I took to long of a break from shooting... =( Need some advice

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Venom1956

New member
So FINALLY after almost a YEAR of not being able to shoot I got out my toys and burned off a few rounds... I was unemployed and couldn't afford ammo I finally have a small cushion of rounds built up so I can enjoy it.

I had my MkII, SR9, and GP-100 4"

Shot maybe a hundred .22, sixty 9mm, maybe 30 .38 and 10 .357...

So .22 i did OK nothing great I've definitely shot better before.

Took out my SR9 and I am all over the place... I got down to the left from preparing to pull down after firing, I got high right from bad trigger pulls... (those are my guesses at least) I know the SR9 trigger isn't amazing but I could usually keep it to the size of my fist at this range. I got em all on a 8x10 piece of paper.

GP-100 SA was alot better like 2" groups but I had three one low left bullseye and high right... DA wasn't much better then the SR9...

Over all it was quite a demoralizing range day... Thing is I really can't afford to get a pile of center fire just to get back into the swing of things... I got college here.

I mean 100 .38s WWB are only 3 bucks less then 100 .45 WWB what is that!? (sorry got off topic)

Anyway I would love some opinions how to get out of this slump. Anybody have a similar problem? Or ideas on what to focus on next range trip? I mean what would it look like when I can't out shoot my buddies next time we go out!:D I'm hoping that it was just an 'off' day, love to hear what you guys think.
 
The best place to start over is at the beginning.

Go back to basics. Dry fire practice can help improve your aim/trigger squeeze. Focus on the sights while you do it.

If double action is causing you problems, then practice double action dry firing. Muscles get weak when they aren't used, and motor-muscle memory won't be what it once was. Dry fire practice can help.

Once your steady and confidant in your hold and trigger squeeze, then go back and try the range. Ammo is expensive to shoot, so make the practice count.

Don't forget to double/triple check the firearm to make sure it's not loaded before doing dry fire. If you leave the firearm for a bit and then return, make sure again that it's not loaded.

That's my advice, for what it's worth. I've had the same problem in the past when obligations overcame my passion to shoot, and that's the way I maintained and/or improved my skills.

Daryl
 
The best place to start over is at the beginning.

Go back to basics. Dry fire practice can help improve your aim/trigger squeeze. Focus on the sights while you do it.

If double action is causing you problems, then practice double action dry firing. Muscles get weak when they aren't used, and motor-muscle memory won't be what it once was. Dry fire practice can help.

Once your steady and confidant in your hold and trigger squeeze, then go back and try the range. Ammo is expensive to shoot, so make the practice count.

Don't forget to double/triple check the firearm to make sure it's not loaded before doing dry fire. If you leave the firearm for a bit and then return, make sure again that it's not loaded.

That's my advice, for what it's worth. I've had the same problem in the past when obligations overcame my passion to shoot, and that's the way I maintained and/or improved my skills.

Daryl
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Great post, excellent advice. :)
 
The hardest thing to conquer is a flinch, and I'm still fighting it. Best thing I can tell you is not try to hold the sights on the target, but start from one side and slowly sweep into your point of impact. Focus *only* on your trigger finger, nothing else.

Too bad you're not around here, I have all this reloaded 9mm and usually end up going to the range by myself.:rolleyes:
 
Good advice from Daryl. A double action revolver readily lends itself to dry fire practice. And it's free.

If you get bored with simple trigger pull drills, include some drills to work on your natural point of aim, your draw, your reloading skills, and shooting on the move. There's plenty on-line info available.

As far as live fire, buy some bulk pack Federal or Winchester (most stay away from Remington) .22LR and put that MkII to good use, focusing on the basics - sight picture and trigger control.

As far as live CF practice, check out mastercast.net. They sell reloaded ammo and have a very good reputation. With brass exchange, the cost of their ammo is much cheaper than factory stuff and isn't much more expensive than reloading them yourself. Shipping is a flat-rate $12-$13 (up to 70 lbs), so you can reduce shipping costs per round by ordering up to approx 2,000 rounds of 158gr .38spl.

If you don't have brass, start saving it, or scrounge it at the range if allowed. You can likely also buy brass from a local shooter. If it's dirty and unsorted, it shouldn't cost very much; I'm guessing $20 per 500. It'd be a 1-time expense anyway, so you'd likely still be ahead in the end.

Really, though, if you're dry firing your GP100 and shooting a lot of .22LR, you really don't need to shoot that much .38 per range session. One box of 50 (so long as it's quality shooting) ought to be fine per session.
 
Dry firing practice is really boring ...but it will pay off in a lot of ways

...more consistent move in and out of a holster
better trigger control
better position on the gun at the ready position
less wasted movement
better and more consistent grip on the gun ....

Quality of practice is more important ...than Quantity of rounds downrange too. Sometimes I do better at the range / when I only take 2 mags for a semi-auto ... and I have to slow my drills down and reload mags rather than have 8 mags loaded and ready to go all the time.

Set 2 or 3 goals for your range session / have a set course of fire ( slow fire 3 rds in 30 sec / 2 rds in 15 sec coming out of holster / then drop it to 12sec, then to 10 and maybe down to 3 sec / then mix in some re-loads ...all the little things .....

Last nite I was running a drill ( have your buddy load your mag with 5 live rounds and a dummy round ) -- don't show it to you ( and don't put dummy in position 6 or 1 ). You put the mag in the gun / and don't look where the round is at. At an IPSC target at 30 feet / at the whistle, you shoot until your gun is empty ( clearing the dummy rd along the way ) and when its empty you drop the mag, reload a new mag, and fire 2 more rds. Do it twice at under 20 sec / then drop time limit to 15 sec / move targets to 21 feet do it twice at 12 sec / then twice at under 10 sec. All hits inside the A zone are 10 pts / any hit outside the A zone is a Zero / any hits after the whistle to stop are a minus 10 ...so there is a real penalty for being too slow. The idea is "Tactical Accuracy" ...at a quick pace. Personally, I dropped 7 shots out of 56 last nite - not great / but that's about as good as I can shoot with these old eyes. But I had no rds over time either ... I know I'm dropping a round after my reloads / because I'm pressing on time ...so I yank one after I reload ( even 2" out of A zone / is still a miss in this course of fire ) ... I need to work on my rhythm.

So my benchmark is 7 rds out of 56 / my goal will be less than 5 lost shots next week. Or at 21 feet / my goal is 100% on target and under time...for those 28 rds / but you could do the same drill with 3 in the mag and 1 dummy rd / and one follow-up after the reload to conserve some ammo too ...

all kinds of things to do / to improve ....just do the best you can / stay within your budget.
 
There's no need to stop shooting due to the high cost of ammo or range fees.
Keep sharp with airguns at your house.
Regular practice with airguns will keep your skills.
 
I dry fire all the time and I have a range in my back yard. I aim at the light switch, the TV, whatever is far enough away or small enough that I can work on my muscle memory.
 
Just to add to the dry-fire and not start a debate, I've always found it beneficial to utilize snap caps (mine are from A-Zoom). I think they are better on the firearm and you can also practice reloading with them.
 
Thanks for all the replies!

I to am spoiled to have my range in my backyard. Which is one of the reasons being so out of practice came at such a shock. :o

I think I might go buy four more Mk2 mags (I only have one) This weekend if funds permit and burn thru the rest of my federal and winchester bulk.

I really wish I woulda got that S&W M63 to get my DA pulls back into shape... Oh well. I'll let you all know how it goes.
 
Venom1956
I to am spoiled to have my range in my backyard.
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Dude you are so lucky! Start reloading when funds permit! You'll shoot a LOT more and you may find over time that you'll have stock to keep building rounds with out spending more money! Just in case.... Good news on the employment glad your back to work!:D
 
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