a gong. Measuring your results in a quantifiable way encourages you to improve them.
Perfect practice makes perfect.
Its taken me quite awhile to become comfortable in positioning and repeating the same actions each shot. I'm lucky enough that I can literally shoot right out my back door.
I don't usually fire a ton of rounds each time but I work on things like body postion, cheek weld, trigger control, breathing, etc.
Eventually you get to the point that it becomes second nature but it takes a lot of repetitions.
If your getting into precision shooting the first thing to do is learn how to reload, for both accuracy and cost. Do your homework and try to buy quality equipment for extreme accuracy it will pay for itself (literally, because you will only spend the cash once on quality equipment and save the frustration).
Its taken me quite awhile to become comfortable in positioning and repeating the same actions each shot. I'm lucky enough that I can literally shoot right out my back door.
I don't usually fire a ton of rounds each time but I work on things like body postion, cheek weld, trigger control, breathing, etc.
Eventually you get to the point that it becomes second nature but it takes a lot of repetitions.
If your getting into precision shooting the first thing to do is learn how to reload, for both accuracy and cost. Do your homework and try to buy quality equipment for extreme accuracy it will pay for itself (literally, because you will only spend the cash once on quality equipment and save the frustration).
