why do you practice so much
 

Some of you are over the top on practicing.
Do you really need to shoot that much. I could see if you were shooting 500 yds regularly you would want to learn your gun. But why buy a magnum and then shoot a 100yds a 1000 times a month. Jeeeeeeez
I learned to shoot a gun a long time ago, i havent forgoten. I go to the range check sight in and call it good. I regularly shoot deer 200 +yds without a hitch and I never "practice"My 9 year old son made a 195 yd shot on a deer last year. Do you find it that difficult to shoot or what ?
I hit them right in the neckif within a 125 yds
Its not that difficult to shoot a gun with a scope. Why so much practicing.
Even with my bow I only take it out before season and practice a little and take a few shots at deer camp. some bowhunters just keep shooting and shooting and shooting. Why ?
My gun and bow are just a tool, and I am very proficient with both
Now if you just like to blast gun powder,,, OK say that. But practicing ?

RE: why do you practice so much
 

was this posted by zrex or Allen Iverson???? Practice? I cant believe your making this bigga deal about practice. :D

RE: why do you practice so much
 

We practice because we love the sport and will take advantage of any oppurtunity to get out and enjoy the sport, obviously you don't love the sport, and just use a gun as a tool to hunt with.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

I 'practice' nearly every weekend. Usually we make it interesting and try all different conditions. One weekend it is just a grid target at 100 yds off a bench. The next, we go out to the public land around here and set up a safe area where we can shoot inmore realistic "hunting" conditions. We will set deer/elk targets up at varying distances and practice vital shots. Plus we do some "Bunny Bopping" and pick off jack rabbits in the west desert. (They are considered varmints here in Utah.) We shoot constantly!!

Reason

I have yet to loose a deer. always placed a perfect vital shot
I do this out of respect for the game I’m hunting. I hate it when I here of people giving up on tracking after a couple of hours, then they find the deer the next day, ravaged by yotes.
It's fun and I’m always tinkering with my loads to see what is optimal (right now 67Gr of RL 22 pushing a 140 gr sierra (target) or TSX (hunting)[/ol]
This is why I practice so much. And I thank you for being proficient, as you say, with your bow. I have seen way too many deer get tossed out because a crap shot bow hunter stuck him in the rear and the thing lived only to get infected and festered up!

RE: why do you practice so much
 

I enjoy the preperation almost as much as the hunt itself, this includes practicing shooting, calling and of course scouting. Since we're talking about shooting I also like the social aspect of chatting/hanging with fellow sportsman as well as getting confidence in my equipment, meanwhile testing different things such as bullets/powder, broadheads and so forth. My membership to the local range is for an annual fee, so might as well use it. Not to mention come close to hunting seasonI don't have to worry about standing in line for a bench and can put my time into scouting or hunting instead.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

Theres the sport of shooting and the sport of hunting. Are you really practicing or just shooting. cause practicing wouldnt be punching the same hole at a 100 yds. Practicing would be shooting different yardages and trying to estimate those yardages or taking a tire with a bullseye and rolloing down a hill and trying to nail it. Shooting up hill and down hill things like that. Not going to the range and shooting over and over and over at a 100 yds. thats just shooting.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

You are missing thefact that some people actually enjoy shooting as a pastime.I would rather spend a couple of hours at the range than on a golf course.And naturally,the more that you shoot,the more competent that you become.I hunt several different species under different conditions,so I am presented with shots at distances varying from 20 yards to well over 400 yards.If you don't practise,you will likely still be competent out to 100 yards or 200 yards,but you won't stay competent at 400 yards or 500 yards unless you shoot on a regular basis.A small error in shootingform or in wind estimationmakes little difference at 100 yards,but by 400 yards,it can make the difference between a clean kill and a miss.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

I don't practice much, but don't hold anything against those who do.
I like to keep my shots under 200 yards, 300 feels like a stretch and that probably reflects myrelatively low level of practice.

When it comes to living in the big city, easy practice opportunities are a problem.

Large game critters with a high power scoped rifle don't really require a lot of skill at reasonable ranges, especially if there is even a modicum of a rest involved.

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RE: why do you practice so much
 

This is my other vice

RE: why do you practice so much
 

I don't know anybody that sits and shoots the same holes over and over at 100 yards. Usually I do load development at 100 yards then shoot further and further. Is there anyone on this board you know that does this 100 yards 1000 times a month thing?

RE: why do you practice so much
 

well pretty easy question to me. why do the pro teams practice all year round, why hold training camps? why not as said by xrexpilot just hold a practice or 2 before the big game and call it good. wow ya pretty easy to tell isnt it.there are alot of animals die each year from people who are satisfied with shooting a few rounds before season and calling it good. especially with a bow. it is so easy to have the perfect shot be screwed up just a fraction and cost you taht big buck or whatever because you hadnt practiced that angle or that yardage or just plain not much at all.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

you know taht isnt a bad idea now that i think of it. i believe i shall mail a letter to all profesional leagues and associations and tell them to cut the training camps and practice crap and only hold 2 practices before season openers because all the players are "proficient" and dont really need the practice.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

yes I have read of people going to " practice" twice a week. Just shooting isnt practicing.
Take your rifle out and put one in the x ring at 200 yds on the very first shot. Not after 3 -10 rounds.
The very first shot is the one that counts. To keep shooting with bad habits is not practicing.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

How much experience do you have to make that statement? Practice makes perfect. If you don't like shooting, don't go. This page probably isn't for you.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

agreed.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

I third the motion, all in favor say 'I'.


Acually, "just shooting" is practice. Thats like saying running drills isnt playing football. Its an important part of what we, as ethical hunter, do.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

perfect practice make perfect. Not repetitive shooting. Thats not practice.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

i have a friend who graduated2 years agoand is the army. he is stationed in iraq and we are still able to talk pretty regularly. he and i have talked alot about this topic. the military pays a boat load of money to teach every soldier to shoot. why? cuz practice always pays in the end. while in basic out of the 7 day week they were live firing 5 of those days. now does that tell you something. lets see the United States Of AMERICA'S armed forces find practice shooting beneficial.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

Like I said, if you don't like shooting, don't. Others do.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

I guess i just can't help it????

DM

RE: why do you practice so much
 

Yep. you should try shoting a NRA rimfire silhouette course. A scoped .22 and targets about the size of the palm of your hand at 50 yards should be easy, right? If scoped rifles aren't challnging enough, try High Power Rifle, where you get to shoot up to 600 yards with iron sights, all without the crutch of a shooting bench piled with sandbags. ;)

RE: why do you practice so much
 

Because people rely on me every single day to make critical decisions involving firearms in populated areas. So, it would be irresponsible of me to not be mentally and physically prepared in every way possible to do my job the best way I can with as little risk as possible.

It takes practice in order to become automatic beyond the zero range of your rifle.

If you think you are automatic beyond 200 yards without practice than you are either ignorant or a lier.

Very few people understand how to shoot in crosswinds, updrafts in steep canyons and other variables that can only be compensated for with tons of practice.

I"m automatic to 350 yards with less than a 10 mph crosswind but not without a ton of practice.

Practice makes perfect and perfect is the goal.

But I will admit if I didn't do it for work I probably wouldn't shoot as much but I do love it. It's soo much fun.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

I haven’t had the opportunity to shoot as much as I would like to this year, but once I have my range set up you can bet that I’ll be shooting at least once a week because I like to...

RE: why do you practice so much
 

Most of my shots are within 100 yards so I practice always offhanded and at weird angles and shooting positions. Besides that I just like to blast powder :D

RE: why do you practice so much
 

many of us "practice" as a away to have fun but also to become more ethical hunters.
-while its true that you, and most of us as a generality could put one in the x ring at 200 yards, under normal deer hunting conditions, but thats in your "comfort zone", think about when you see a trophy buck one day but the shot is just a little bit different, or somehting isnt 100% normal or controlled as you are used to, and you miss. smooth move. thats why.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

Aint but one reason to practice anything. To get better.

RE: why do you practice so much
 

It's not just "practicing" to throw lead down range. You need to practice the same way you perform. Hunting positions, hunting conditions, off your daypack, offhand, in the wind, in the morning, in the evening, run 200 yards then shoot etc etc.

then you must mentally prepare yourself. Visualize the shot you're going to make. Visualize the success you will have because you prepared so well.