need some experienced advise on target practicing

Mr. Nail · Post by **Mr. Nail** » Sun May 09, 2010 8:06 pm

I've shot alot of these targets since I purchased my Ruger 9mm, but I dont know if I'm doing well w/ it. What is a good distance and good group at that distance. Ive never shot comp so I just wanna compete w/ myself. All suggestions highly appreciated.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sun May 09, 2010 8:37 pm

First of all what kind of shooting do you want to do? It makes a difference. If you just want to shoot a bullseye target then 50' or 25 yds is a good distance.

R,
Bullseye

Mr. Nail · Post by **Mr. Nail** » Tue May 11, 2010 7:11 am

I just got regular rifle adjustment targets, nothing special.They look like this and I got alot of them so Id like to use them.

Sometimes I put a blue peice of tape on the bullseye so I can see it better.

greener · Post by **greener** » Tue May 11, 2010 9:11 am

Any target is ok for practice unless you want scores. If you want numerical scoring, then you need some like the NRA B2/B3 targets. The rifle target looks fine for general shooting. Five rounds in the target look pretty good. You have two out about 10 o'clock that were oops'.

For a 9mm, defensive handgun, a good starting distance is 7 or so yards. When the groups get tighter and the distance is boring increase the distance.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Tue May 11, 2010 9:19 am

Is the gun use for SD and what distance are you shooting at.

For SD you only need to hit center of mass 8-10" dia. And over 90% of shooting for SD accour 3yrds and less. I generally practice at 10yrd, I do shoot some at 15 yrds. If I hold a 6-8" group at 15 yrds I figure I'm doing good. If you practice for the 3 yds learn to just shoot without using any sight (no rear, front only is ok). In a panic/high stress you will shoot as fast as you can. Using the rear sight just slow you down at that short distance. Reflex point shooting is the fastest. Normally in this situation the BG is directly in front of you. Since most all gun ranges do not allow you to draw and shoot, just go from a relaxed ready state and fire in 1 sec. This will force you to point shoot. Everyone tells me that I shoot best if I don't have time to think about it.

As you move the target out it forces you to have better trigger and sight discipline. Since I can't see my sights I have learned to point shoot. So I don't expect 1 ragged hole at the farther distances. I do how ever do a lot of 1st shoot (DA) practice, and double tap drills. DA practice makes up for 50% of my shooting. Since the 1st shot is normaly the most crutial I work on it the most. I also practice 1 handed weak and strong side. Learn to shoot with your regular pair of glasses. Because I dought if the BG will allow you to change. It nice to practice without any too, but some can't see their hand in front of their face. Remember to wear safety glasses at all time while practicing.

The best I have ever shot was when I shot 200/day 5 day a week for 2 mo. Yes a lot of ammo and it showed practice does help. At the end I was able to hold 2" groups at 10 yrds rapid fire.

Mr. Nail · Post by **Mr. Nail** » Wed May 12, 2010 8:17 am

I was just showing the target to show what kind I was using. I made the holes w/ a totally different gun. Im not looking for a score. Im just kinda wandering what kinda group is good for I guess 7 yds. It is a self defense gun, but I like to shoot it for fun now and again to knock the dust off of it. What kinda groups do you guys get at 7yds. taking all the time you need w/ a 1911 size centerfire. Id like to know some groups at different yardage too.

greener · Post by **greener** » Wed May 12, 2010 8:54 am

Mr. Nail wrote:I was just showing the target to show what kind I was using. I made the holes w/ a totally different gun. Im not looking for a score. Im just kinda wandering what kinda group is good for I guess 7 yds. It is a self defense gun, but I like to shoot it for fun now and again to knock the dust off of it. What kinda groups do you guys get at 7yds. taking all the time you need w/ a 1911 size centerfire. Id like to know some groups at different yardage too.

For that kind of shooting, 2" at 7 yards and 4" at 15 yards would be pretty good.

Mr. Nail · Post by **Mr. Nail** » Wed May 12, 2010 12:01 pm

Big thanks greener, how many shots would you suggest per target before my target is to congested. My clips are 15 deep and that seems like it would get too congested and expensive too.lol. 7 or 9 would be better huh?

greener · Post by **greener** » Wed May 12, 2010 12:26 pm

My advice on that wouldn't be very good. The last non-bullseye target I posted in this forum had 49 rounds. It was the first time I took my .380 out and I fired all rounds at a blank piece of paper at 7 yards. I also chased a bumble bee around the target area for a few rounds. I just wanted to see how that pistol fired and how I fired it.

The number is up to you. Somewhere after 10 rounds you start losing the ability to distinguish where the rounds are going. Do whatever you feel comfortable doing.

The target is sort of secondary. Work on front sight focus, alignment with rear sight and the pair aligned with the target. I don't look at where they went in the target until after I've fired the string.

Mr. Nail · Post by **Mr. Nail** » Wed May 12, 2010 12:58 pm

Thanks for the advise I,ll try it out in 10 and see how many times it takes to get where I think I should. While I'm thinking of it though , if I hit a few shots in the bullseye then shoot some two inch's high and two inch's low, is that a two or four inch group.

Mr. Nail · Post by **Mr. Nail** » Wed May 12, 2010 1:01 pm

What kinda group would you say the picture I posted at the top of the page is. I shot those six w/ a snubb at 7 yds.

bgreenea3 · Post by **bgreenea3** » Wed May 12, 2010 1:13 pm

If those are 1" boxes then yes a 4" group.... shooting slow and deliberate at 7yards with your snubbie I would say a good droup to aim for is anything inside the middle red diamond on your target, at 15 the outside diamond would be a good group.

and only change targets when you can't tell where you were shooting, if you are not shooting for score, I would say that you have four other aiming points on that target to extend its life.

I've also found that the smaller your aiming point is the smaller your goups end up being. a lot of the time i shoot at a 8" paper plate (or a standard 8.5x11" sheet of paper) with a bright orange sticker in the middle or a dot made with a sharpie about 1/2-1" diameter (Or a

face just for fun!)

Mr. Nail · Post by **Mr. Nail** » Wed May 12, 2010 1:36 pm

Yeah, thats the kinda shooting I usually do too. I can shoot every shot into that paper target at 40yds. w/ my 9mm.as long as im not rapid firing. I start getting off the page some at 50.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Wed May 12, 2010 2:00 pm

I normally shoot 20 to a target. You can cut the target zone (bullseye) out leaving a hole. Then only the misses will show for practice. This is a very good way to save targets for practice.

Mr. Nail · Post by **Mr. Nail** » Thu May 13, 2010 8:27 am

I thought myself about getting a reaction target if I run across something safe & I like.