Local matches vs practice

[Sparkeytj]

I have been shooting local matches almost every week for most of the year and it has improved my shooting and hit precentage a lot, but sometimes it seems dedacated practice could help more. Matches help me with time management and stage assessment but i can only shoot a stage once and if I bomb i dont get a chance to re run the stage till I clean it. When I go to the range for practice in can run the same position or stage until I feel I have it down.

My question is what precentage of everyone's shooting is matches and how much is practice.

 

[OREGUN]

I’ve been wondering about this too. I think there’s a lot to be said for gaining familiarity and comfort in the match environment. So I say, shoot matches as an assessment tool to tell you what to practice in range sessions. That stage you binned, set that up and practice the associated skills. So for me, it’s 1:3. For every match, three training sessions. I shoot 4 days a week.

 

[hafejd30]

I’ve been wondering about this too. I think there’s a lot to be said for gaining familiarity and comfort in the match environment. So I say, shoot matches as an assessment tool to tell you what to practice in range sessions. That stage you binned, set that up and practice the associated skills. So for me, it’s 1:3. For every match, three training sessions. I shoot 4 days a week.

Agreed (I shoot matches in fclass, not prs but shoot frequently for hunting/training purposes)

If you struggle off a tripod then practice off a tripod, if your struggles are standing, kneeling, barricades, transitions from strong to support hand, shot follow through etc etc etc

Regardless of the discipline you know where your weaknesses are. If you get a natural position down it’s that much easier and likely you’ll use that memory when in stress or on the clock

Even just dry firing from these positions and practicing reloads or what not can go a long ways without using ammo or leaving the house. Live fire is obviously best but practice off a tripod out of your living room window at various items is never going to hurt

 

[mikeshaw2]

Its nice being able to watch the more experienced guys when they're on your squad.

Oh so THAT'S how you do that!

That's how I figured out that bracing your rifle against the sides of the barricades cuts down on the wobble. Lots. Much better than flopping the rifle down in the middle of the shooting position and winging it

The downside is that you're on the range for hours for minimal actual shooting time. ...and you only get one shot at the stage(s)

M

 

[drglock]

I do very little live fire practice but mostly just due to not wanting to run out of my reloading components. I do quite a bit of dry fire practice at home. Either off tripods(locked in and with a bag off the top), off ladders and any other thing I can come up with. Shoot 2 centerfire matches and or 2 rimfire matches.

 

[todd]

A couple years ago I shot matches only for an entire year. club level, regional, and national matches with some F-Class matches thrown in there for practice at 1K in the wind. It certainly raised my comfort level with being on the clock, because I was ALWAYS on the clock. I think I shot something like 25 to 30 matches that year. What I found was that the lack of focused practice started to affect my performance and I started to develop some bad habits. When I went back to practice at 100 yards on paper I found a few things I need to work on to improve my performance. So back to practice at 100 yards on paper to develop and refine things, then dry fire at the house to ingrain what I learned and corrected.

 

[Sparkeytj]

Im starting to see the bad habits is have picked up. I dry fire a ton the problem I have noticed with dry fire is it doesn't help with the "feeling" I get when I know I broke a good shot live fire practice is the only practice that reinforces that experience and im on somewhat of an auto pilot situation with matches which only reinforces my misses.

I know what I should be doing, live fire practice twice as much as matches and dry fireing twice as much as practice. I know im being lazy matches are fun and practice is a bit of a grind so when given the option is seem to pick the match route. Thank you

 

[Sheldon N]

I'm about a match a month and try to shoot once a week. I try to make practices more focused on specific things, lots of single shot positional build/break, never shoot twice from the same position, usually run a timer.

Lately practice has been with my daughter who's shooting PRS with me. We play "horse". Make up a 5 shot stage, most hits wins w/ tiebreak on time, loser gets a letter, winner calls the next stage.

 

[Sprayed99]

I use regional matches as practice, I keep seeing this "time" thing pop up. Don't worry about the clock! If you build a shit position pick up and re build, focus on being stable and breaking perfect shots. Move fast but shoot slow. Speed will come with time. One day matches are perfect for practice. They also help you build a solid pre stage and post stage routine. I don't practice outside of shooting matches at all. I spend that time to make sure my rifle is 100% dialed in.

The idea here is to make the fundamentals subconscious so your conscious mind can focus on things like the environment and seeing exactly where the bullet impacted.

 

[Jabot]

A couple years ago I shot matches only for an entire year. club level, regional, and national matches with some F-Class matches thrown in there for practice at 1K in the wind. It certainly raised my comfort level with being on the clock, because I was ALWAYS on the clock. I think I shot something like 25 to 30 matches that year. What I found was that the lack of focused practice started to affect my performance and I started to develop some bad habits. When I went back to practice at 100 yards on paper I found a few things I need to work on to improve my performance. So back to practice at 100 yards on paper to develop and refine things, then dry fire at the house to ingrain what I learned and corrected.

^ this
Shooting the Kraft drill, it will tell you what you need to work on
STANDING, sitting, etc

 

[ajridgedell]

I rarely "practice," my range time usually involves load development and most importantly data verification. I would like to practice more but just don't make the time for it. A few years ago I dry fired a lot between matches and when I got to the match I could never spot my impacts/ misses. Make sure you focus on recoil management/ follow through when dry firing even with heavy 6mm guns.

 

[Shoots 700's]

I shoot matches and go to the range and spend time with friends. I shoot top 25. % and am ok with it.

 

[Bgriff008]

I have been shooting local matches almost every week for most of the year and it has improved my shooting and hit precentage a lot, but sometimes it seems dedacated practice could help more. Matches help me with time management and stage assessment but i can only shoot a stage once and if I bomb i dont get a chance to re run the stage till I clean it. When I go to the range for practice in can run the same position or stage until I feel I have it down.

My question is what precentage of everyone's shooting is matches and how much is practice.

I just started a thread in the rim fire thread about matches taking too long. 7+ hours with drive time and actually shooting. You’re very lucky you have the opportunity to shoot a match locally every weekend. Our range offers 4 PRs matches a year. So the need to attend by so many occurs. We have 60-80 shooter in 4 groups. So 15+ shooters per stage. So you stand around a lot waiting your turn and for others to finish up.
As for practicing, I’d love to be able to practice stages prior to matches but it will never happen. Stages at our range are put up the day of the match then torn down at the end. So we have no stages to practice on. Very frustrating. I don’t feel I will improve much without running stages over and over to even learn what works best and to maybe learn something new. No repetition to improve. It’s all becoming a grind and not fun because the opportunity isn’t there. Absolutely no rhythm or groove.

 

[Jabot]

I just started a thread in the rim fire thread about matches taking too long. 7+ hours with drive time and actually shooting. You’re very lucky you have the opportunity to shoot a match locally every weekend. Our range offers 4 PRs matches a year. So the need to attend by so many occurs. We have 60-80 shooter in 4 groups. So 15+ shooters per stage. So you stand around a lot waiting your turn and for others to finish up.
As for practicing, I’d love to be able to practice stages prior to matches but it will never happen. Stages at our range are put up the day of the match then torn down at the end. So we have no stages to practice on. Very frustrating. I don’t feel I will improve much without running stages over and over to even learn what works best and to maybe learn something new. No repetition to improve. It’s all becoming a grind and not fun because the opportunity isn’t there. Absolutely no rhythm or groove.

Bolt a 4x4 to an arca rail, clamp it into your tripod.
Practice STANDING , sitting knelling,
All can be done at a 100 yards on paper.

 

[todd]

I just throw my Schmedium on top of my tripod, set it at standing, kneeling, sitting, high prone and work on recoil management and trigger control on paper at 100 yards. Paper doesn't lie, and 100 yards eliminates wind from the equation. My 'misses' are 100% me. No excuses.

 

[Jabot]

I just throw my Schmedium on top of my tripod, set it at standing, kneeling, sitting, high prone and work on recoil management and trigger control on paper at 100 yards. Paper doesn't lie, and 100 yards eliminates wind from the equation. My 'misses' are 100% me. No excuses.

Smart man

 

[mikeshaw2]

I just throw my Schmedium on top of my tripod, set it at standing, kneeling, sitting, high prone and work on recoil management and trigger control on paper at 100 yards. Paper doesn't lie, and 100 yards eliminates wind from the equation. My 'misses' are 100% me. No excuses.

probably easier to use a ladder. Certainly more realistic cause the rungs aren't at your perfect heights

M

 

[Jabot]

probably easier to use a ladder. Certainly more realistic cause the rungs aren't at your perfect heights

M

You can set the tripod at any height, so that's it's not your perfect position.
And laddars, 5 gallon buckets, and chairs are for nrl 22.

 

[Emerson0311]

probably easier to use a ladder. Certainly more realistic cause the rungs aren't at your perfect heights

M

I like ladder drills for practice. One shot and move, each rung has its own target, so each group is made up of single setup, shoot, and move. I usually shoot 30 rnds (Rimfire) strings so each group is 6+ shoots. Assuming 10 shots every 2 min and run a timer. I spend more time shooting single setup and shoot drills on wobbly supports at uncomfortable levels though. Low kneeling but too high for prone and low standing but too high for 2 knee kneeling. I practice more doing what is harder. Hopefully next year I will hit 4-5 national level matches. Fuel for travel and ammo costs are my biggest challenge. The good matches are 10+ hours driving each way. Maybe I’m too committed. Hopefully I will be able to share travel costs, but 3 days and 20 hrs driving for a 10 stage 1 day match is beyond what most will do. Only way to find out if I belong at the national level though.

 

[mikeshaw2]

You can set the tripod at any height, so that's it's not your perfect position.
And laddars, 5 gallon buckets, and chairs are for nrl 22.

I've shot off the tops of traffic cones, thru cargo nets, off sawhorses, and off and thru pipes laid several ways.

...badly

I'm working on getting off the left side of the bell curve and into the middle

M

 

[todd]

probably easier to use a ladder. Certainly more realistic cause the rungs aren't at your perfect heights

M

But ladders don't fit in my backpack. My tripod does, and I can make the height whatever I want, including the awkward ones for extra practice.

 

[RobertB]

In years past I got all of my experience from matches. No time to shoot. But then again I was shooting matches almost every single weekend. I think that can be good to a point but you don’t want to engrain bad habits. This year I’m shooting 5 different series so I plan on backing off some to get some legit practice.

In years past I would force myself to practice while breaking in a new barrel so that’s wasn’t very often.

I think a person needs to shoot enough to be competent but most of the time at the range after that can be to prepare your rifle and such rather than you. Ammo is high

 

[OREGUN]

I shoot a different local match every Saturday (local league, 5 venues) all year round (at least for the last year) weather permitting, and a handful of bigger matches, competition dynamics, guardian, Whittington Center, etc, as able. I’ve found that the stress inoculation benefit of shooting in a match is hard to beat but like others have said, it’s easy to go to a match and shoot and call it practice when it really isn’t. I do a ton of dry fire (30 mins a day, at least) in the winter when the range is snowed shut and try to shoot paper at 100 from every conceivable position and under all kinds of time pressures at least 2x weekly when the roads are open. My best results come from high frequency, highly focused training. Sometimes I only shoot 10 rounds but every one is focused on some part of the shot process. My hit percentage has gone from 50% to 80-85% and climbing. By percentage, training accounts for 1/2 of my total rounds fired. I try to shoot at least 200 rounds a week. 100 at a local match and 100 in training. It’s expensive and time consuming and also even fun sometimes.

 

[todd]

I try to shoot at least 200 rounds a week. 100 at a local match and 100 in training. It’s expensive and time consuming and also even fun sometimes.

I just ran those numbers. That's like $12K a year in reloading supplies and barrels alone to play at that level of commitment. Not counting match and range fees, gas, motels, food, etc.

 

[OREGUN]

I just ran those numbers. That's like $12K a year in reloading supplies and barrels alone to play at that level of commitment. Not counting match and range fees, gas, motels, food, etc.

Ummm…it’s not polite to math like that in public.

 

[todd]

Can delete if you prefer

 

[OREGUN]

Can delete if you prefer

I was joking. I don’t care. It’s expensive as shit. You probably underestimated by 5k. I didn’t actually manage 10400 rounds last year but easily half that even if I exclude the trainings and two day matches. Most of which was factory 6CM. So no ”savings” through reloading.

Still better than fishing.

 

[todd]

I was joking. I don’t care. It’s expensive as shit. You probably underestimated by 5k. I didn’t actually mange 10400 rounds last year but easily half that even if I exclude the trainings and two day matches. Most of which was factory 6CM. So no ”savings” through reloading.

Still better than fishing.

I just based it on my current 6GT load. I'm usually right around 3K rounds a year centerfire and 4-5K rimfire with my Vudoo.

Fishing just sounds boring as hell. Cast. Sit there doing nothing for hours. Reel in. Repeat.

 

[superde]

I went from a top 20 shooter to a top 10 shooter by going to the range less (and shooting less club matches) and dryfiring 15-20 minutes a day. I would dryfire with a IDTS and a few small barricades I would drag into my living room. I would make up stages, have different winds for each target, dial for each target, and run a timer. The timer is a stressor and simulates what you get on the range. The fluidity and economy of motion you gain is awesome. Plus since there is no recoil, you can see if your setup/NPOA is off and if your trigger pulls are affecting the crosshairs. Plus, since it isn't costing you anything but time, you can play around with rifle setup and grip to see what gives you the most consistent trigger breaks without the crosshairs moving.

 

[Sblzrd65]

I went from a top 20 shooter to a top 10 shooter by going to the range less (and shooting less club matches) and dryfiring 15-20 minutes a day. I would dryfire with a IDTS and a few small barricades I would drag into my living room. I would make up stages, have different winds for each target, dial for each target, and run a timer. The timer is a stressor and simulates what you get on the range. The fluidity and economy of motion you gain is awesome. Plus since there is no recoil, you can see if your setup/NPOA is off and if your trigger pulls are affecting the crosshairs. Plus, since it isn't costing you anything but time, you can play around with rifle setup and grip to see what gives you the most consistent trigger breaks without the crosshairs moving.

Like that idea. What types of barricades do you use at home?

 

[acudaowner]

why limit your self to only one get as much practice , shooting and training as you can heck Id throw in dry fire into the mix if you find you are lacking in anything double your efforts there even hunt if your into it . best of luck to you , you can do it .

 

[BurtG]

Like that idea. What types of barricades do you use at home?

A step ladder or a tripod works well

 

[Emerson0311]

A step ladder or a tripod works well

Adjusting your tripod on the clock is good practitioner those MDs who require that. I think it’s a good idea to put that in a COF.

 

[BurtG]

Adjusting your tripod on the clock is good practitioner those MDs who require that. I think it’s a good idea to put that in a COF.

I meant put a plate in it or a 4x4 with a arca section and use it as adjustable height barricade etc.

But yes