First time shooting after many months off.

Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Peter M. Eick

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2002
Messages
5,034
Location
Houston, TX
Ick!

My old 15 yrd groups are now patterns. Things that used to be reflexive are now having to be concentrated on. It was ugly to say the least.

The only good news is that with the MD41 22LR I would get nice strings going where I could start to plunk them down into a nice tight group. The memory is there but I need to get back and redo my whole technique.

So my question to you all, is have you ever started over after a prolonged drought of no firearms shooting?

Mine has lasted over a year as I was down to only 4500 odd rounds last year due to medical issues.
 
I've often gone a long time between range trips, too.
But airguns at home have kept the skills alive quite well.
 
Rotator surgery on my dominant arm kept me from shooting with that arm/hand for months.
I resorted to "weak hand only" for that period.
It took a few weeks to get the "light touch" back; muscle memory tends to evaporate rather quickly.
 
Amen! Preach it!

Shooting is not like riding a bicycle. It is a highly perishable skill and I notice a big difference if I go more than a month with no trigger time. Dryfire minimizes the impact of downtime, but doesn't eliminate it.

When going back after a particularly long stretch, I take it slow for a day. Work on basics. Then everything falls into place. If i try to rush it, it just takes longer.
 
Never had to start totally over, but I've certainly had to work hard after a few stretches of not shooting.

Shooting my small guns is always the fastest skill to degrade.
 
Shot bullseye competition for 35 years and then stopped for 10. Recoil never meant anything, I never flinched. Now it is a different story. I'm healing and anticipating even with a .22. Takes total mental concentration to just let the round off without anticipation. I don't know if it is an age related thing or the long layoff.
Stu
 
ADKWOODSMAN, I think I might agree. I was shooting high expert and had one service pistol leg so recoil just didn't matter. I only shoot for fun now and have found I'm shooting at 50 feet instead of 25 yards (groups are MUCH better at 50 ft.) and I'm learning to "shoot through the shake". Eyeglass Rx also seems to be changing every 6 months now. GADS, this getting olde is something else.
Stu
 
After a long time away from the range I always like to start back shooting just .22s. Goes a long way to getting everything back in sync, like trigger control, sight alignment, and finding the right rhythm again.
 
The age thing could be significant.

I'm only 34 and when I pick up any of my guns that I have shot a lot in the past, but not in recent times, muscle memory seems to take over and the sights fall right where they should.

Now trigger control on different guns with different triggers is a different story. It usually takes ten rounds or so to get that muscle memory back. Then I'm good to go again. I'm no super competitor or anything, I just enjoy punching holes in paper, and practice for self defense a lot.

Do any of you gents older than I find your hands are less steady? My dad is 67 and has always had a pretty significant tremor in his hands when fine motor control is needed. I wonder how this affects his shooting. He hits his target, but he shoots very slow. My grouping is never super tight, but I can empty a gun into a 10" target pretty fast at 50 ft.

Just curious on how younger bodies and older bodies compare in this topic.
 
I started shooting bullseye on the 2nd Army team in 1960 at Ft. Jackson. I continued after service and shot competition over the years. I was a 285 shooter with occasional 290's and that continued into the mid to late 90's when I stopped. I tried to pick it up again around 2008 and was shooting 245's. A LOT of practice brought it up to the 255's and I stopped. Once you shoot 285's, the 250's are hard to take and no amount of practice seemed to make a difference. I was shooting the same guns. I'm 73 and when I attempt a hard grip, which I've always used, the gun shakes like mad and I have to back off the grip. I think that is one of the main reasons for my low scores. I would gladly chalk it up to muscle problems :~)

Stu
 
i haven't picked up a firearm since before xmas. i know that doesn't sound like a long time, but i frequently go many months between shooting sessions.

first, i dry fire a lot to get muscle memory back.

second, when at the range i concentrate on getting my rhythm back, specifically, trigger pull/break, calling the shot and follow through.

i find that i want to make the shot go where i want it to go and start forcing the trigger break. that is bad. patience and expecting large groups at the beginning is a big help for me. one shot at a time and feeling a "good shot", or a "bad shot", and fixing the "bad shot", helps shrink my groups.

good luck,

murf
 
Yep.

Having doing a pretty close call with dying in 2012 and again in 2013 from major medical problems it hasn't been until the last few months that my health has returned enough for me to have the energy and interest to start shooting.

As a matter of fact I took advantage of the nice warm weather Tuesday and went shooting .

Yep. It's going to take a few (or more) regular range trips to sharpen up my skills.
 
Last edited:
It may sound silly but I definitely notice it with handguns, not so much with rifles or shotguns. I typically don't shoot as often in the winter months (especially this year, the deer apparently had a gps tracker hidden somewhere on me), whereas I shoot daily in the warmer months. It's been a few months since I shot sporting clays but I'd be willing to bet I'd shoot in the 40's out of 50 birds. However I do a pistol tournament that starts in April and goes until Sept, if I don't practice before my first time out I will shoot groups that look like I used a F/A tommy gun.
 
I go into hibernation from USPSA shooting every fall, then start up again along about late March or early April. With a 5-6 month break it takes me several weeks of daily dry fire and a lot of live fire to get me back to where I left off.
 
I meant to say that although I have no inherent talent otherwise, shooting is a thing I need not practice. That's not a lie nor is it bragging; it's just something that is completely natural for me. Once I learned offhand pistol and revolver shooting, it never left me. I can't say that for rifle and shotgun shooting. With a rifle I always look for a rest, and with a shotgun I miss more than I hit on moving targets. But once my handgun is dialed in, I will hit whatever I shoot at, timed or not. Of course hitting is questionable with a hideout gun. I'm no better with a little gun than anyone else no matter how much I practice.

It might be the method used in teaching me when I was young. When I go to use a handgun, that method is foremost in my mind and it never fails.
 
The biggest thing that happens to me with any kind of layoff in handgun shooting is that my flinch comes back. I have to work my way back into it with .22lr first.
 
We all need 22LR therapy here and there. When I shoot my revolvers by the time I finish my wrist hurts and I am pulling the nose of the gun down. Needing to shoot a light caliber for a while is very normal.
 
After significant time off I go back to shorter distances like 30-35 feet and start over, trying to concentrate on maintaining a steady sight picture and a smooth trigger pull. Then again, I only shoot for enjoyment, and though I am not a very good shot, almost every trip to the range is a 'good day'.
 
If Jerry Micullek was 40 and never touched a gun for 10 years, how much would you bet that you could outshoot him? ;-)
Click to expand...
Not me, but I know several shooters in each division that would smoke him like a cheap cigar, including revolver.
 
Jerry already gets smoked by his own daughter. Jerry got third in the 3 gun nation event his daughter won the 3 gun event.

I saw the event on TV. Cant find the video
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top