Too much range practice???

Peetzakilla wrtote:

Never assume that shooting more will make you a better shot.
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Right I think you are Peetza. Assumtions are unnecessary though. If I'm putting 50 shots into a desert paper plate at 25 yards, then I am not concerned that my 'Technique' is approved by anuone else. I am getting the results I want. I am a disabled old man and as I said, different strokes, for different folks. I seriously doubt I could do it, 'Your way', in any aspect of 'Technique'. I am slow to draw, slow to present, cannot backup, or move laterally with any speed, or agility. So I am dead meat, except where patient accurate fire will apply.
 
Still a good topic. Anyone remember what Elmer Keith had to say? Lots!

First of all, Elmer Keith would not have had much to say about lots of training, I think. While he certainly had some instruction and it was entertaining to read, he would have had a higher opinion of developing your own way of doing things if it gave the desired results. So did a few other people, which can be surprising. But Keith still had a rigorous side.

Assuming this thread was about the combat use of handguns, Keith believed you needed to achieve a relatively high standard of marksmanship in the old NRA bullseye style before you should even begin to think of combat with a handgun. Now, that's rigorous. Most people would miss the mark. Others with rather more combat experience, though not necessarily police experience, had no illusions about the reality of those expectations. Their approach was entirely different, as were their requirements. The experiences of Jeff Cooper, on the other hand, were different still and his theories about combat handgun use were shaped by both actual combat and competitive handgun use but of a completely different sort than Keith indulged in. It is interesting how it turned out but I'm not sure if it really answers the question about whether or not one can practice too much.

But Keith, Cooper, Jordan and Fairbairn are all gone and we're free to do what pleases us now, I guess.
 
As stated before practice with GOOD fundamentals is a must. Shooting is a perishable skill so in my opinion never too much range time.
 
Sometimes your efforts to improve your shooting lead you down a strange path. You all know how some competitive shooting sports or activities can sometimes result in a kind of "gaming" of the activitiy in which gadgets and highly modified handguns are used to good effect. I mentioned how some believed you had to be a good bullseye target shot before you should even think about combat handgunnery. That may be all well and good but eventually it resulted in what were basically target revolvers being used by (some) policemen. The S&W K-38 Masterpiece, later also called the Model 14, is the best example. Some had "target" hammer and "target" trigger and if it didn't, people added trigger shoes. Bull barrels were a fad for a while. There was even a progressive school of thought that recommended that the revolver be manually cocked and fired single action because that gave much better accuracy, so the theory went. You could even buy a single action K-38 for a while. After all, that's what the good target shots used. And of course it had a six inch barrel that you carried in a swivel holster.

Obviously, times change. The thinking in the 1950s was also that you just couldn't beat a good revolver. If nothing else, that suggests that not all revolvers were good. But that was then. This is now. All revolvers are good (aren't they?).

I suppose more practice is better if you have the time and money. It's fine if someone else is paying for it. During WWII some operatives were sent overseas and parachuted into enemy territory with about four hours weapon training. That's probably not enough but I suppose sometimes other things are more important.

So, just how much skill do you imagine you lose in a week's time?
 
It's fine if someone else is paying for it.
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That's what they make 22lr for. Most can afford 100 rounds of 22lr per week for practice.

So, just how much skill do you imagine you lose in a week's time?
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None, so back to my point what will it hurt to practice more often.
Again its all a matter of personal opinion.
 
Not for most of us

In any skill category, it has been said that 97% of us need to practice often to maintain our level of ability. Only 3% are naturally gifted.

I am in the former category when it comes to the shooting sports. Still looking for my 3% fit. Hope its not ice dancing!

I have also read that practice without discipline or purpose does not lead to marked improvement. Make your shots count like the match or your life was on the line. Even if your target is a tin can. Trigger time in and of itself is not enough.

As with any solo sport, you are ultimately competing against yourself. Learning to make and keep your inner voice positive is your biggest challenge.

My take, JT
 
I think we have a minor disagreement but not a major one.

First, using a .22 is good and even better if there is a close similiarity in the .22 and in the "full bore" handgun and there are several that are close enough. It doesn't hurt at all to practice with a .22 but it has its limitations but you know that. If nothing else, it helps to keep it interesting and fun.

I still don't think it will help your shooting skill to have a long shooting session with a full power handgun, at least anything above a .32 S&W Long, although there are "full power" handguns, including .380s, that are nothing at all to shoot. But some are for sure. I believe in fact that your shooting skill will begin to drop off after a while. The question is, how soon? Fifty rounds? A hundred round? If you're shooting a .44 magnum, the answer might be a tad lower. But anyway, I hope you understand what I'm getting at.

While there's a lot more to the game than standing there and shooting at the target, there will always be limitations with what you can do. Not only time and money, as I already mentioned, but the limitations that most ranges have on what you can do. Ideally, you would probably be a better practical shot if you were able to shoot a magazine or cylinder full every day in a plinking mode somewhere out in the country but I expect hardly anyone would have that opportunity these days. It wouldn't help in a tactical sense probably but it would certainly give you a one-up on most people.
 
That's like saying playing too much baseball is going to make you bad at football. Notice that I recognized that there is a HUGE difference between practice at the range and the real deal... but I highly doubt someone who practices a lot or "too much" is going to wake up in the middle of the night to an armed intruder and panic because he can't find his goggles.

I would say the more the merrier so long as you do some dry runs in your own house (meaning you designate a safe-room and practice getting the family into it, or clearing the house safely)
 
Sometimes, you gotta do what you don't wanna so you can get something you never had.

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. -Earl Weaver

Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in combat.
 
You can never have too much practice...Never. If you're doing things properly, then the more practice you have, the better off you'll be. I "practice" a minimum of 2 times per week. Usually its 3 times a week. 200 rounds each time at a bare minimum..And it makes a difference, shot placement, accuracy, speed, distance, it all improves.. These things matter in real life situations..
 
I still don't think it will help your shooting skill to have a long shooting session with a full power handgun...
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It could help or hurt depending on a variety of things, but it doesn't HAVE to hurt.

A couple of years ago I shot a little over 1000 rounds through a 10mm pistol in one day. The very next day I shot a GSSF match and scored better than usual.

I do agree that long shooting sessions with full power handguns can result in flinching issues and aren't generally advisable.
 
I've always hated that saying "Practice makes perfect."
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I agree. I once had an Army Marksmanship Unit Instructor tell me this: “Practice DOES NOT make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.”

Ten shots in the X-ring and going home is better then one hundred shots in the seven ring. :D
 
Range about twice a month, 400 rnds/mo thru the match Commander and 50-100 rnds/mo thru the carry Colt Dick.
 
To DanThaMan1776, I don't follow what you mean by saying that playing too much baseball will make you bad at football. That doesn't make sense. From what I gather here, everyone seems to think that more is better, at least the more you shoot the better you will be. Yes, in a sense. And in the same sense, you will not be better if you shoot less. Following through to the obvious conclusion, you will be your best when you do not shooting at all.

But following the logic most people here are stating, if a baseball team played two games back to back, they will play the second game better than the first.
 
I would say it depends on the individual. Cops qualify with there weapons anywhere from 1 - 12 times a year depending on the department. They should practice in between the quals but that depends on them. Competition shooters practice like there is no tomorrow. What is too much for one shooter may not be enough for another. When I go to the range I find that my best scores are when I shoot cold (no practice the qual). Does that mean I am an outstanding shot? No, it just means that this works for me. Oh yes I do practice bteween quals by the way.
 
To BlueTrain:

Sorry for the confusion.. after re-reading my post I realize I didn't make myself very clear :rolleyes:. I actually agree with the general consensus of "practice will not inhibit one's performance in a real defensive situation."

My baseball-football analogy was just to establish that i realize comparing a real defensive situation to range practice is like comparing baseball to football.. they are two totally different things. My point was, doing one isn't going to make you bad at another udner any circumstances. Of course this is a flawed analogy because range practice actually makes one better at defensive applications whereas baseball skills don't usually carry through to football.

My mistake
 
Well, let me take your side for a minute.

As I think I mentioned before somewhere, it is hard enough to get the right sort of practice for combat, if that's our ultimate goal, on most commercial ranges. On some of them you can't do any sort of draw and shoot or do fast shooting and so on. So you have to do the best you can. Combat handgunnery, as I understand it (I've never been in a gunfight) is not target shooting but it isn't trick shooting either. But the goal is still the same, namely to hit the target.

In a sense, the goal is to survive the gunfight but we won't get into that.

Typically, one can achieve very good proficiency with a handgun on a normal indoor range and that's something. That's pretty much all most people ever manage to do anyway and as far as shooting skills go, that's probably sufficient. There's a lot more to it than that (other than the shooting itself, that is) but that's good preparation. There have been many good target shots who have acquitted themselves well when some friend finally dragged them along on a hunting trip. But then the deer probably weren't shooting back!
 
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