How often do you shoot?

I have no place here that will allow you to actually draw the gun from its holster. So without being able to practice drawing the weapon and running drills, will just punching holes in paper keep you trained for real world defense?

Also, I can't see any real benefit in dry firing. Other than trigger pull practice there is no comparison to felt recoil. So if all you have access to is paper punching, do you feel confident in your shooting abilities if thrown into a real gun fight?

This is why I would think an airsoft type pistol to practice in ones backyard would be very helpful. You could actually draw from a holster and actually shoot at a target while moving.

Your thoughts?

NO offense intended, but this makes me think you haven't been shooting long or haven't done much study.

Every serious shooter I've ever talked with or read espouses the value of dry fire. Many of the best shooters report 50:1 and up dry to live practice. This matters when your talking about guys that shoot thousands of rounds per year. Partly it's a cost thing partly it's training your body where you can break down and isolate minute movements w/o the confounding of recoil. Partly it's just repetition. I recently was reading a bit from a world champion who said at some point on range days he feels a deterioration with live rounds and needs to return to dry practice to maintain top form.

My own very limited experience with an air soft pistol was that it was to inherently inaccurate/variable for anything but speed work on large targets. Perhaps high end guns are better. For training gross movements, movements and trigger discipline i.e. Finger off till on target they are fine. The more finite your training goal the more problems you'll have I think.

My range doesn't allow draw from a holster either, but my home does. I unload- verbalized to myself and double check then do a bit of holster practice.

If you really want to get good then it's a whole different game. Gotta train and work on each little part then putting it all together. Draw, grip, sights, trigger, recoil, follow up, malfunctions, awareness etc etc.

Good luck and enjoy the process, it's a big challenge but I'm having fun along the way.
 
P.s I shoot weekly as a general rule, more or less depending on life. Shooting is a hobby, but I'm enjoying the ride.
 
As much as I can

I work part time have off Sun, Mon Thursday try to go each day
the reloads save a lot of the expense
 
After reading these comments here, boy do I ever feel like I'm not prepared enough. I found a nice outdoor private club a year ago after searching my area for one that didn't have more rules than the military or require so much prerequisites to join. Although now (and not that I have anything to hide) the last several months they have installed security camera's everywhere, don't know what's up with that, but sort of makes one feel like, well I just don't know how to feel about it all. I might ask them about why they did it.

There is an indoor range I'll use on occasion but it's a real dump, but it's close and that's why I'll use it. My outdoor private club I have to plan it good because I no longer drive full time and have to rent a car to go out there and when I do I make sure it's at least for a couple hours.

Then of course we get to the cost of it all as far as the ammo and that indoor dump is $20 bucks an hour and no FMJ allowed.
My club yearly dues are very reasonable and if I still own my own vehicle I'd surely go more often but I don't think I'd ever get that often to where some of you are going cause of the finances. But I suppose it's better than nothing. I've read stories told by instructors that some will qualify for their permit to carry go home shove the gun in a drawer and probably never see a range again. That ain't good.
 
Used to shoot one day then reload brass and shoot the next day again for years when I lived in Alaska. Now that I'm in my 50s living in Arizona and working in California, I don't seem to get to my shooting spot as much as I'd like to. Twice a month or so now. I need to fix that.🤔

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I have no place here that will allow you to actually draw the gun from its holster. So without being able to practice drawing the weapon and running drills, will just punching holes in paper keep you trained for real world defense?

Also, I can't see any real benefit in dry firing. Other than trigger pull practice there is no comparison to felt recoil. So if all you have access to is paper punching, do you feel confident in your shooting abilities if thrown into a real gun fight?

This is why I would think an airsoft type pistol to practice in ones backyard would be very helpful. You could actually draw from a holster and actually shoot at a target while moving.

Your thoughts?


I dry fire a LOT. I noticed years ago that as long as I do, my accuracy stays good. The few times I have not done any dry fire practice for any length of time my accuracy goes downhill. Live fire definitely hones the edge, but do not discount dry fire practice.
 
I shoot weekly during the summer months at Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Range 15 with fellow soldiers/retirees. It's an excellent pistol and rifle range.
 
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Typically for about an hour once each week. Usually about 100 rounds and never more than two guns per visit.
 
Whats up with all the bullet holes in the ceiling?
At the outdoor range the canopy is all wood. I look up and there are tons of bullet holes! Now I know new shooters are not bullseye experts, but ***? How can soo many people be that neglegent?

Even a new shooter would surely have an experienced shooter with them I would think. Its a wonder more people don't get injured or worse yearly. Scary stuff.
 
July was a good month for me. Six trips to the range. Still an outside chance for a seventh.

Life is good.
 
I try to make it to the range at least once a month and fire 100-15 rounds through my pistols and maybe 60 rounds or so through my AR.

I do dry fire the pistols in between range sessions. It helps with trigger control. I use a LaserLyte training round rather than snap caps. And I can practice draw and shoot, which is not allowed at my range.
 
When you go to the range will you concentrate on just 1 or 2 guns, or will you take as many as 3 or more?

The reason I ask is because I was told to only concentrate on 1 or 2 guns at a time to learn them well. I usually take 5 or more at a time.
Is this bad? I usually take my 19-3 4", 629-6 5", a Glock or two and a Ruger Blackhawk (I have several). I will also take a few rifles as well. Am I spreading myself too thin?

My SIL will usually go with me or my wife. She will spend her time shooting her CCW which is a Ruger LCR .38.

I usually take 2 pistols and what ever I am carrying at the time .. Which ones may depend if I want to work on something or try a new drill .. I usually shoot between 50 and 100 rounds through each one I bring sometimes more and then always shoot a mag or 2 of SD ammo through what I am carrying at the time .. right now a S&W Compact in 40 ..

If I have just bought a new pistol I usually am shooting it till I get 5-600 rounds error free through it .. Right now a Sig P229 Legion in 40 and a P238 both have around 400 error free thru them right now .. will carry the Legion this winter and the P238 when ever my other carries are too large to conceal ..

I also on occasion bring my 2 range pistols and shoot them .. Those or just for fun days as both have around 2-3 pound triggers and internals have been polished .. my carry pistols are all stock factory built ..

The range I go to you're unable to conceal carry because of insurance .. so to comply I just put it in a spare holster and drive thru the gates .. the rule isn't well liked but for a total of 75 dollars range fees a year for me and the wife I will put up with it ..
 
i guess i'm different from you guys.
when i get a new gun i shoot it almost exclusively til it feels like part of my arm.
this takes about 4.000 rounds.
works good.
 
Up until late last year, I would usually go about every other weekend. After a change in employment and a move, I think I've been maybe 3 times since the beginning of the year. Man do I miss it. I don't care if the heat index is 100+...there's some type of therapy that the range provides, and I just haven't been able to replace with anything else.

Taking a car out to the drags can be put in the same category. No matter what else is going on in life, the serenity and relaxation that can be found with the intense focus and concentration just can't be matched..
 
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Not nearly as often as I would like.

I used to shoot once a week. There are no ranges near me that allow tactical shooting though and I don't particularly enjoy shooting no more than one round a second and not being able to draw from the holster.

I have land and access to a lot more family land a couple hours north so I go up there and set up my own tactical range out in the woods once a month or so.

I find that cheap cookie sheets from Wally World are cheap, give good visual feedback and are about the size of an average person's core. There is a hill behind this particular pan where we were just teaching some basics. The setup can be far more complex for some sessions and I add a two liter of soda for heard shots if I want to practice those.
 

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I alternate between fly fishing, shooting and occasionally doing something constructive around the house on weekends. Wish I could do the first two more often but work keeps getting in the way. If only I'd have been born rich instead of beautiful...... :rolleyes::p:D
 
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