Shooting every day: good or bad?

Millie

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Other than one person who I know shoots every day, who else does handgun shooting each day? (I put this in handguns, because I only shoot those regularly at the moment, but you can chime in about any guns you shoot every day if you like.)

Do you think it's good, or do you think you need a break every once in a while?
I'm on day 5, a lot in a row for me, and it looks like 2 more are in the making. Is this good for my shooting, or bad?

EDIT: To all of you who actually did answer the actual question I actually did ask, thanks. Seriously. It seems Millie-bashing is the new sport lately, and so I do appreciate when the question is read, comprehended, taken seriously and answered!
 
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Doing Nothing = Nothing

Shoot everyday that you can... Try shooting every other day if you need a break...


Shooting is a perishable skill. Skill(s) will deteriorate if you don't do the correct maintenance.
 
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I usually shoot once per week weather permitting. I have gone several times in the same week though. If I had a place to shoot at my house I would shoot everyday. I live 25 minutes from my range, and usually like to take at least 8-12 guns each time I go due to that.
 
Lots of practice is great if you are practicing good fundamentals. If you are practicing bad habits you are just making it harder on yourself to get better, which is what your ultimate goal is right?

If you are going to do a bunch of shooting find a way to track your progress. See where you are at the end of a stretch and what you need to work on. And have fun.
 
You'll have to let us know. I can only wish to have this dilemma. It kinda sounds like you're bragging a little.
I'm not bragging (much) I'm exhausted! LoL. I've been on the go all week, here and there, everywhere. Shooting every day is sort of keeping me on an even keel.
But I'll let you know....
 
I don't have an answer to your question that I would attempt to apply to you, but I do have my own answer that applies to my life. We live in a world of scarcity. Time, money, energy, neighborly goodwill, etc, are all limited. I could shoot every day, but it would make such demands on those scarce resources that it would cause serious issues. I mean, just one example: think about ammo cost. If I fire even a small amount per day--say 25 rounds--I'm going through 1000 rounds in 40 days. Could I afford to spend that much on ammo? I don't know. I do know that if I managed to scare up enough cash to pay for all that ammo, I wouldn't have any extra money available for training.

Dry fire is basically free (I burn through snap caps sometimes, and dry fire probably has an effect on spring life, etc, but it's dirt cheap compared to live fire) and makes minimal demands on my scarce resources. I prefer to dry fire regularly and live fire when I can.
 
Good for your shooting skills development. Bad for marriages for the most part. YOu can get burned out but I get all twitchy and s#it if I go more than a couple days without pulling the trigger. I shot enuff benchrest practice and benchrest matches this year that I aggravated 3 muscle groups from my ear down on my left side. Nothing some insurance paid for PT once a week or so couldnt "help". I cant seem to totally get rid of it. I have arthritis also and shooting a bunch of 1911's in 45acp works on my right hand. Weight lifting/wheel chair fingerless gloves help immensely. Oddly enuff the thing that I really jumped into with both feet, shooting steel at distance, got boring pretty fast once I "mastered" it. THinking about taking up bullseye now that I have a bullseye gun on the way to me.
 
Any kind of activity everyday can be a bad thing.
Especially if you become sloppy and lose your purpose.
Practice without the 'want to' is bad.
The muscles and the brain need a break.

Multiple times a week, yes. Everyday, only if truly dedicated.
 
You could shoot 4 and reload one, gain a skill and cut your costs.

the more time you spend at it the more important it is to have a plan for each session. I enjoy plinking as much as the next guy, and what I really want is hanging targets from 10 to 500 from my back porch just to I can relax, but if you want to train then you should have a plan to train.
 
I've said it before.So i'll say it again.Shooting 300 rounds at one range session is rediculous unless you just want to waste ammo. Shoot one round and analyze the shot. Did you control your breathing? did you control your grip by using the proper amount of pressure with each hand, correct sight picture and sight alignment. Don't rush the shot.If you are not using the skills that you should have be taught you are not doing anything but pissing your money away . I'm not criticizing you only trying to reinforce the skills that you need to know before going to the range. Dry firing will help . .When at the range shooting you can fire one round ,look at the hole and ask yourself did it go where I was aiming. If not then aim at the same spot again. Did you hit it or did it go where the previous shot went. If not you are not exercising the fundamentals . Going out and burning thru 6 boxes of ammo at a time is not going to improve your shooting ,but it will make you poorer. Try what I've said and see what happens.
 
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I've said it before.So i'll say it again.Shooting 300 rounds at one range session is rediculous unless you just want to waste ammo. Shoot one round and analyze the shot. Did you control your breathing? did you control your grip by using the proper amount of pressure with each hand, correct sight picture and sight alignment. Don't rush the shot.If you are not using the skills that you should have be taught you are not doing anything but pissing your money away . I'm not criticizing you only trying to reinforce the skills that you need to know before going to the range. Dry firing will help . .When at the range shooting you can fire one round ,look at the hole and ask yourself did it go where I was aiming. If not then aim at the same spot again. Did you hit it or did it go where the previous shot went. If not you are not exercising the fundamentals . Going out and burning thru 6 boxes of ammo at a time is not going to improve your shooting ,but it will make you poorer. Try what I've said and see what happens.

It kind of depends on your skill and the drill
I could slow fire 1 shot at a time all day every day and never get a whole lot better at slow firing 1 shot at a time.
I've had classes where we did 100 pistol shots and i was burned out at the end of the 8 hour class
I've also had 3-400 shot rifle classes where I learned a lot, but could have kept going for hours 9-10. (and some of the lessons learned in one were building your gear right, knowing when to abandon a broken rifle, and hauling butt off the line to get a backup and get back on the line before you miss the next drill).

so yes, I can slowly draw and slow fire one shot, but it's not teaching me much anymore. how fast can i draw and put the first shot on target, and then how long does it take me to get my front sight back on the target and fire off shots 2, 3, how small can i keep the group and how big is still good enough, etc... that kind of drill is where i'm at. So if you think I don't need to use 2-3 times the number of shots in half the time... well, i disagree.
 
Shooting 300 rounds at one range session is rediculous unless you just want to waste ammo
The question was: is shooting every day good or bad?

Do any of you guys actually read my posts and understand the question, or do you just jump on Millie and start bashing away?

This thread didn't even mention ammo or 300 round range sessions! What is your problem with me, anyway?

If you want to answer the actual question, please do. If not, back off! Dang, dude!
 
I've said it before.So i'll say it again.Shooting 300 rounds at one range session is rediculous unless you just want to waste ammo. Shoot one round and analyze the shot. Did you control your breathing? did you control your grip by using the proper amount of pressure with each hand, correct sight picture and sight alignment. Don't rush the shot.If you are not using the skills that you should have be taught you are not doing anything but pissing your money away . I'm not criticizing you only trying to reinforce the skills that you need to know before going to the range. Dry firing will help . .When at the range shooting you can fire one round ,look at the hole and ask yourself did it go where I was aiming. If not then aim at the same spot again. Did you hit it or did it go where the previous shot went. If not you are not exercising the fundamentals . Going out and burning thru 6 boxes of ammo at a time is not going to improve your shooting ,but it will make you poorer. Try what I've said and see what happens.
WTF?
 
Mill, as long as it is productive and it builds on some particular skill. A couple years back I went on a major dusk shooting exercise for hogs. Granted I was using a bolt gun (a little CZ 455) and training for about 20 to 30 well placed rounds under dimming light with the predator hunting light setup I’d use on my real hunting rifle ... about every day for 2 or 3 weeks ... to get use to the damn weight, balance and lighting.

Personally I think good 30-45 minutes of a couple of drills is better than a couple hours where you get almost burned out and the law of diminishing returns start coming into play on your training. Kinda like going to the gym ... work out but don’t burn out. If you have to time and range availability good range sessions will specific drills for specific skills (have a plan for the day) should be fine ... just don’t burn out and send lead down range to finish the box. Some here will remember range time where you had to shoot rounds issued and sometimes that made for a looooong day.
 
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I've said it before.So i'll say it again.Shooting 300 rounds at one range session is rediculous unless you just want to waste ammo. Shoot one round and analyze the shot. Did you control your breathing? did you control your grip by using the proper amount of pressure with each hand, correct sight picture and sight alignment. Don't rush the shot.If you are not using the skills that you should have be taught you are not doing anything but pissing your money away . I'm not criticizing you only trying to reinforce the skills that you need to know before going to the range. Dry firing will help . .When at the range shooting you can fire one round ,look at the hole and ask yourself did it go where I was aiming. If not then aim at the same spot again. Did you hit it or did it go where the previous shot went. If not you are not exercising the fundamentals . Going out and burning thru 6 boxes of ammo at a time is not going to improve your shooting ,but it will make you poorer. Try what I've said and see what happens.

This only makes sense if the goal is to be a precision shooter for a discipline like bullseye shooting. What you are describing does not translate to defensive shooting or most modern gun games like IDPA, IPSC, USPSA, Steel Shooting etc.... What you are describing will never allow you to develop the ability to shoot at speed. There are many tasks with a handgun that do not call for absolute precision but require you to shoot as fast as you can with a reasonable degree of accuracy. What you are describing will get you killed in a defensive pistol situation. You need to give context for your statement. Trying to present it as a universal truth makes any point you are attempting to make moot. IMHO
 
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Mill, as long as it is productive and it builds on some particular skill. A couple years back I went on a major dusk shooting exercise for hogs. Granted I was using a bolt gun (a little CZ 455) and training for about 20 to 30 well placed rounds under dimming light with the predator hunting light setup I’d use on my real hunting rifle ... about every day for 2 or 3 weeks ... to get use to the damn weight, balance and lighting.

Personally I think good 30-45 minutes of a couple of drills is better than a couple hours where you get almost burned out and the law of diminishing returns start coming into play on your training. Kinda like going to the gym ... work out but don’t burn out. If you have to time and range availability good range sessions will specific drills for specific skills (have a plan for the day) should be fine ... just don’t burn out and send lead down range to finish the box. Some here will remember range time where you had to shoot rounds issued and sometimes that made for a looooong day.
I appreciate the reply!
I only shoot until I think I've done all I can do for the day. My sessions are longer in time, but less rounds are being shot, as I'm trying to slow down. LoL.

(Especially doing "paper Wizards"....you have to bring it in and paste, that takes time! LOL.)
 
This only makes sense if the goal is to be a precision shooter for a discipline like bullseye shooting. What you are describing does not translate to defensive shooting or most modern gun games like IDPA, IPSC, USPSA, Steel Shooting etc.... What you are describing will never allow you to develop the ability to shoot at speed. There are many tasks with a handgun that do not call for absolute precision but require you to shoot as fast as you can with a reasonable degree of accuracy. What you are describing will get you killed in a defensive pistol situation. You need to give context for your statement. Trying to present it as a universal truth makes any point you are attempting to make moot. IMHO
Agree
 
I shoot rifles mostly, usually once or twice a week except during hunting season since I try to be a good neighbor and I hunt as well. I enjoy sitting on a bench or going prone hitting steel or punching paper (always chasing that illusive small group). I also shoot a box of handgun ammo per month. Generally simple drills on multiple targets, weak hand, strong hand, tactical reloads and so forth.

I handload my rifle ammo and I get as much enjoyment out of that as I do shooting it. Again, trying to get that tight group. I love the ballistics and the data and trying to get it all to work out in a particular rifle with a particular load. So, I may only shoot once or twice a week, but I spend more time working up the ammo.
 
I'd shoot everyday if I had a place, could sustain the ammo, and felt motivated to go more often than not. When the motivation goes, stop for a while.
I feel like about 200 rounds is the minimum for most of the stuff.
The only negative I can see is if you don't correct/improve and ingrain bad habits, it's a financial hardship, or you're getting injured.
 
Lots of practice is great if you are practicing good fundamentals. If you are practicing bad habits you are just making it harder on yourself to get better, which is what your ultimate goal is right?

If you are going to do a bunch of shooting find a way to track your progress. See where you are at the end of a stretch and what you need to work on. And have fun.

You have to work on developing sound fundamentals and then practice them until they are instinctive. Not every session will be perfect but in a sense that is the goal within the context of the overall result you are trying to achieve.

perfect-practice-makes-perfect-vince-lombardi.jpg
 
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I'd shoot everyday if I had a place, could sustain the ammo, and felt motivated to go more often than not. When the motivation goes, stop for a while.
I feel like about 200 rounds is the minimum for most of the stuff.
The only negative I can see is if you don't correct/improve and ingrain bad habits, it's a financial hardship, or you're getting injured.

Bold add by me. This is something that is essential IMHO to good practice. You need to "Want" to be there. In pro sports people use the term "love of the game". When you don't have that it becomes "work" not something you enjoy. For most of us shooting is a hobby and we should get enjoyment out of it not push ourselves into frustration. I tell people if you are not shooting well roll the target back to 3 yards. Shoot a mag into a single hole which almost anyone can do at that range pack your stuff up and leave on a good note. Come back another day when you are in a better mindset. I have done it myself. Always end on good high note even on a bad range session.
 
This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I hope I didn't show any bad habits yesterday! I expect you'd mention them if I had. lol.

I'd like to come back and set up some cardboard targets and see what y'all can read from the holes, would that be ok? Maybe Sunday?
I know lots of people want to shoot with you on Sundays, but I think we/I may be able to sort a couple of things out if we see the holes in paper. I can set them up to one side, so as not to be in the way. Let me know if that will work for you. It was great seeing you yesterday!
 
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