If your experienced in Cf than a day should allow you to get the hang of the ML, but please don' t leave until the day before you plan to hunt. I have experienced many who show up the night before opening day, never even firing the ML they purchased some time ago expecting to be shooting 1" groups at 100 yards. While it ain' t hard to learn how to shoot it, finding a load combo can be a drawn out affair and one should expect several trips to the range to get accustom to any gun they plan on using in the field!