Growing up as I did under a man who grew up out of the depression, I learned really early that we didn't just go shoot up a lot of ammo at the range.
Where there were always lots of folks who shot boxes, we only would shoot half and sometimes even less depending on what we were shooting. Our practice involved hitting the bull with every round. didn't always work out that way, but in doing so it made me a MUCH better shot.
don't get me wrong, there were times we DID shoot quite a bit, but these times were very rare. Pop figured those bullets were better spent putting meat in the freezer than paper shreds on the ground. Even with the 22's, when I headed out at the farm he would listen for shots. When I came back to the house I had better have something to account for them.
When I got into handguns in my late teens, I was loading them, and shooting upwards of 2-300 rounds a week. This wasn't as big a deal with him as he didn't feel they were as practical for hunting as I did. Once we got out together he would shoot a dozen or so rounds and he was done. Of course he would put them all where he wanted them to go as well.
Nowadays, I head to the range with anywhere between 2 and 5 rifles and possibly 3-5 handguns. I usually will run anywhere between 5 and 20 rounds, depending on what rifle or handguns I am shooting, through them all. This gives me the "blasting ammo away" feeling, without really burning through a lot of ammo of any particular type or caliber. I always shoot slowly and deliberately taking time to inspect each shot. Just like when pop was around, I feel the most important thing is to hit what your shooting at, where you need to, with the first shot. If a second is needed I will deal with it when that situation arises.
I guess his thoughts on these matters was ingrained in my head when I was young. He simply felt that fewer rounds over a longer period did more good than a lot of rounds at one time. I really cannot argue with this, as I never saw him miss anything he took aim at, in all my years of hunting and shooting with him.