Match or Live Fire Practice

[dab]

Which is more beneficial, shooting a match or a live fire practice session? I'm not able to get to the range very often, so I'm wondering which would be a better use of my time.

[old506]

I have always felt that the match is an affirmation of my practice (or lack of), it is where flaws in my practice show up. I don't "practice" at a match. I am just trying to put it all together. For myself, I don't care about going to many matches, the practice is where I grow.

[Steve Anderson]

The match will reveal what needs work.

Practice (correct practice) makes it better.

In the beginning, you'll shoot better in practice.

Later, you'll shoot better at the match.

[zmanktm]

The match will reveal what your really weak on and need to practice. Don’t forget DRY FIRE PRACTICE!

[dsmw5142]

Ensure your practice sessions are focused otherwise you're just wasting ammo. Also, we have a tendency to practice what we like which is what we're good at. Don't fall into that trap. Mix in some work on your weaknesses as well as some fun stuff that you're already good at.

Match day is when you confirm that your hard work on those weaknesses paid off

Edited June 22, 2012 by dsmw5142

[DoubleL]

+1 on not practicing during a match. For me it's safe, fun then competitive. For me.

I too have little time to practice live fire. Dry is the ticket to progress if your live fire acces is limited. I have found that as a beginner I have seen the most gains from index oriented drills. That index is a for sure important part of good shooting. The next largest gain was from drills that focus on your visual ability. Working on minimizing blinking and snapping to targets, priceless skills right there.

Steve's Book might be a good place to start.... Just sayin

[bigfish]

If I had to choose between practice or a match I would shoot the match. I wouldnt consider it "practice" in any way, but things will come up at a match that you will never have thought about during practice. Also, youll never be able to duplicate the stress of a match in practice. If range time is limited then shoot the match and figure out your weak areas and dryfire during the week. Everyones got to have 15 min a day they can spend on dryfire if they are serious about getting better.

[Chris iliff]

Get Steve's books. Matches are great, but you won't get a lick better shooting matches, unless of course, you are shooting them a lot. I mean more than 4 or 5 a month.

I did 4 matches a month, 8 months a year for 5 years and couldn't get out of C class. Bought Mr. Anderson's books, viola!

In any endeavor, the following is not set in stone, but I've found it true for me, ymmv. In shooting our game, count your live and dryfire as the same thing. So 1 live fire and 1 dryfire a week would = twice a week.

Once a week= no improvement.

Twice a week= some improvement.

Three or four times a week=really good improvement.

5,6,7 times a week=more gains, but small in comparison to 3-4 times a week, gotta ask yourself if the gains make it worth it at 5,6,7 practices a week.

So.......if you shoot a match a week and add in 3-4 dryfire sessions of 30-60 minutes each using Steve's books, you are going to really see some gains.

Good news is JUST the dryfire 3-4 times a week and one match a month and you are going to be leaps and bounds ahead of most shooters in short order.

If you are shooting a lot of matches a month, take a weekend off and go to the range and practice what you know you need to practice from your matches.

Edited June 23, 2012 by Chris iliff

[h4444]

The match will reveal what needs work.

Practice (correct practice) makes it better.

In the beginning, you'll shoot better in practice.

Later, you'll shoot better at the match.

I had a baseball coach that loved to say, "Perfect practice, makes perfect......"

That said, unfortunately, I generally get ZERO live fire practice these days. So all my improvement comes from two places. Dry fire and video review/analysis. It is SO easy to spot weaknesses when watching your own performance, then you can tune your practice (whatever it is dry or live) to meet those needs.

Last match, my draws SUCKED and my transitions on steel sucked. Those two things stood out. Actually, it wasn't that my transitions on steel sucked, it was a lack of trust in what I was seeing with regard to my sights after a long layoff. So, I'm working drills for draws and next time I'm on steel I'm going to shoot them JUST like I do paper. Trust the sight picture and move to the next shot (notice I didn't say target).

Edited June 23, 2012 by h4444

[JD45]

Chris,

What you said almost sounds like what Lanny B. said in his book. He even said that once per week can be worse than none!?

P.S. I really think that is good advice that you posted. It should be very hard to go wrong with that plan.

Edited June 23, 2012 by JD45

[Chris iliff]

Chris,

What you said almost sounds like what Lanny B. said in his book. He even said that once per week can be worse than none!?

P.S. I really think that is good advice that you posted. It should be very hard to go wrong with that plan.

Lanny is the man! Him and Mr. Anderson have helped me figure a lot out about practice and performance.

[GMB]

Have to agree with Mr. Anderson. Find someone to mentor you if possible. A partner helps in practice as well as the local matches to catch the area's where you need to practice and improve. If you can afford it and have the time then live fire practice is the way to IMO. You can always practice draws and reloads in front of the mirror with a unloaded gun.