but, art...
that advice is very wise...
years ago, i was whining to my 'smith about my groups, and how i needed to practice. he told me to 'get after the prairie dogs w/ it - best target practice you will ever get, and it is fun, too'. at the time, we were discussing my 7 rem mag, and as a new shooter, i was quite intimidated by the recoil.
after a couple more months, i took the rifle out on a dog shoot... went through 2 boxes of ammo at over $20/box... not long after, i picked up handloading, and the prairie dog excursions went from annual, to monthly, and now to bi-monthly. my current prairie dog load is 69.5 grains rl-25, fed. mag primer, win brass, and 162 hornady interlock boat tails (for the 7mag). coincidentally, that is the same load that will be deer hunting w/ me starting sunday.
right now, w/ my big game rifles (excluding the 30-30), it is a rare target indeed that gets away unscathed out to 400 yards... and first shot hits out to a long ways are the rule, not the exception.
there is no doubt that 600+ shots (w/ whatever big game rifle i'll be using that year) during the course of the summer will make you an amazing shot come deer season. add in another thousand or so w/ a 22 centerfire to help correct bad habits (flinch, poor sight pictures, etc), and you have no choice but to be a great shot...and you'll know your exact holdover/under and how to dope the wind at any reasonable range.