:eek:
You must have a BIG back yard!
Time more than ammo is what’s limiting my shooting these days. There’s an indoor range in my town and I’m a member of a club with a nice outdoor range that’s about a 45-minute drive away, but I have no time to shoot during the week and lately my weekends have been jam-packed. I’m beginning to think I should look into a SIRT gun or LazerLyte system just so I can practice at home after work. Granted, there’s no recoil with either of those, but any practice time has to be better than none at all (which is what I’ve been averaging for the past few months).
I usually can’t go to the range because all of the clubs in the area are members-only, and every range is packed to the gills with panicked people convinced Obama is literally standing on their doorstep to take their guns away. :rolleyes: So they are not taking any new members.
We usually go out in the woods and shoot. But all of the places are at least an hour away, which makes it kind of a long trip. The only gun ranges that allow non members are at least two hours.
Ammo is in short supply here, too.
I think handguns are a lot more difficult to master, too. I can do Ok with a rifle or a shotgun. I am a girl, of course, so it helps to put the stock against my shoulder. With a pistol all of the control is in my hands…my hands are not really that strong. So the gun jerks back every time with the recoil and the shot goes high…I really am not that fond of shooting pistols.
It’s OK. I stand in **my **basement and shoot the neighbor’s house!
All the lead stays over there!
And be careful where youshoot your .50BMG!
You’ll shoot your head out!
And more importantly, no neighbors to bitch at me.
Luckily I have a large outdoor range near me that offers an annual membership.
So whenever I want to I can load up and head to the range and my only cost is the ammo.
Which- ehh. I have not bought anything at panic prices, but I have shifted what I shoot. For some reason .40 S&W is not to be found down here, so I have (darn the luck) been forced to shoot more .45.
To answer the OP - yes, when I have gone a few months without shooting I can see that it takes me a little longer to get back on point. But I have been shooting for almost my entire adult life, so the motor skills are pretty well ingrained.
I have some friends who have taken up shooting since the latest panic. Good people, but they have gone their entire life without even handling a gun. For them, a month away from the range makes a HUGE difference. There are simply no skills to fall back on, so every trip is a learning experience.
I am doing my best to make them safe, capable shooters. To their credit they have not purchased a gun yet because they do not feel they are ready. If they would buy anything, it would be my M&P 15-22 rifle. That thing is accurate, easy to shoot and has NO recoil. Of course the new shooters love it.
And yes, I am jealous of everyone who can walk outside of their house and start shooting. 
Live in the country.
We have shooting day & night going on.
We all know when the LEO’s are shooting, their place to shoot is just 1/4 mile away. We are feet out of city limits & 2miles from town.
Small towns are great. he he he
Start shooting and it reminds everyone to go out and shoot. Sounds like a gun battle. he he he
Prolly helps that the local bad guys hear the warning too. Bawahahaha
I used to go to an indoor range and shoot holes in paper targets, but not only is that expensive it gets boring fast. Then I discovered the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting and got invited to a match. I was hooked! During a match you shoot a couple of hundred rounds of pistol, rifle and shotgun, and the friendly and safe competition adds so many dimensions to the experience of shooting I can’t imagine ever going to an indoor range again. (It’s still mind-numbingly expensive, but I’m having so much fun I don’t think about it!) Of course, to practice aim and precision I still sometimes set up some paper at the club I belong to.
There are lots of other friendly informal shooting competitions like Action Pistol and Three-gun, trap, skeet, etc etc. You just have to seek out some people doing it and go check it out. Then get your credit card out!
I have never been any good with a handgun. In fact if (I think) I’m pointing one at you, you’re probably in the safest place on the planet.
My experience with rifles is an entirely different matter because I’ve always been very good with them. I shot well the few times I went to a range as a kid, in the army I consistently shot 38-40 out of 40 with an M-16. I own two rifles: an ancient Browning (I think) .22, and a lever-action Marlin .30-30. I get to the range probably once every couple years and still shoot well with open sights or a scope. It always amazes me when someone is having trouble shooting a good group with a rifle. So for the OP: I don’t maintain my skills, it’s just one of the few things that I do well naturally.
I don’t, really. I think the last time I went shooting (meaning a couple hundred rounds at least) was about 2 years ago. It’s hard to find a place that I like to shoot, and ammo is too expensive.
I am still positive I could go out today and outshoot many recreational shooters after a quick brush-up.
12 shots from my .38 a week or 2 magazines from my .45 also per week. This really just reminds the muscles and nerves how to squeeze off a shot. If you want to be a dead shot, practice every day.
NB: duelers (a strange term in that it rarely comes) in the days of muzzle loaders would shoot at least 5 shots a day to stay in form when the need arises.
Dammit! There’s a match coming up this month that my son and I signed up for, and we were going to practice yesterday, but it was raining a wee bit and we didn’t go.
Planned on going today, but somehow broke a finger yesterday while changing the oil on my pressure washer. 
If it were just pistol, I’d go practice, but it’s a tactical rifle course, so I’m screwed.
off to get x-rays…