If you have ever been to a shooting range or if you want to try and become better at shooting, then you should know that more time behind the trigger doesn’t necessarily mean more shooting experience. There comes a point where you have been behind the gun for too long and your progress with it begins to decline. If you want to work around this then you need to try and make sure that you are not behind the gun for too long at any given time.

How Long Should You Spend Behind the Trigger?

Ideally you should make sure that you are not behind the trigger for more than an hour at a time when you visit the range. If you do then you may find that your accuracy decreases and that you struggle to make your shots overall. So why is this the case? It’s all because your brain can only absorb so much during a space of time, and if you keep trying to shoot during this time then you may find that your performance starts to decline. If you want to stop this from being the case, then you need to make sure that you don’t spend more than an hour at the range.

What Can You Do To Protect Yourself During Longer Sessions?

If you are just starting out and if you are not shooting intensively, then you may want to undergo a longer session. That being said, you do have to make sure that you are dressing appropriately and that you also use the right protection. Hot brass and skin do not mix and the shooting range is not the best place for you to be wearing shorts or a low-cut short. Tight-collared shirts and pants are ideal if you want to shoot from the prone position. A baseball cap should also be worn in summer, to keep the sun out of your eyes. Little things like this can help you to shoot for longer without discomfort.

Ear Protection and Long Hours

If you do plan on shooting for longer than an hour, then you may want to think about renting some ear and eye protection. You can easily do this at most gun ranges. That being said, it’s not a bad idea for you to pick up your own set of glasses and ear protection if possible. If you do this then you can make sure that they fit you well and you can also make sure that they are not going to cause you any discomfort. New shooters are often surprised at how loud a shooting range can be, especially if it is very busy. If you’re shooting on a hot day and intend to have a longer session, take a cooler with some water with you. Most ranges do not provide drinking water.

Little tips like this will help you to make the most out of your time at the range and it will also help you to ensure that you are not making yourself uncomfortable during longer sessions.

Whenever you go to a shooting school, you will see that there are plenty of things that you will learn before you fire your first shot. One of those things is to learn which one of your eyes is the dominant one. You will also learn how to shoot with your other hand. Your dominant eye is the one that will look directly at an object. If you want to find out which eye is your dominant one, then extend your arms and put your palms right ahead. Make a triangle of space by using your fingers. When you have done this, choose an object that’s far away and look at it through the hole you have made. You then need to close your right eye. If you’re still able to see the object then you have a dominant left eye. If you cannot, your right eye is the dominant one.

Your Field of Vision

Shooting with both of your eyes open is very important if you want to hunt, or if you want to go target shooting. If you are hunting pheasants or even clay, you will need to see it from your weak side. If you can do this then you will have additional time to mount your gun and acquire the target. Having both eyes open will give you a much bigger field of vision. If you put your shotgun in line with the dominant eye and you have both eyes open, then you will be able to see the sight at the end. If you can, try and switch hands and mount the gun in front of your less dominant eye. When you do this, you may find that the barrel appears crooked and that you have two sights at the end. This is why people shut one eye to shoot.

Changing your Hands

If you want to try and shoot with your left hand then you need to try and use your less dominant eye, and most likely, your less dominant hand. To begin with, you need to practice with the safety on and off. With the grip in your hand, you then need to practice releasing the magazine. When you feel very safe and comfortable, you then need to send a few rounds down at the range. Shooting the rifle will probably not offer you any huge obstacles, but the pistol is usually what causes people problems.

It’s worth practicing swinging and mounting the shotgun before you go to live fire if you are using a gun like this. You will soon find that you are much more relaxed and that you are also able to adjust better. If you are changing hands then it’s worth trying to make sure that you use a gun that you are most comfortable with as well, so make sure that you keep this in mind if possible. If you can make sure that this is the case, then you will soon find that you end up being much more comfortable.

If you want to become trained in shooting a firearm then you should know that there’s a lot of things that you need to know. You have to make sure that you have a good understanding of the gun you are using, and you also need to make sure that you are proficient in understanding the mechanics of your weapon too. If you want to go from being a novice to a decent beginner, then this will take around 40 hours with a handgun, and 1500 rounds You will have a lot of dry fire practice here as well, so that you can expand on your foundation of knowledge.

Training Explained

If you took a Concealed Carry class, then you will usually get around 9 hours of practical shooting with instruction. You will also get two hours of training which is dedicated to gun safety. The rest of the class will be dedicated to gun handling, marksmanship and a course of fire. You will also spend a few hours learning how to load up guns, how to unload them and also learn more about gun safety in general. This will help you to reach that beginner status, and it will separate you from a novice.

Defining “Decent”

Decent for some people means being able to hit a man-sized target from a blind draw under your clothing at around 7 yards. It’s also being able to hit three rounds in under 4 seconds.  Some define decent as being able to drop and then reload the magazine by feel. For a rifle, you may need to hit a 12-inch circle at around 400 yards, if you are prone. By these standards, you may be able to classify yourself as decent. Shooting a rifle with accuracy is way easier than using a pistol. Most people who have never been able to fire a gun before can learn how to shoot a rifle in less than a day. They can do so with accuracy and shoot their targets with pride. If you learn how to shoot a rifle, then this will most likely stick with you. If you learn how to shoot a pistol and then don’t pick one up for quite some time, then you may find that you go rusty and that you start to regress.

With this in mind, you need to know that some guns are easier to master than others and that sometimes if you are able to get proficient in one, that doesn’t mean that you will continue to be proficient in it if you do not keep up with all of the right training. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you go on a training course or if you simply take the time to practice your shooting at a range because it is more than easy for you to progress your skills if you put in the right amount of time and effort.

The time it will take you to become proficient will depend on your overall adaptability, reaction time and your determination. Everyone is different, but everyone can learn.

How Effective Is Dry Firing With Snap Caps?

What is dry firing? Well, dry firing is defined as discharging a weapon without ammunition in the chamber. There is the perception that dry firing is not good for the weapon itself. In all reality, what determines whether or not a gun is safe to dry fire is what type of weapon is being used.

Newer guns are more dry fire-friendly than older weapons. Older guns are designed so that the firing pin in the weapon hits the rim of the casings. So if the gun is not loaded and is dry fired, there is an increased chance of damaging the weapon. The pin will hit the shoulder of the chamber wall, increasing the likelihood that it breaks. Still, that is not the case with every gun, so check the weapon’s manual to figure out whether or not dry firing is safe to do with a given weapon.

With that being said, some people prefer not to dry fire regardless of what the instruction booklet says. So if someone has reservations about dry firing, they have the opportunity to use what are called “snap caps”.

Snap caps are fake rounds that are made to protect your weapon by relieving any potential stress that could be placed on the firing pin during dry fire. So using snap caps is a precautionary measure if someone does in fact want to dry fire without any inherent risk.

Some people confuse snap caps with “dummy rounds” but there is a difference between the two. Contrasting from snap caps, dummy rounds are made up of plastic and are only intended to use while dry firing. Snap caps on the other hand are made up of real casing and a primer to protect the firing pin and simulate the weight and feel of live bullets.

So why would someone dry fire in the first place? Well, dry firing allows shooters the possibility to work on their marksmanship skills while not physically having to be in a gun range. It also allows people the opportunity to practice gun safety by replicating the weight of a loaded weapon without actually having a live round in the chamber.

Snap caps help this practice immensely. For example, using snap caps to teach a first-time gun owner to load a weapon properly is much more ideal than letting said first-timer load a chamber with live rounds. Also, snap caps can help with making sure the gun’s functionality is working properly without actually having to fire anything that puts people in danger.

Overall, dry firing with snap caps is a worthwhile thing to do. There has been the consistent question of how effective dry firing with snap caps actually is, but if someone wants to become a better marksman using snap caps does not hurt in the slightest. They can teach a lot about one’s shot, and how to better maneuver with a gun in hand. And in all honesty, there is no point in not using snap caps because their intended purpose is to help, not to hurt.

Sources:

https://skyaboveus.com/hunting-shooting/The-Benefits-of-Dummy-Rounds-or-Snap-Caps-in-Dry-Firing

https://www.traditionsfirearms.com/category/Snap-Caps-training-cartridges

https://www.concealedcarry.com/safety/simple-and-effective-why-you-need-to-use-dummy-rounds/

How often do you need to train to noticeably improve accuracy?

The speed at which you progress depends on a couple of factors: first, how much experience you have with firearms already, and second, at what point you define being “good” with a gun. Assuming you have little or no experience yet, and that by “good accuracy” you are just looking to be able to hit your target where you want at reasonable speeds, here is a breakdown of what your training routine should look like.

The most important step for anyone without much experience in improving firearm accuracy is not to be tempted to try out lots of different firearms. Most shooting ranges will have a moderate to large selection of different types of weapon, which can be useful for experimenting and trying out new firearms when you are a more comfortable shooter, but you will not progress quickly if you are attempting to master several different types of firearm.

Instead, familiarity is key. Pick out one weapon, ideally a weapon that you yourself own, and make sure you equip yourself with a good quality holster. You may also want to supply yourself with your own safety equipment, such as goggles and ear protection.

Experts have found that as accuracy improves, the time for aiming increases (known as “quiet eye”) and the time to stabilise the gun decreases. What this means is that accurate shooters spend more time aiming but need less time to adjust their posture and weapon to get an accurate shot. Less advanced shooters, in contrast, will spend more time posturing up and angling their firearm and less time aiming.

Dry firing drills are a common and effective way of working on stance and getting your sights aligned with your weapon. Essentially “dry firing” just means shooting with no ammunition. Because of this, it’s also much cheaper than spending all your time firing live rounds at the shooting range.

Use dry firing as an opportunity to focus down the end sight on your firearm, lining it up with your target. Also think carefully about how you engage the trigger, making sure to feel whether you pull the trigger to one side or the other, which could offset your shot. To avoid “slapping” the trigger, you should let it reset before taking your next shot.

These drills will be the backbone of your training, but the good news is that they can be done at home and require very little time. The key, as with all training, is regularity.

The NRA Law Enforcement Training Division recommends dry firing practice three times a week, and live firing at least once every two weeks. However, whilst that should serve to maintain skill, if you want significant improvements, you will need to dry fire 10-15 minutes every day, and you should go to the shooting range around twice a week.

Remember not to overtrain though. If you recognise you have hit the point of diminishing results, it’s best to end the training session. Otherwise, you will only ingrain bad shooting habits.