How many rounds should I expect to shoot a month?

[TheDon]

Hello,

FNG with a budget question......How many rounds should I expect to shoot a month or week? Brand new to this type of shooting AND I have a strong desire to become a "Legend in my own mind"

Second question would be ......How many rounds do you shoot?

Don C.

[Alan550]

That's a question that only you can answer. Keep in mind that it isn't quantity that counts, but the quality of your practice time. Set a goal every time you practice and work towards that goal, one step at a time. It may only take 50 rounds and it may take 500 or more.

You'll reach a fatigue level after 200-300 rounds (probably) and after that you're only throwing lead downrange! As long as your concentration and lack of fatigue are working for you, keep at it until you reach whatever goal you have set for yourself for that day.

Keep a notebook/diary of sorts to keep track of what you want to accomplish and what progress you're making. Go back from time to time and work again on the basics that you've "mastered". Also set some long term goals ("Legend in my own mind") so you can have those in mind, but remember that you have to walk before you can run.

To your original question, only you can determine the number of rounds that it will take. I usually go through 600-700 rounds in a month during a 9-month shooting season just in match ammo. Figure 2-3 times that in practice ammo, and I'm up to 15,000-20,000 rounds in a year easily. Living in AZ as you do, that season is pretty much year-round. If I lived there, the ammo count would rise proportionally.

YMMV

And welcome to the forums!

Alan~^~

[LPatterson]

1st question - as many as it takes to continue to improve. However dryfire can go a long way to improve the fundamentals so do it daily and live fire as much as the budget allows. A lot of what you need to learn can get done with a .22, grip, stance, sight alignment, trigger squeeze, shot calling and other basics. The match gun is necessary to learn recoil management, see the sights lift and return to the same spot. It is not about quantity as much it is quality.

2nd question - it's winter time so not as much as I would like. Summer 3-4 times a week, depending on the gun 200-300 rounds depending of the drills being worked.

[Pro2AInPA]

I've learned quickly through experience that dry fire is hugely important. Don't underestimate it.

But to answer your question, I shoot around 800 rounds/month in practice. I'll be shooting 5-6 matches a month and the round count there is dependent on the stages and reshoots.

I'll be first to say it. If you don't load your own ammo, start now.

[BSeevers]

I kept track my first year of committed performance improvement. 57K of .45 200 gr lead.

This was a different era. No books, tapes, DVDs, internet or "help" So I had to waste time, effort and frankly bullets.

Depends on your goal. Be a M? better think in that range of bullets. Win your class at the club? not so much.

Win the Nationals? get busy

[L-10_shooter]

Club matches are my practice. I get bored and unable to focus when practicing on my own. Around here in the summer we have three USPSA matches available every month, two Speed steel, and bowling pins every two weeks. Last summer I figured I was shooting 900ish rounds a month in matches. Blew me away, because I didnt think I was shooting that much. Explains why my loading components were disapearing so fast.

[kitestir]

It really depends on your goal. I am not a TOP shooter by any means and I am ok with that. I like to try and shoot about once a week and dry fire when I think of it at night while watching tv etc. During commercials I will practice mag changes, draws to first shots etc..... During the show I will just hold the gun and pop it up and get a sight picture etc. Anthing that you can do to become more familiar with your gun, how it fits in your hand, whenre the controls are and how the sights line up will help you advance a lot with out firing a shot.

[Corey]

one of my local clubs has "practice" matches in the spring/summer/fall. dryfiring and doing airsoft thru the winter til then, then i plan to go to those practice matches and regular sunday matches-budget depending.

As for the OP and the number of rounds itll take, the more you shoot (as long as its quality) and the more time (again QUALITY) the better you will be.

[WoodyTX]

I did some shooting back when IPSC was the only show in town (late 80s), took a hiatus for quite a while, and am slowly getting back into it. Back in the 80s, I would shoot close to 500 rounds in a practice session. Most of it was a waste, but I did get very familiar with the weapon, so ... not a total waste?

Having read (and currently re-reading) Brian's book, and blessed with a family now, I'm working on quality vs. quantity. I figure some time each week "dry" (dry-firing, sight acquisition, reloading drills, etc), two practice days a month, and whatever competition I can squeeze in. Total round count should be under 700 per month, I'm guessing.

Hope that helps...

[calishootr]

20+ yrs ago, I thought you had to be knee deep in brass to get any type of advancement in this sport, and i burned up roughly 30,000 rounds a yr for quite a while, with time came aging, and some understanding, and of course the books and video's and lots of GM's puttin on classes and seminar's for us mere mortals, now i dry fire more than anything, and my rounds per yr are down to 2500 if im lucky

I used to shoot 9 matches a month, now down to 2 if im feeling frisky, mostly I go to the matches to see friends and support the clubs in other ways, building/maintaining props, and talking to newbies and the occasional 'lookie-loo' who may be interested in our sport

[Sterling White]

Response to the original question - welcome to your new addiction!

Pay your bills first then get ready to spend the rest on ammo, equipment, match fees, and transportation cost.

[TheDon]

Thank you all for your feedback......I do look forward to the challenges ahead of me!!!!!

This is gonna be a Blast!

THEDON

[robin303]

When I go to range which is indoors at this time I shoot 500 rnds of 9mm from my G19 with 20 15 rnd mags and 3 33 rnd mags in one hr. The reason for all the mags so I don't have to pay for all that time reloading and such. The other 100 rnds is reloads that I test out. I try to do this min 0f twice a month.

[JThompson]

I used to shoot knee deep in brass, but I found I wasn't learning much after 2-300 rounds per session, so that's where I draw the line now.

A lot of guys can shoot well after 200 rounds, the best can do it starting at the first. I'm not one of those guys. The hardest thing in this sport, imo, is walking up to that line stone ass cold and making it happen from the jump.

JT

Edited January 12, 2010 by JThompson

[bierman]

I've learned quickly through experience that dry fire is hugely important. Don't underestimate it.

What he said.

When I first got into the shooting sports game (04-05) I started shooting about 1000-1200 rds a month. You could still get Blazer 9mm at Academy Sports for $86 per case then. When I first got classified in USPSA I came it at B class (barely, at about 60% and change). I did very little dryfire at that time. I shot pretty regularly through 06 but due to some big changes in my life I only got to shoot 4 matches in 07, one match in 08 and one in 09. I just did not have much time or money to dedicate to shooting.

What I did do is begin a dryfire program. About one hour a night 3-5 nights a week. I did see some pretty positive results. Despite having shot fewer than 2500 rounds live fire in the last two years, I shot my first A class classifier (78% per the calculator) two weeks ago at a local match. Two weeks prior to that I shot 71% on El Presidente at my first match in 18 months. My point is that despite LONG layoffs in shooting, I was able to actually scratch out a few more percentage points in my classification by dryfiring.

Don't get wrapped up in round count. Practice smart, dryfire a lot, study here (but not too much ) and you will make progress.

[Corey]

I also will vouvh for dryfire. my situation requires me to dryfire/use airsoft. the only indoor range in my area wont allow setting up multiple targets, etc. I have found a connection with another range about 40 miles away and i think it may be worth it to get "real" trigger time in, but as a new-to-USPSA shooter, i can see the benefits of dryfire already.

[TheDon]

So is there a good DRY FIRE VIDEO/DVD That any of you might suggest?

TheDon

[Walküre]

As many as you can, based on time and money constraints.

I shoot 100-200 rounds a week just for various local matches. During the warmer months, I'd say I send another ~200 rds downrange a week, on average.

Thank goodness for Dillon.

[bierman]

So is there a good DRY FIRE VIDEO/DVD That any of you might suggest?

TheDon

Go here. Ben is a GM Production shooter and he has TONS of video on his site for free. Great stuff there.

[Neomet]

I shoot about 1.5K a month. A fair amount of that is at matches but I am pretty much halfway between Ben Avery and Rio so I can hit both places. Rio is like a siren singing on the rocks with 3 USPSA type matches most weeks. By the time you add in matches at Ben Avery I get a lot of matchs in a month. Practice is normally 200 rounds or so a session. Rio is a little more of a hike from your location but you still have the opportunity to shoot a ton of matches.

How much will you shoot? The determining factor for me out here in AZ has been the size of my ammo budget.