Practice and Proficiency

I have found one of the best ways is air guns when you can't shoot. When I was a kid and got my first one, about 10, parents had a hard time getting me to come in to eat. Next time out with the old man I out shot him badly. Now decades later I still use air guns for both fun and trigger time when I can't get to the range. Nice part these days is the selection. They make so you can have one that is real close to what you actually shoot. Most can set up to shoot safely at home cheap.

Dry fire (no shots fired) is quite recommended for target shooters of many disciplines. However, this is not merely yanking the trigger, it is concentrated effort to keep the sights on target and not to 'bounce' from one side of the mark to the other.

Leave all the ammo in the gun room and one can practice in the bed room.

In answer to the OP’s question, I have never seen a study that evaluates skill retention and practice levels. I doubt one exists, at least not for gun related skills. I can however relate my own experience that will provide at least one case study. After being seriously wounded in Feb 1968 I was hospitalized for nearly three months. Then I was assigned to want the Corps calls Casual Company meaning you have no duties other than to heal and rehabilitated. That took 4 months. Then I was assigned to HQ Company of an infantry battalion. Two weeks later I had to re-qualify with the M16 and M911. I had not shot a gun in over 6 months. I had two hours to zero=in with the M16 and one hour with the M1911. I received the Sharpshooters badge with both weapons, the same degree of expertise I had had previously.

I thought about that as I began to find that age, two bad rotator cuffs, and and arthritis in my hands were demanded less practice. I go to the range once a month now, and I shoot 50 rounds of 9mm before my hands start to hurt and my shoulders start to wither in strength. My range practice is centered on accuracy and speed — get on target fast and hit the target where you aim. However, I do 1/2 hour of dry fire practice three days a week. That is important. A lot of shooting involves muscle memory. The dry fire meets that need. I’m not want I used to be, but I am not that far behind.

That can never be answered as the needs of every individual will vary greatly factoring in age, physical fitness/health/, shooting discipline practicing for, etc. I know I need a lot more dry fire time at 70 than I did at 35 to be as proficient at the range for 5-20 yard off hand pistol.

Archie said:

Dry fire (no shots fired) is quite recommended for target shooters of many disciplines. However, this is not merely yanking the trigger, it is concentrated effort to keep the sights on target and not to 'bounce' from one side of the mark to the other.

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For over a year I have been using a Mantis X3 for exactly this type dry and live fire practice with immediate feedback. Mantis sells three models, X2 for dry fire only ($99), X3 for dry fire and live fire ($169), and the top level X10 ($249) which also helps practice holster draw. I went the mid-level to save a few bucks; now I am thinking that was a mistake and am considering upgrade to the X10 so I can measure holster draw in dry and live fire. (Also, Mantis offers a discount to NRA instructors!)

Consider the cost of the device balanced by the cost of a single bulk buy of ammunition, adding the benefit of time when you don't or can't go to the range to practice.

I can attest that Sigs P365 airgun is an excellent training substitute. Blowback, so there is recoil and the trigger is similar to the actual gun

Lots of dry-fire, air-rifle, rimfire, reloading and laying in supplies with prices are reasonable all make practice more accessible in in times of shortage.

Air guns are fun, especially in consideration of the cost savings over shooting even .22lr. Dry fire is probably the most useful thing, and much more so when you’re talking about double action revolvers.

I have a ton of .38 cal Speer plastic bullets which are excellent when live ammunition isn’t an option and noise isn’t so much an issue, however they do require primers

It's probably different for everybody. I have a buddy who is an excellent shot with a shotgun, even if he hadn't touched a gun in 3 years he'd be able to pick one up and outshoot me on the sporting clays or in the field hunting unless I'd been practicing weekly for months and months. Now I'm a better natural rifle shot than he is, but I've noticed when he started shooting a .22 daily suddenly he was outshooting me when we'd practice together.

I have noticed for my self, unscientifically, if I don't get to the range at least monthly for any given discipline I feel off. Plinking at small steel targets with a .22 handgun I'll miss more through the first several magazines, or drawing from concealment my draw time (with shot timer) is slower.

In my experience just 4 or 5 dry fire concentrated trigger pulls a day is sufficient to maintain a good feel for the trigger. Overdoing dry fire exercises is easy to do, and just puts extra wear on the gun.

I shoot at a local gun store’s indoor range at least twice a week. About 20 rounds each of .22LR and 20 rounds of center fire ammo. Slow; takes me about an hour. For me, concentrating on each shot is more productive and enjoyable than spraying the range.

Your mileage may vary.

I agree with 1942bull. It's a lot like riding a bicycle. Once you learn it doesn't take much to get back to where you were. I may not shoot well the 1st few shots after a long layoff, but it comes back pretty quickly. At least with firearms. And I do find dry fire practice to make a huge difference.

I also shoot and hunt with archery gear. I still like to use my 50+ year old recurve but do find my skills with it more perishable than my compound bow. I can not pick up my compound for the better part of a year and get acceptable accuracy with the 1st shot. With the recurve I need to shoot more regularly to maintain skills. It still comes back fairly quick, it just takes less time for the skills to deteriorate.

I dry fire a couple of different types of guns every day, ammo shortages or not.

Dry fire isnt just pulling the trigger either. It can cover pretty much every aspect of what you do shooting-wise. Presentations, reloads, malfunctions, etc.

I do my "presentations" from how I carry every night after dinner using the network news on TV as the trainer. It has dual benefits too, you work on your draw, and relieve some daily stress and aggravation by making those fleeting shots on those who are the source of it.

Another big advantage to it is, it helps keep your "shooting" muscle tone up to par. You use keep using/toning the muscles you use when you shoot by repetitively doing things in dry practice. Think of it as the daily "gun gym".

jmr40 said:

I agree with 1942bull. It's a lot like riding a bicycle. Once you learn it doesn't take much to get back to where you were. I may not shoot well the 1st few shots after a long layoff, but it comes back pretty quickly. At least with firearms. And I do find dry fire practice to make a huge difference.

I also shoot and hunt with archery gear. I still like to use my 50+ year old recurve but do find my skills with it more perishable than my compound bow. I can not pick up my compound for the better part of a year and get acceptable accuracy with the 1st shot. With the recurve I need to shoot more regularly to maintain skills. It still comes back fairly quick, it just takes less time for the skills to deteriorate.

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Agree.

For instance, last night I shot my 1st IDPA match in over 3 months, due to injury and work requirements. In that time zero handgun practice. Placed 4th out of 20, 6 pts from the match winner, basically about where I normally do when I'm shooting a couple matches a month and practicing. Had I not winged a no-shoot, I would have been 2nd. Sunday prior to the match, I practiced my draw and weak hand shooting (dryfire, with a laser).

I find whenever I take a break, I come back a little slower and a little less accurate, but the basics are still intact and I can work my way back fairly quickly.

I'm a natural good shot. I went a year without shooting shotgun. When I picked it back up I was just as good as I had been. Part of that is confidense.

But I once was better at pistol shooting. I practiced every day with the single six, and I could hit a coke can at 50 yards offhand. After not practicing much for a few years, I can hit one at 25 yards now, but not at 50 anymore.

When I was shooting in competition I noticed I would lose my edge very quickly. If I call my top form "100%" I would drop to 90 or 95% after just a week without practice.

But I also found that there was kind of a "floor" below which I would not fall regardless, and I'd put that floor somewhere around 70 to 80%. Even during Covid, when I've sometimes gone several months without pulling a trigger, I don't drop below that level, and a week of daily shooting will get me back up to 90% or so.

I'm not sure what it would take to get back up to 100% - or even if it is possible, as I am not the man I used to be - but my experience has led me to believe that "shooting is a perishable skill" is only halfway true.

1942bull said:

After being seriously wounded in Feb 1868 I was hospitalized for nearly three months

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Just how old are you...?

With the ammo scarcity still going on, I am shooting a lot more air guns. I probably have somewhere in the ball park of 100,000 pellets, BBs, and airsoft rounds cluttering up the house. It is a great time to go into the backyard, no range or hearing protection required, and teaching my son some fundamentals of marksmanship. Keeping accuracy of shooting a 2" steel plate with a BB at 15 meters should keep me sharp enough until the ammo comes back.

Like with most things firearm-related, it varies by the individual, and everyone is some different.

As a general rule-of-thumb, rifle skills "last" the longest. Followed by shotgun skills. Handgun skills seem to lapse the quickest, and, often, far more rapidly than a person might expect.

Which probably reflects how everything about a handgun magnifies our deficiencies. The shorter sight radius is less forgiving. Our proximity to the targets is less forgiving. Our desire for consistent presentation is higher, and thus less forgiving.

So, the being "in practice" matters. Which is why so many of us have some form of practice item--air gun, airsoft, laser simulators, or the like.

Short answer is that it depends on the person and their own standards. As for me, I have drastically cut down on the amount of rounds I expend, and I am thankful I have a decent supply of 22 LR to use for certain drills (better than nothing). Ideally, I hope to maintain my skill level. In reality, I hope to minimize the erosion of my skill level.

Plan2Live said:

That brings me to my question, what is the minimum amount of practice needed to maintain proficiency with a firearm?

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That depends on two things: your definition of proficiency and how high a level of proficiency you started with.

Minimal levels of proficiency are easy to maintain, but as your level goes up the need for practice does too. Dry firing is great if done correctly (just as if you were shooting a match), and airguns are incredibly useful. The airgun is quiet, cheap to shoot, and demands better "follow thru" of each shot (due to the low velocity of the pellet).

I have fired hundreds of thousands of rounds with rifles over the past 65 years and can take six months off with little loss of proficiency (which is regained with just small amount of regular practice. The pistol is completely different, as I only have a few thousand rounds fired and find even short layoffs show up when returning to shooting (and it takes much more practice to get back t where I had once been).

I have no idea about the minimum tng. needed.

How about physical attacks (blindspot attacks very common), where you are using both Hands against an attacker…?

This is why I attend Krav Maga classes twice / week.

And I’m 66 years old. The following video, naturally, is just one of many scenarios.
What is Your "back-up" plan when no hand is free?

Krav Maga - Choke from Behind (Tactical Reasons for Knowing the Defense on Both Sides) - YouTube

herrwalther said:

Just how old are you...?

With the ammo scarcity still going on, I am shooting a lot more air guns. I probably have somewhere in the ball park of 100,000 pellets, BBs, and airsoft rounds cluttering up the house. It is a great time to go into the backyard, no range or hearing protection required, and teaching my son some fundamentals of marksmanship. Keeping accuracy of shooting a 2" steel plate with a BB at 15 meters should keep me sharp enough until the ammo comes back.

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OOPS. I am only 79 I added 100 years to impress people with my typing skills.

My thoughts are that once you are a decent shot (rifle, shotgun or handgun), it is like riding a bicycle. Over time, you may loose a bit of proficiency but you bounce back quickly when you are on the bicycle again - the margin of loss never returns you to zero, there is always some retention of skill level.

Get to an IDPA match once a month.

round count is low, practice quality is high, good community event, excellent tool to see where your dryfire efforts should be focused.