Shooting skills day to day

[fencer]

When I suck I blame the coffee or Pepsi Max I had just before going to the range, even if it was hours, or the day before. Damned caffeine messes me up - especially rifle. That's my story and I'm sticking to it

With target ammo, even on your best day, you are going to see some significant variation, especially when you add distance. If you are shooting 6" groups at 50' with a handgun, half of that is ammo accuracy. It's why I hate WWB.

Sigh, times change. When was the last time you saw a ground pounder with a cheek weld on an M4? That went out with wood stocks.

I think the kids on the Island and at Pendleton still qualify out to 500, but they are doing it with ACOG's. At first I thought that shooting at the same distance with a 4x optic meant that riflemen back in the day were better shooters, but it looks like they have changed the training and scoring to keep up with real world circumstances. The war in Afghanistan has seen Marines engage at greater distances than ever before, where troops may be engaged from a nearby hill top. So they began training Marines in long range ambush tactics that begin at 500 and then maneuver closer. Makes sense.
At least they use ACOG's which allow the shooter to keep both eyes open and never need batteries.
The US military sure has changed. ACOGs, body armor etc. I must cost 10 times what it used to to outfit an infantryman.

 

[PatMcD]

Don't practice until you get it right: practice until you don't get it wrong.

Then practice some more.

 

[fshalor]

Don't practice until you get it right: practice until you don't get it wrong.

Then practice some more.

Nice cheek weld in your avatar....

 

[E.Stoner]

There are many elements of shooting that are perishable skills, especially with pistols.
I think general marksmanship is more resilient, but lots of the rote stuff like draw, trigger press, fast sight alignment and weapon manipulation need to be practiced constantly to maintain your abilities. The good news is that you don't actually have to go to the range or blow through ammunition to keep a lot of this stuff fresh. A regular dry fire regiment is really important. I try to get to the range at least twice a week and do two USPSA matches a month, but when life happens I dryfire. It's easy to get 30 minutes a day while watching tv. A couple of months ago I got one of those little g-sight bore lasers that is activated by the striker, it has made dryfire way more fun.

That being said I sometime have days where I suck extra, usually I am either hungry, tired or have to take a crap. lol.

 

[tuna]

Another option is air guns or airsoft.

I don’t have the money or time to hit the range much anymore, but I can always sneak to the basement with the air gun for marksmanship practice.
More fun is the airsoft. I bought a Taurus airsoft on amazon for $6 for me and my two kids. They’ve lasted two years now. Shoot while moving? Yup, with instant feedback if you messed up or your opponent did. Draw and fire? If you get one that fits your holster, you’re there. Mine is about the same size as my LC9s, so I can practice while waiting for my bagel to toast. Downside is my floor has hundreds of bbs stuck in the cracks. Lol.

 

[Bonesinium]

Another option is air guns or airsoft.

I know people love to make fun of this, but they really shouldn't.

 

[PatMcD]

I know people love to make fun of this, but they really shouldn't.

That's not going to stop me from making fun of airsoft.

 

[mothybee]

When I suck I blame the coffee or Pepsi Max I had just before going to the range, even if it was hours, or the day before. Damned caffeine messes me up - especially rifle. That's my story and I'm sticking to it

With me it's the rock in my shoe, cross wind, sun in my eyes, etc.

 

[tuna]

That's not going to stop me from making fun of airsoft.

There’s a lot to make fun of. But thousands of shots for $20 is still thousands of shots.

And the look on the wife’s face when you draw and fire at a spider is priceless. You can’t do that with a real firearm, twice.

 

[fencer]

That's not going to stop me from making fun of airsoft.

I dunno Pat. This is not your father's Oldsmobile.. LOL. And they have a sheet load of models to choose from. I haven't bought one yet.. but I am thinking about it.

Chambered in .177 pellet or steel BB, these CO2-powered, next-generation air pistols have been engineered specifically to closely measure up to the most popular SIG original handgun model platforms — in weight and handling, as well as standards of performance.

Train With The Best
Perfected for practice with every advantage built in, these airguns are the economic, authentic answer to training more often, more effectively.


Key Features

• Full blowback metal slide
• Rifled steel barrel
• Picatinny rail mount
• 16-round rotary magazine (8×2)

 

[weekendracer]

I know people love to make fun of this, but they really shouldn't.

If there is ONE thing about that part of the world:

Once they like something, they DIG into it. Starcraft, Airsoft, Algebra :/.

 

[wiryone1]

I know people love to make fun of this, but they really shouldn't.

After watching that, I am convinced. I need to get into airsoft.

 

[moojpg2]

I dunno Pat. This is not your father's Oldsmobile.. LOL. And they have a sheet load of models to choose from. I haven't bought one yet.. but I am thinking about it.

Chambered in .177 pellet or steel BB, these CO2-powered, next-generation air pistols have been engineered specifically to closely measure up to the most popular SIG original handgun model platforms — in weight and handling, as well as standards of performance.

Train With The Best
Perfected for practice with every advantage built in, these airguns are the economic, authentic answer to training more often, more effectively.


Key Features

• Full blowback metal slide
• Rifled steel barrel
• Picatinny rail mount
• 16-round rotary magazine (8×2)

I actually have that air pistol set up in my basement with a self resetting steel silhouette pellet/bb trap. Make sure you only use lead bb's though. The steel bb's ricochet everywhere. The new P320 pellet pistols look awesome.

 

[ReluctantDecoy]

If you’re going twice a month it’s likely that your mental state varies quite a bit from visit to visit. The good news is that some of the time you’re a crack shot which means you have the ability and skills required to be a crack shot. Executing properly on any given day is probably more about, focus, concentration and mindset than anything.

I find this to be very true. Some days, my full concentration escapes me and in doing so, I slip back to some bad habits. It can be hard to separate the "fun" aspect from the "training" aspects sometimes as well, for newish shooters like myself who are only a year or two in and only shoot infrequently. At least for me, it takes discipline to seriously practice as opposed to just shoot for the fun of it sometimes. For some reason though, I'm always consistently decent with a carbine and very hit/miss with a pistol. I suppose they are just easier to shoot.

 

[Dennis in MA]

99.9999% of my range suckitude is due to trigger control. Which is a subset, I guess, of grip. I can do 100's of dry-fires in my basement, making sure I have a repeatable grip and steady trigger press while focusing on front-sight in my basement watching old Law & Order re-runs. I don't do it nearly often enough, but building that muscle memory certainly helps. Because at that point, it's more about just looking from target to target. The pistol follows where you "aim" with your eye.

 

[enbloc]

I shoot about twice a month, mostly pistols and revolvers of varying calibers, and I've noticed that some days I'm absolutely a crack shot, and other days it's like I haven't picked up a handgun before.

A Doctor would prescribe: "Up your shooting therapy by going to the range once a week..."

Now, TAKE YOUR MEDICINE!

 

[Supermoto]

99.9999% of my range suckitude is due to trigger control. Which is a subset, I guess, of grip. I can do 100's of dry-fires in my basement, making sure I have a repeatable grip and steady trigger press while focusing on front-sight in my basement watching old Law & Order re-runs. I don't do it nearly often enough, but building that muscle memory certainly helps. Because at that point, it's more about just looking from target to target. The pistol follows where you "aim" with your eye.

Grip and trigger press are different. You can have a terrible grip, but as long as you keep the sights on the target as the shot breaks, you will hit where you aim.

 

[AllaSnackbah]

I find that when I'm not at the range consistently, I lose speed, but not accuracy. I feel like accuracy is like riding a bike.

This, or i will do it at usual speed but not get the accuracy results i typically do.

 

[Dennis in MA]

Grip and trigger press are different. You can have a terrible grip, but as long as you keep the sights on the target as the shot breaks, you will hit where you aim.

Trigger press is repeatable as a sub-function of grip.

If you have the same repeatable grip over and over and over again, along with the subsequent repeatable trigger press. . . . well then it don't matter if you are shooting at 8" plates at 50' or a zombie target at 20' or upside freaking down like Boondock Saints. Muscle memory needs to be the primary item. Your body remembering how to grip and then how to press (based on that grip).

In stress situations, you MIGHT get a good trigger press from a crappy grip. But if you have a repeatable grip, it'll be very easy and natural to grip it the same way, giving you the same trigger press.

 

[Supermoto]

Trigger press is repeatable as a sub-function of grip.

If you have the same repeatable grip over and over and over again, along with the subsequent repeatable trigger press. . . . well then it don't matter if you are shooting at 8" plates at 50' or a zombie target at 20' or upside freaking down like Boondock Saints. Muscle memory needs to be the primary item. Your body remembering how to grip and then how to press (based on that grip).

In stress situations, you MIGHT get a good trigger press from a crappy grip. But if you have a repeatable grip, it'll be very easy and natural to grip it the same way, giving you the same trigger press.

Nope