Practice

[ronipike]

Does anyone have a routine they follow while shooting to get them to shoot more accurate or faster? I guess it would depend what you are practicing for ( hunting or competition), but there has to be some way of getting the most out of every bullet fired.

 

[rhatimi]

A S-L-O-W trigger pull in Double action in other words stageing the trigger until the trigger pull is hair light. Only works with double actions.

 

[Quattroclick]

Start slow and deliberate. Training the muscles and mind is the key. If you repeat the motion slowly and correctly over and over, you eventually develop new neural pathways that bypass conscious processes. Then gradually work up the speed. Make sure to monitor yourself and make sure that you are performing the task, whatever it is, correctly.

Sadly this process works best when you are a kid. It gets harder and harder to learn new tricks as you get older.

 

[Pal Val]

I warm up by shooting a few dozen .22's. It helps me establish my grip, trigger pull and sight alignment at ease without dealing with recoil and muzzle blast. Before packing up, I go back to the .22 to make sure I didn't develop any bad habits.

When practicing shooting from a draw, it helps to practice the draw slowly, by the numbers, with an empty gun. Count your moves and very gradually speed up the drill, keeping in mind that the flow of the movement not become uncontrolled or jerky. End each repetition with a dry fire at a spot on the wall. Make absolutely sure the gun is clear!!!

 

[mykeal]

LIke Pal Val I started out using a single action .22, a Single Six. The simplest gun I know, and it required deliberate actions to fire it, so it taught me to think my way through each step.

I started close - 5 yards - and moved back a couple of yards at a time when the group sizes stabilized and were consistent from session to session.

I transitioned to my carry gun (S&W Model 60 .357 magnum) when I felt comfortable with the .22 and was shooting consistent groups at 25 yards (I'll keep the sizes private, thank you). I followed the same procedure, starting close and moving back as the groups stabilized. The carry gun has a few more variables, however: different ammo choices, single or double action and the element of speed. I also shoot some with my weak hand and duelist style. This means it takes much longer to get proficient at a given range.

For proficiency practice now I shoot weekly; I start with a .38 special reload that's a low power SWC round, usually 50 rounds (they're inexpensive), mostly double action but at least 10 single action. I also shoot from various distances and hand holds (strong/weak, double/duelist). Then 10-15 rounds of a reload .357 magnum that's a moderate weight and power round, all double action, two handed at 7 yards. I finish with 10-15 rounds of a high recoil .357, all double action, two handed at 7 yards. About once a month I shoot 10 rounds of my carry ammo, Speer Gold Dots in .357 magnum.

And then, just to make myself humble again, I drag out the Single Six and run through a box. That really shows up the bad habits and brings me back down to earth; I'm not nearly as good with the .22 as I thought I was with the Model 60.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Does anyone have a routine they follow while shooting...

I usually follow a routine but it is not always the same each trip to the range. I usually take two or three guns in the same caliber. With the first gun I will shoot some very slow and deliberate single-action shots to make sure the sights are set, then faster shots or double-action shots and finally some off-hand, point shooting, one hand, or something like that. I will repeat for the other guns usually doing approximately the same thing. I think this keeps me familiar and fairly versatile with the guns although not especially accurate or specialized. If I have some big boomers I like to shoot them first while I am fresh and the hands are good. :D :D

...Jimbo

 

[Rodfac]

I alternate days....One is for fun, the other is all business with my carry piece. I live on a small farm here in KY and have the luxury of my own personal range...all the way out to 200 yds.....yeah...I know...don't say it. I do limit shooting activity before 9am and after 5pm however.

Fun: Single action with a variety of Rugers, Colts and Smiths. Occasionally, I haul out the 1911's. Most of this practice is done at 25 yds, but I do have steel targets (old RR tie plates, and propane tanks) at 25 yd intervals out to 100 yds. Unless I'm testing a new reload prescription, I shoot from the standing position, two handed.

Business: I shoot a cpl of S&W Chief Specials: a 2" Airweight and a 3" with fully adjustable sights. Too, I do occasionally carry a Combat Commander Colt 1911 in .45, and if some of my LE friends come over, I get this one out and yuk it up over their "sissy" rounds...( mostly 40 S&W's with a few 9 mm's). For all of this I shoot up close, rarely beyond 7 yds, and with both hands...strong and weak, as well as two handed. For the .45, I do practice a quick reload, but not with the .38's. All shooting is double tap and check. Very occasionally I'll do multiple tgts from a "back to the targets" stance.

If my wife shoots with me, (one of the Chief's is hers), we do pretty much the same thing, unless she's been off the practice regimen for a month or two...if that's the case, then I start off with a Colt Diamondback in .22 LR to get her used to double action work again. All Business practice is from the leather, purse, belly pack, or pocket as applicable.

It's not perfect, and I should do more of it,,,the Business stuff for sure...but I really like shooting the Single Actions...and that's the reason for the alternate days. Do I shoot every day? Yep...with very few exceptions but not the full course of fire...sometimes it's just a cylinder full.

We have walking and horseback riding access to the adjacent 300 acre farm and when walking our there I always carry something with me. Thistle tops make excellent practice targets at 20' or so, and there's always the chance at a wayward skunk. But that's another story...and a humiliating one at that...next time.
HTH's Rodfac

 

[contender]

I shoot USPSA competition,, and I have discussed this very thing with several of the worlds best action pistol shooters.
Generally, They all figure out a practice routine that will help them with their next major competition. (If it's a USPSA match,, set up some drills to help that,, or a steel challenge,, they set those up etc.)
However,, quite often,, a couple of things have been said by most of them to help you become a better,, and faster shooter.
First,, daily,, in home,, dry fire practice. To include the draw,, and action work,, WITHOUT LIVE AMMO AROUND AT ALL!!!!
Next,, they warm up with simple drills such as having the buzzer go off,,draw & fire one round,, or double tap a target in a set of 30-50 reps just to warm up. They ALL have said that constant practice of the BASICS is one of the best things you can do.
Work on stance,, draw, proper grip, sight aquisition, trigger control, and follow through. Repeat often.

 

[WESHOOT2]

I shoot USPSA competition,, and I have discussed this very thing with several of the worlds best action pistol shooters.
Generally, They all figure out a practice routine that will help them with their next major competition. (If it's a USPSA match,, set up some drills to help that,, or a steel challenge,, they set those up etc.)
However,, quite often,, a couple of things have been said by most of them to help you become a better,, and faster shooter.
First,, daily,, in home,, dry fire practice. To include the draw,, and action work,, WITHOUT LIVE AMMO AROUND AT ALL!!!!
Next,, they warm up with simple drills such as having the buzzer go off,,draw & fire one round,, or double tap a target in a set of 30-50 reps just to warm up. They ALL have said that constant practice of the BASICS is one of the best things you can do.
Work on stance,, draw, proper grip, sight aquisition, trigger control, and follow through. Repeat often.

YOU against the TARGET.

Go visit your local USPSA match (www.uspsa.org ; 'club finder') and participate.

 

[maxpress]

i guess what gets me is i kinda implement weight training theory into shooting. warm up slow and progress harder as the session progresses. if ya do max deadlifts right off your probably not going to walk out of the gym under your own power and if ya start wailing away right out of the gate with a pistol you will make mistakes also.
the other thing is change your routine week to week or month to month. i see people at the gym and range that do the same thing month after month and year after year and there still at the same level as they were years ago. then they get get frustrated and bored and eventually give up. one week shoot mansize targets up close with doubletaps, next week set up 5 or so spinners at medium range and shoot them in patterns (right to left, left to right) then the next shoot clay pigeons at 100yrds slow and easy. just change it up. variety is the spice of biophysical reaction.

 

[WESHOOT2]

Oddly, most real pros start with deliberate group-shooting at 25--50 yds.
Oh yes they do....

Then they practice stuff they're not good at.