So, how do the majority of gun owners afford to shoot often? I’m not referring to those who reload.

[Timber Cruiser]

I see a few "classes" of shooters, each with their own ammunition consumption rates.

a.) The social shooter - goes to the range with a family member or friend, shoots the shyte more than guns, smokes and jokes, maybe spends 30 rounds across 3-4 guns in a two hour session, then off to the Huddle House for a hamburger and fries.

b.) The handloader - goes out to test hand loads once a week or so, shoots about 200 rounds, 5 rounds at a time, uses a chronograph to record data in a book.

c.) The novice - Wants to shoot more and is learning about guns and shooting. Maybe shoots 100 - 200 rounds they bought that morning at Bass Pro or Academy.

d.) The tactifool shooter - Burns through 4 value packs of .223 shooting at IPSC silhouettes at 15 - 30 yards with several mag changes between calling the range "hot" or "cold" to check targets to see his "shot clusters." May be seen to roll around on the ground or even use a VTAC board he made out of the old kitchen counter from his house when the wife remodeled the kitchen.

e.) The gear queer - Owns top tier ARs and optics, is constantly swapping out stuff on his "platform" and tests each variation with about 20 rounds before exclaiming, "It's all good." Returns to his apartment so he can play FPS games online with other virtual shooters. Expends 20,000 rounds of virtual ammo for every real round at the range. Considers himself a real "operator" and "was going to join up but....."

f.) The real deal - Competitive shooter who takes the sport seriously and tests/sets up COFs and practices under a timer for an entire afternoon looking to improve splits by at least 0.05 seconds or more until he "tops out." Usually shoots 350 - 600 rounds in an afternoon with a 98% hit rate, 75+% "A Zones."

And don’t forget g.) The Bonafide Fudd. Frequents GON Shooting forum. Sings the praises of Omni, Anderson, Bear Creek and PSA. “JeS aS GoOd FeR wAy LeSs!” Downtalks KAC, DD, HK, LMT and deems anyone who owns something superior to their jalopy a “fan boy.”

 

[Psilloh1]

And don’t forget g.) The Bonafide Fudd. Frequents GON Shooting forum. Sings the praises of Omni, Anderson, Bear Creek and PSA. “JeS aS GoOd FeR wAy LeSs!” Downtalks KAC, DD, HK, LMT and deems anyone who owns something superior to their jalopy a “fan boy.”

Ohh ohh!! I know a guy like that on here…

 

[Timber Cruiser]

Ohh ohh!! I know a guy like that on here…

Go to GON. They got more of ‘em than a Home Depot has Mexicans at 7 AM.

 

[palmettomoon]

Go to GON. They got more of ‘em than a Home Depot has Mexicans at 7 AM.

I haven't looked at GON in ten years. Is that still a thing?

 

[Psilloh1]

Go to GON. They got more of ‘em than a Home Depot has Mexicans at 7 AM.

Thats why I dont go on there….

 

[Timber Cruiser]

I haven't looked at GON in ten years. Is that still a thing?

Evidently. I wouldn’t waste my time checking in.

 

[Timber Cruiser]

Ohh ohh!! I know a guy like that on here…

Me too.

 

[Timber Cruiser]

Thats why I dont go on there….

Nobody gives a chit.

 

[efman]

I think this has been hit pretty hard but in my head training is more than just shooting. If you want to train to be better and not just burn through ammo you should do the following.

1. Dry fire.
2. Have a plan before hitting the range for live fire.
3. Get instruction from better shooters.
4. Learn to self evaluate.

This can be done with very little ammo.

 

[Stubb]

A sizable fraction of my trigger pulls at the range are dry fire. Main things that sending rounds downrange tests that dry-fire doesn't are (1) recoil control and (2) accountability. When working on drills I'll regularly only fire the last shot to get a time and just prep the trigger to the wall once (steel) or twice (paper) on the other targets. There are some other schemes for mixing live- and dry-fire shooting in the same drill.