How many rounds per month?

I've read and been told that at a minimum you want to shoot 100 rds a month from whatever gun you want to stay proficient at. If you have 5 guns you want to stay proficient at then you shoot a minimum 500rds.
Of course how you shoot is important too. If you're trying to stay proficient at CCW and home defense and all you do is shoot at paper targets at your local range then your missing the target (forgive the pun).

You need to find a place where you can practice your draw and shoot at unknown targets. Someone would have to set them up while you're not looking. There are many other scenerio's but you get the point.

In place of this you could dry fire in your house but nothing can replace the live fire, recovoring from recoil while acquiring another target.

A good defensive school can teach you this but practice is needed to maintain what you learn.

For simple shooting at a target, 100 a month should be minimum.

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"It is easier to get out of jail then it is a morgue"
Live long and defend yourself!
John 3:16
NRA lifer
GOA
GSSF
KABA
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by FUD:
I know that everybody is different, but on AVERAGE, how many rounds do you need to fire to become good with a weapon (hit the X-ring at 25feet? 50feet? 75fett? etc.) and then how many rounds a month should you practice with to maintain that level of accuracy?
Specifically speaking, I'm thinking about getting a 10mm and after firing it, found it to be a handful (please, no laughing, big-bore shooters). I'm curious if I can tame it & be accurate with it and more or less how many rounds a month it'll take to remain good with it? 200-300? More? Less?
Share what you know, learn what you don't -- FUD
fud-nra.gif
[/quote]

First you need to define what good is: Are you talking slow supported fire, slow unsupported fire, fast fire, multiple targets, moving targets, etc?
Then how many different guns do you want to get good at shooting?

I don't claim to be an expert shot, I use 9" paper plates with a hand drawn 3"x3" or 4"x4" bull on the target for most of my "combat shooting" practice. I am planning on using two or three 3"x5" note cards placed in various spots on the backer soon for my drills. I don't have a fancy range to shoot at, so the idea is I put the 3x5 cards in different spots on the backer, never in a strait line or row, and then fire once with intent on each. That is done offhand as fast as I can shoot with a sight picture with my P 11 and P 32 out to 15 yards with the P 11 and out to 7 yards with the P 32.

I also shoot at a B 27 target at 50 yards from kneeling with my service size guns. With a 357 or 45 acp I can usually place 50% of my shots into K zone on that target at 50 yards from kneeling [slow fire]. The revolvers are fired SA at that range.

I also shoot the service guns a bit like I do the carry guns [ie the P 32 & P 11]. But my thoughts are that I am not to likely to have to use the sevice guns at the traditional <21 feet range. I don't think the shooting skills needed to stop goblins are that difficult to attain. I worry more about how to buy time with my hand to hand skills.

I also dry fire 2 to 5 times per week.

BTW Which 10mm did you test fire? And what load were you using? The 10mm isn't really anymore powerful than a 45 acp. Fullpower 10 loads about equal 45 acp +P loads. In my experiance the 10mm in a Colt Delta Elite is lot more comfortable to shoot than a 125 grain 357 mag load in any 4" revolver.
 
Greetings,

Interesting posts all. I agree that how you practice is more important than how many rounds. I go to the range most every weekend and shoot 200 or 300 rounds of .22 and about 200 rounds through whichever larger caliber gun I brough with me (.380, 9mm, .38/.357, .45). I try to concentrate on consistency and maintaining the sight picture until after the shot.

I feel that marksmanship and tactics are different aspects of defense, which should be combined. Marksmanship is easier to practice and is an indispensable component.

Once a month, the Winchester Canyon Gun Club has an IDPA event, which is about all the tactical practice I get, except for rapid fire at the range, firing while moving at the National Forest shooting area and drawing and dry-firing at home. (My wife times me with a stop watch_-best time so far from audible signal to hammer drop: 1.42 secs.).

Regards,

Ledbetter
 
Hey, Maxinquaye, don't denigrate yourself about being a crappy shot! B.S.! If you are getting groups like that at 25 yards, you've got absolutely nothing to worry about when some vicious puke decides to attack you at four or five yards! You'll do just fine.

Now, if you want some NRA Bullseye badges, or want to go to the World Olympics, then you need some work. (Of course, you'd need some different guns, too.) LOL.

Don't sweat it. J.B.
 
300-500 month but to keep the skills maybe 200 a month would be fine. 2" groups at around 15 yards. Up to 3" groups at 25 yards. At fast pace. Any of my pistols.

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The Seattle SharpShooter - TFL/GT/UGW/PCT/KTOG
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ledbetter:
Once a month, the Winchester Canyon Gun Club has an IDPA event, which is about all the tactical practice I get, except for rapid fire at the range, firing while moving at the National Forest shooting area and drawing and dry-firing at home. (My wife times me with a stop watch_-best time so far from audible signal to hammer drop: 1.42 secs.).[/quote]

I started shooting IDPA a couple of months ago myself. I have found that there is a HUGE difference between that sort of shooting and slow, deliberate range fire. I went back to the range yesterday with my G21 after shooting nothing but IDPA matches with it for the last 6 weeks. I did okay, but not my usual accuracy. I found that I am doing a lot more shooting off the front sight, rather than developing a total sight picture before squeezing. That has also been haunting me on the third stage of the IDAP classifier where we shoot at 20 yards. Got to slow down a little!

Best time on the "failure drill" (draw, two shots to the body, one to the head, on a silhouette at 7 yards): 2.03 seconds.

Speed's not really the issue; speed with accuracy is.

I'm going to start mixing in range and IDAP time equally. That works out since our matches are twice a month, and I can make a trip to the range on the off weeks. I figure that's going to mean about 300 rounds per month total.
 
FUD....I think that in time you will get use to shooting that 10. I shoot 3 different cal. mostly, .40 S&W, 9mm and .45 ACP. Never know which or how many guns I will take to the range. I shoot, on average, 300 rounds a week, every Sunday. I think that number of rounds keeps me as sharp as my age lets me be. Also shooting every week has seemed to get rid of my perception of recoil. I just can't tell the difference between the cals. I do think that if you are serious about shooting you will get some training. I went to Chapman's for a week long course, 5 days, eight hours a day, and 2,000 rounds later, I was a much better shot. With my age and tired eyes it gets hard to tell which of the 3 front blades to look at! I need all the help and practice I can get. Going back to Chapman's again this year. Shoot Safe.....CO
 
Fud.... Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. You ask about Chapman's. This is the Chapman Academy of Practical Shooting. It was founded by Ray Chapman of shooting fame. The Academy is located in Hallsville, Mo. Actually just out side of Columbia. Phone, (573) 696-5566 or (800) 847-0588. Their Address is; Chapman Academy, 4350 Academy Rd. Hallsville, Missouri 65255. E-mail GREENVALLEYHQ@JUNO.COM I'm going back this year, the first week in October. It cost $600 for a 5 day course in basic defensive pistol. They start you off slow; 1 round from the holster at 10 yards, and work from there. Before you know it you are shooting steel plates, shooting while moving, moving targets, and at the end of the week, scenarios such as "Payday in Nicaragua" and "Sunday afternoon in San Salvador." My instructor was John Skaggs. I can not say enough about him and Chapman Academy. It was not cheep, but it was and is the best money I have and will ever spend when it comes to shooting for defense and sport.
Shoot Safe....CO

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Never saw a gun I didn't
like.
 
I shoot a *minimum* of 300 rnds per week for practice, not including weekend matches. That doesn't include any of the rifle stuff either.
 
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