How many rounds, on average, to maintain shooting skill?
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g.willikers
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It's less about how many rounds it takes to maintain skills, but rather how those rounds are used.
Unfocused lead slinging doesn't accomplish much.
Specifically focused practice sessions, especially on skills where one is weakest, will prove the most meaningful range time.
Unfocused lead slinging doesn't accomplish much.
Specifically focused practice sessions, especially on skills where one is weakest, will prove the most meaningful range time.
In terms of simply maintaining the current level of skill, I voted for 200 rounds a year. I would say to spread that out into 50 rounds every few months. While more is better, this number should provide to maintain skill.
Now, I certainly agree with the above posts. Particularly if you choose to minimize the number of live-fire rounds, all of your live-fire efforts need to be focused on quality practice.
There are lots of shooting skills that can be maintained (and even dramatically improved) without live rounds or even going to the range. Practicing your draw, presentation, aiming, and trigger discipline, and re-holstering can all be easily done at home with dry fire. Plus, Laserlyte (and similar) gadgets are continuously being introduced and improved upon to help with non-range/non-live fire practice at home.
Now, I certainly agree with the above posts. Particularly if you choose to minimize the number of live-fire rounds, all of your live-fire efforts need to be focused on quality practice.
There are lots of shooting skills that can be maintained (and even dramatically improved) without live rounds or even going to the range. Practicing your draw, presentation, aiming, and trigger discipline, and re-holstering can all be easily done at home with dry fire. Plus, Laserlyte (and similar) gadgets are continuously being introduced and improved upon to help with non-range/non-live fire practice at home.
Doc Holliday 1950
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You left out monthly practice and wilikers had a great point. It's not slinging X amount of lead. It's the quality of your practice that counts. Taking classes above and beyond the one you take to get your permit is invaluable and will make a difference.
Doc
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It depends on your skill level really. A competition level shooter who can draw and fire many rounds into tiny groups, really fast, will not be able to do that if he stops shooting for an entire month. Your average joe who can draw and fire a decent group at an average speed may be able to repeat that without shooting for a month. The higher your skill level, the more maintenance requirements. It's the law of diminishing returns. An hours worth of practice a week will get you to a certain point, but two hours worth of practice a week will not double your abilities... it will likely increase them by 30 or 40%. Going from 2 hours of practice a week to 4 hours per week will give you a smaller increase. So on and so forth.
For your average serious enthusiast, I would say around 100 or 200 rounds per month will keep you well above merely competent.
For your average serious enthusiast, I would say around 100 or 200 rounds per month will keep you well above merely competent.
It depends on what you expect from your shooting...but it means serious practice...not just throwing lead downrange.
a. To remain "Tactically Accurate" or if you carry for Defense... 200 rds a week for practice.
Practice will include some ... drawing and rapid fire, speed reloads. Maintain 90% hits on A zone in IPSC target out to 8 yds. In my view, you'll need to practice at least once a week with 100 rds to stay sharp...per session / twice a week would be better. Typically if I shoot a match on Sat...then I'll practice on Tue and Thurs (informal matches I shoot are another 150 rds a week).
So about 200 rds a week is optimum in my view.
b. If all you want to do ..is bulls eye practice...3" circle at whatever distance you like ...you can probably keep your skill level with 100 rds a month. All slow fire...all very deliberate.
c. For minimal skills ( basically just operate your gun without a problem ) ...you can probably get by with 2 boxes a quarter..or 400 rds a year.
a. To remain "Tactically Accurate" or if you carry for Defense... 200 rds a week for practice.
Practice will include some ... drawing and rapid fire, speed reloads. Maintain 90% hits on A zone in IPSC target out to 8 yds. In my view, you'll need to practice at least once a week with 100 rds to stay sharp...per session / twice a week would be better. Typically if I shoot a match on Sat...then I'll practice on Tue and Thurs (informal matches I shoot are another 150 rds a week).
So about 200 rds a week is optimum in my view.
b. If all you want to do ..is bulls eye practice...3" circle at whatever distance you like ...you can probably keep your skill level with 100 rds a month. All slow fire...all very deliberate.
c. For minimal skills ( basically just operate your gun without a problem ) ...you can probably get by with 2 boxes a quarter..or 400 rds a year.
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FrankenMauser
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MY skill?
A few shots at cats with the Air Soft pistol, every few months, is good enough.
I am not a handgunner. I never have been, and never will be.
To complicate matters, I have to deal with constant tremors. They don't play nicely with handguns.
However...
I have been working with iron sights on my rifles much more in the last 3-5 years than I ever did in the past. That extra time spent with irons seems to be crossing over to handguns more than I ever would have expected.
A few shots at cats with the Air Soft pistol, every few months, is good enough.
I am not a handgunner. I never have been, and never will be.
To complicate matters, I have to deal with constant tremors. They don't play nicely with handguns.
However...
I have been working with iron sights on my rifles much more in the last 3-5 years than I ever did in the past. That extra time spent with irons seems to be crossing over to handguns more than I ever would have expected.
Tucker 1371
New member
I try to get in about 50 rounds a month but it winds up being something more like 50 rounds every other month except for two months out of the year where I have an insane 500 round range session involving half the guns in my safe lol. And I usually feel guilty for burning up all that ammo later.
I usually dry fire about 50-100 times per day with pistols, don't do any dry fire with rifles. I should probably dry fire more.
I usually dry fire about 50-100 times per day with pistols, don't do any dry fire with rifles. I should probably dry fire more.
How much is strictly necessary or a figure to rationalize shooting as often as we'd like?
Depends on the shooting skill you want to maintain. From a strictly necessary standpoint of using a gun competently enough to employ it in practice, probably 50 rds a year is going to be sufficient, once you're actually trained. Awfully low? Sure. Most hunters I know shoot roughly that much a year and bring in the bacon. I've seen a number of old veteran soldiers who haven't shot in years - give them a gun and they're pretty good almost right away. The shooting skills, once you have them, are not as perishable as people who need justification to shoot thousands of rounds like to say.
Want to be competition-ready? Lots - weekly training, really. You're operating at the far end of the curve and it takes serious effort to stay there.
Shooting isn't much more different then riding a bike or other motor skills. Once you learn how you can do it well enough, you'll Know how to do it passably well for the rest of your life, but if you intend to race in serious competition you're going to have to do it regularly.
There's no shame in saying that I shoot because shooting is fun without needing to rationalize it as something necessary.
Depends on the shooting skill you want to maintain. From a strictly necessary standpoint of using a gun competently enough to employ it in practice, probably 50 rds a year is going to be sufficient, once you're actually trained. Awfully low? Sure. Most hunters I know shoot roughly that much a year and bring in the bacon. I've seen a number of old veteran soldiers who haven't shot in years - give them a gun and they're pretty good almost right away. The shooting skills, once you have them, are not as perishable as people who need justification to shoot thousands of rounds like to say.
Want to be competition-ready? Lots - weekly training, really. You're operating at the far end of the curve and it takes serious effort to stay there.
Shooting isn't much more different then riding a bike or other motor skills. Once you learn how you can do it well enough, you'll Know how to do it passably well for the rest of your life, but if you intend to race in serious competition you're going to have to do it regularly.
There's no shame in saying that I shoot because shooting is fun without needing to rationalize it as something necessary.
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Good proper dry fire practice is what can keep skills up and improve them. If you apply the practice of 100:1 ratio of dry fire presses to live fire presses you will see improvement.
As far as not practicing and it not having an impact I'll disagree. I have seen what not practicing does time and time again. Shooting is a perishable skill! The amount of how much the skill diminishes is dependent on the shooter. Somebody who is very proficient with a gun and knows how to properly train and shoot will be much better off after not shooting for a year than someone who is a novice.
As far as not practicing and it not having an impact I'll disagree. I have seen what not practicing does time and time again. Shooting is a perishable skill! The amount of how much the skill diminishes is dependent on the shooter. Somebody who is very proficient with a gun and knows how to properly train and shoot will be much better off after not shooting for a year than someone who is a novice.
I agree with Branko. Once you've developed a certain level of competence, which has been properly drilled into you, it doesn't take a lot of shooting to maintain that proficiency.
As an example, look at my sig line. Play that game a few times and you understand there's a lot more to learning to shoot than slinging as much lead as possible. At my peak (5 years ago) I was only practicing with my rifle once every 2-3 weeks and was knocking on the door of High Master. BUT! I was shooting a match (50-100 rounds) every other weekend from April to October. And I spent a winter shooting 50-foot indoor small bore every other week as well. It was all very focused and specific, which paid off in keeping the skills up.
Shooting one of my handguns these days? I'm comfortable with 50-100 rounds every 2-3 weeks. Go with a specific plan and a backup plan and practice those motions. I'm fairly confident I could go shoot one of the local pistol leagues and not embarrass myself.
Dry-fire work has proven to me to have equal value to range time. For things like drawing and finding the front sight, manipulation (revolver reloads...) and working on sight alignment and follow-through, you don't need to make a loud noise to get the motions established.
As an example, look at my sig line. Play that game a few times and you understand there's a lot more to learning to shoot than slinging as much lead as possible. At my peak (5 years ago) I was only practicing with my rifle once every 2-3 weeks and was knocking on the door of High Master. BUT! I was shooting a match (50-100 rounds) every other weekend from April to October. And I spent a winter shooting 50-foot indoor small bore every other week as well. It was all very focused and specific, which paid off in keeping the skills up.
Shooting one of my handguns these days? I'm comfortable with 50-100 rounds every 2-3 weeks. Go with a specific plan and a backup plan and practice those motions. I'm fairly confident I could go shoot one of the local pistol leagues and not embarrass myself.
Dry-fire work has proven to me to have equal value to range time. For things like drawing and finding the front sight, manipulation (revolver reloads...) and working on sight alignment and follow-through, you don't need to make a loud noise to get the motions established.
breakthrough
Moderator
will dry firing the empty gun damage it?
do you have to use snap caps?
if so which ones are best?
what besides snap caps can you use to dry fire the gun?
do you have to use snap caps?
if so which ones are best?
what besides snap caps can you use to dry fire the gun?
You can dry fire most " center fire" guns - but not all. Revolvers made by freedom arms, as an example, because of design of firing pin need snap caps / and their manual says don't do it !! A lot of shooters with older revolvers with firing pin nubs on hammer will not dry fire without snap caps - but it's controversial on how bad it is on a gun. So consult your manual.
A-Zoom is a really good brand of snap caps.
Dry firing - is a good supplement for range time - work on specific skills - trigger press, reset, drawing and grip, returning gun to holster, shifting between multiple targets....lots of stuff.....and thenow get to range when you can.
A-Zoom is a really good brand of snap caps.
Dry firing - is a good supplement for range time - work on specific skills - trigger press, reset, drawing and grip, returning gun to holster, shifting between multiple targets....lots of stuff.....and thenow get to range when you can.
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