I’ve read all of the slowing down on shooting or even stopping all together posts because of no supply of anything from ammo down to even head space gauges of all things. So this is a supply type question.
At the rate my son and I shoot, it’s a miracle to use 50rds per firearm we take to the range, usually take 3-5 which at least one is a .22. Single shot takes forever, sure, but even if I take a 30rd mag, I’m done after one go with it, lose interest. I’d like to know how folks can blast through darn near a crate every time they go and not be bored to tears by then. I’ve been a one a week to once a month type go to the range, my dad is the same way, even losing interest for a couple years, then picking back up again. These 2-4 times a week folks that blammo for hours on end, that’s too much like work to me, I’m not a fan of work either.
People that reload usually tend to have quite a bit of stuff on hand, just the nature of reloading, I’m good for a real long time at the rate the two of us go. And I don’t have much.
So how do you guys feel, I don’t want pictures, inventory levels, none of that. Just how you feel with what you have vs how you realistically use it.
Ok, as I understand your question-
I have enough defensive ammo to last a lifetime. That, I'm not worried about.
As for range ammo and usage- I just posted on another forum about this.
I haven't shot as much this past year, and it's bummed me out a bit.
I grew up shooting pool and darts, playing horse, etc with my brothers. As the youngest of 3, I couldn't win footraces (until I got to highschool age), but at a fairly early age I could compete in anything requiring 'skill' instead of physical size/strength.
One of the other things I did as a youth was shoot 22lr rifles with a sheriff's program, competitively.
So I have always viewed a target as a scoreboard, like a dart board.
I brought my son with me to the range as he grew up, and while a lot of this early was just to get him used to guns and be comfortable using it, he came to enjoy it as I have. We own matching pairs of guns, CZ, Sig, S&W, Beretta, Star, 1911, etc. We "play", very similar in rules to a couple games of darts. Sometimes it's bullseye, sometimes it's blackout, etc. Sometimes it's tightest groups, sometimes it's total score. Very rarely do we get a silhouette, it's almost always some form of small, tight target. A lot of times we will take an empty box of ammo and use that.
So for us, it's a lot like going to the golf course, I guess. It's not a chore to shoot, it's a bit of competitive fun, we each push a bit to outdo the other, and still encourage each other to improve.
The last time we went, last week, for the very first time he spotted a flaw in my form, and told me. This wasn't 'internet lore' or professional training on his part- he's never had classes. But we've done this enough that he now understands the mechanics...
"hey Dad, I see why you're shooting a little to the right. You're squeezing your middle and ring finger just as you shoot, and I can see the gun twist".
Now, understand, we're shooting Star Modelo Supers in this session, at 10 yards, at 7" splatter targets, and I'm grouping about 1-1/2 inch groups right on the 9 ring, at about 4 o'clock as compared to the bullseye. I'm completely satisfied with my performance, I figure it's either my progressive glasses, or maybe the sights are a hair off.
But he spots what I'm doing without being asked to. And we figure out- I/we usually shoot a doublestack, the Star is slimmer in my grip, and my hand fits it different. Maybe it's better hidden on the wider grip, or maybe it's just different enough that I am adjusting. And he was right- in 'feeling' my hand, I am squeezing my left/shooting hand right as I squeeze the trigger. Not enough to miss substantially, just the slightest flaw pushing down-right.
And again, this is without any training on his own part, other than my own guidance, growing up.
That's an awareness that you don't get just casually blasting away, that's more like a QB coach correcting someone's mechanics on a throw.
Impressed the heck out of me- the young man 'understands' shooting now, he doesn't just go shoot.
