bird Posted June 2, 2001 Share Posted June 2, 2001 I have heard many different answers to this and would like to know what the PRO's here think.. It seems that the more dry-firing I do the better my live firing gets.(how can this be?) Ammo can be expensive and I don't have the time to reload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted June 2, 2001 Share Posted June 2, 2001 It's not the quantity that counts, it's the quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyn Posted June 2, 2001 Share Posted June 2, 2001 I'm no master handgunner but when I am getting ready for big matches, I shoot every local match that I can (2 or 3 a week) and try to do practice session every weekend. That's probably around 1500 a month. I don't shoot 1500 rounds every month though, probably 4-5 months of the year. The other months it probably ranges from 0 to 1000. After a series of big matches I also put whatever guns I was using down for a while and play w/ something else (hunting, sporting clays, or my favorite: shooting my 10/22 offhand at challenging steel). I don't think there is some magic number. One thing that almost every really good handgunner has told me is that you don't really need to shoot that much to get good. However ALL of them have shot a GREAT deal so I don't really believe them! You can learn a great many of the necessary skills w/o firing a shot. The draw, mag change, going prone, movement etc. can all be learned very well w/o 1 round expended. However some live fire is necessary. 1 thing I have learned is to not shoot too much in a practice session. Keep your practice session focused on certain skills and limit the number of rounds fired to 200-300 and no more. (Edited by kellyn at 7:42 pm on June 2, 2001) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriss Grube Posted June 3, 2001 Share Posted June 3, 2001 Bird, remember that the shot is only one part of the total output. Dry firing will help on the draw, mag changes etc. The difference between the B,A, and M and the GM is usually very few points. It comes down to fractions of a second here and there. Dry firing can help you cut out wasted motion. The secret is to be consistent and smooth. The top guys have cut all wasted motion. If you can cut .1-.2 seconds on the draw and the same on reloads it will make a big difference. The more time you have that gun in hand the better it is. You want to feel totally comfortable with every aspect of it. The only way is to do it. There are a lot of people that want to be the best, not too many are willing to do the work to get there. As kelly said Quality not quantity is what counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted June 3, 2001 Share Posted June 3, 2001 bird, Although I have shot a boatload of ammo over the years, I agree with everything Kelly said. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulW Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 MM When and Where?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ankeny Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 bird: From personal experience, I would say kellyn nailed it. Great post. Hi Paul. Can I watch, lol? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Anderson Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 right now I'm at 600/week Production, 600/week open, with 60 minutes dry fire a night, weekends off. I shoot 300 thru both guns twice a week. Dry fire will get you there...but too much DF and not enough LF can lead you to shooting the pace of your DF drills regardless of what the recoil is doing to your sight picture. This happened to me this summer. Work got nuts and I just did my DF drills and didn't make time to get to the range, thinking I didn't need to. Got to the line and was surprised to rediscover recoil. SA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 In my opinion - how many rounds you shoot is really of very little consequence. It is ironic what Kelly said - everyone knows the top dogs have shot a ton so its easy to say they don't have to. On the other hand - I don't know that the weeks I shot 1200 rounds made me perform any better than the weeks I shot 300. I definitly agree that you should shoot no more than 300 rounds a session. You should dry fire twice as much as you live fire. And just focus. That'll get you where you need to be. JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 One last thing, from the beginning of your "career" to the end, it's a cumulative thing. If you just shoot and dry-fire as much as possible, keeping in mind the 300 rd thing as a GENERAL rule, the longer you do it the "better" you get. In my last few years of driving all over the country shooting Area matches, I wouldn't actually shoot (for a couple months) at all, just do a little dry-firing before the match. I shot some great matches like that, and never felt at a disadvantage compared to someone who was training their butt off. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 With purely anecdotal evidence, I'm starting to think there's a curve that peaks somewhere in A-B class as to the 'amount of rounds I should fire in practice'.. most of the GM-class shooters don't seem to shoot a lot anymore, even though they burned a pile of powder getting there. a random quote: "Want to make GM? Shoot 500,000 rounds. By then, you can't help it" FWIW, Todd suggests 25K rounds/year is plenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Brian brings up a great point. Cumulatively the rounds you shoot do count. You learn everytime you shoot - so logically the more you shoot - the better you should get. Early on I believe it did me good to shoot more. And I think that each individual probably knows how much to shoot at some point in time. You know if you are getting the most out of those rounds - and you know if you need to shoot more. Sometimes when you practice you practice generalities. That to me signifies maintaining par - and probably does not require a lot of rounds down range. On the other hand - the times you go out and work on specific challenges with specific goals - those are the times when the range time pays off. Those are the times when you should continue to shoot and shoot alot. There is no right answer. Its like asking "How much should I eat?" Noone is the same - and everyone has their own requirements. I don't eat lunch these days - many people do. Our requirments are different. Inside you probably know if the rounds you are shooting are paying off. Get to the point where the absolutely are - then start shooting more until you get to that same point. After that - start over. Just my advice. JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ankeny Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 J1B: When I practice things I am good at, or practice what I like to do, I maintain status quo. When I practice things new, what I don't like to do, or what I suck at, I get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 I'm exactly the same. Practicing what you dislike is the only way to get better IMHO JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Jack, "There is no one right answer." Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Anderson Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 I think I'm still recovering from my off balance excess of strictly dry firing. Plus, open is still real new to me, and it's still just plain fun to shoot that beast and watch the dot. SA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted December 22, 2002 Share Posted December 22, 2002 Just my 1.5 pennies... I find that for me, the longer between practicing things, any things, the longer it takes to get back to where I was. I am sure that the dry firing helps, especially with the mag changes, but I find that there is no subsitute for live practice. I try to get out to the range, even if it just for 1/2 hour and do 50 one shots, at least twice a week. If I'm lucky I can get in three For me it is not the length, it's the frequency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted December 24, 2002 Share Posted December 24, 2002 "For me it is not the length, it's the frequency." Oh man, I'm not even touchin' that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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