How much do you practice?

[Rimbaud]

At least once a week. Before a hunt, as often as possible, and always from field positions, or off sticks. In the past few years, at the advice of a good friend I have nicknamed MEFE (as in Most Expensive Friend Ever because he got me hooked years ago on hunting), we’ve gotten into shooting competitions. We shoot pistol matches (USPSA), two gun, long-range precision, steel matches (.22 and PCC and 5.56). Highly recommend the shooting competitions as they are great simulators for taking shots under pressure - plus they are super fun.

 

[Sourdough]

Ex Army. I no longer practice. I just get really close. More fun that way anyway.

 

[Surgeon1]

I usually shoot Pdogs during the summer big game in the fall and Predators all winter. The last year I've shot the least I've ever shot but still topped 1500 Rds. That used to be the average number of rounds I would shoot per month in IPSC/USPSA with handgun and 3- gun for more than 30yr. Getting old sucks!

 

[mdwest]

It really depends… training and practice tend to get tailored to the mission..

Overall I shoot more than most I think.. on average it’s about a monthly range trip, and the couple of months before an international hunt or Texas hunting season I’ll generally shoot a good bit more than that (maybe once a week or once every couple of weeks)..

The big bores get brought out maybe once or twice a year if I have no intention of hunting with them… if I’m planning on hunting with a big bore no different than any other rifle, I’ll start taking the intended rifle to the range a couple of months before the hunt and get in somewhere between 4-8 range sessions before getting on the plane…

 

[odonata]

I go out to a range about once a month & I always bring an assortment of four rifles with me since that's what my rolling Nanuk case holds. I like to shoot everything I own so I rotate them bringing a couple that I intend to hunt with and then I randomly grabbing something that I think will be fun. I always take a larger rifle like a 375 H&H, 405 Win or 458 Win Mag just to have something with a bit of recoil. I find that shooting the larger rifles on a monthly basis improves my handling of them. As a stress-reducer, big boomers are very therapeutic.

I also plink a lot with my Weihrauch HW77. Either small game or I have a metal target that I can flip some small metal disks on. That's a good high-quantity rifle to practice with since it's quiet & I enjoy pneumatics.

I shoot rifles left-handed but I do archery right-handed so that's kind of quirky.

I'm not an expert so I never take very long shots. But I've been pretty consistent about putting at least one deer in the freezer early each season.

 

[Green Chile]

Sometimes a little and sometimes a lot but I always do more dry fire practice than live fire. Also, when practicing with bigger calibers, I always shoot a box of rimfire before and after to make sure I start and end with good habits. The bench is only used for sighting in. Everything else is field positions and/or shooting sticks. When off the bench, I don't really focus on accuracy but on efficient movements, good trigger releases, quick reloads and back onto target. Even though I don't focus on accuracy, I end up with a group of 1-3 inches punched out of the target. All would be kill shots.

As a side note, I often end up with 2 or 3 guys hanging around asking questions, looking at gear or optics, asking about photos from the last hunt or what's coming up in the season. I also like to let guys shoot my stuff if they are interested. Most have never handled that caliber or type of gun before so that's fun to give them some time with it.

 

[Slickshooter]

I shoot weekly but rarely at a range, just out in the bush. Sometimes with sticks and sometimes not.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I don’t practice. I’ve trained in the past. I try to go to an advanced long range shooting school or competition every 2-3 years. I shoot my rifles at a 100 to 200 yard range to check zero 1 month before the hunt. Includes making at least 1 prone shot. Then check my 100 yard zero when I get to my hunting destination.

 

[Beck]

Leading up to a hunt, I try to practice 4-5 times. All my practice is done off of sticks or freehand, not off of a bench

 

[AZDAVE]

I shoot once a week. take a 22, a small 6mm-30cal, and either a med 8mm-375 or a 416 and bigger. Practice with my doubles 2-3 times a month same with pistols.

Average year shoot 3-4 thousand rounds 22. 1000-2500 small centerfire, 100-2000 med bore, 750-1500 416 and bigger. 750-2000 in doubles. Taylor each year based on what my wife and my hunting plans are.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Rifles = enough to get sighted in then put away.

Shotguns = four to six boxes every day the trap/skeet/clays club is open (usually two days a week in the summer).

Shooting moving targets is fun. Shooting paper is boring.

 

[AckleyHunter]

Seems like you guys are lucky enough to have places you can shoot often/at home and the funds to buy lots of expensive big bore ammo.

I shoot my smaller rifles so much better than the biggers one. Not sure if it is do the hit to the shoulder or my wallet.

 

[Green Chile]

You don't have to shoot the big ones a lot. Just make sure they are building good reps...and book end them with your rimfire. Do that for 2-3 sessions the month before your trip. Then follow those fundamentals when it counts. Never rush your shot. You can move fast without rushing. That's what I practice the most.

 

[camperx]

30-40 round per rifle, normally 2 rifles per trip.

 

[JimP]

Sad to say not as much as I would like anymore as I age.

I used to go through around 100 rounds a week through three or four rifles not counting my pistols. I like shooting my light recoiling rifles so they got the bulk of the shooting. My largest caliber rifle is a 340 Weatherby that has a very substantial recoil so it gets used less than the others, but muscle memory is taken care of with the lighter calibers unless I am planning on a hunt where I'll use the 340. I planned on using the 340 on my last trip to South Africa so most of my practice off of sticks was with a 22 Lr and then a 25-06, then a few shots with the 340 as my shooting session was ending.

The nice thing is that where I shoot is BLM land 15 minutes from my home. I can shoot out to 550 yards and if I go out there during the week I have the area all to myself. Weekends out there is a zoo with other shooters and ATV riders.