How do you shoot?

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Godsgunman

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I am interested in hearing how you prefer to shoot and why. Do you prefer shooting from a benchrest, sitting, standing, practice drawing and shooting from your carry position, ect? Do you mainly shoot for fun/plinking, accuracy/competition syle, or self defense purposes?

Generally I would qualify under the self defense category as my handguns are not what would be considered "target" guns. They are plenty accurate, just probably nothing you'd use for competition. Since I am mainly a self defense shooter I find myself shooting from either a standing position or squatting and practice drawing and firing from my carry position. The only time I use a benchrest is for sighting in a scope on a hunting rifle. Once sighted in I practice from more practical positions closer to those I will find myself in while hunting. I guess I would consider myself a "practical" person and want my practice time to hopefully mimic how I will be using the gun in the field. I do occasionally get the time to just plink around and have fun but since I don't get to shoot as often as I'd like, I try to maximize my time. Fact is no matter how or why you shoot its all considered fun in my book :).
 
While moving :D

I like competitive action shooting. USPSA, 3 gun, that type stuff. I also like shooting my precision rifle from prone at steel targets that are put there several hundred yards.
 
Depends.

When target shooting, either standing or sitting at a bench. When sitting, I use my arms and not a bench rest.

How I shoot at the range depends on whether I'm trying to establish a baseline accuracy for new ammunition or site adjustment, or whether I'm trying for "field positions". By "field positions", I mean positions I'm likely to be in while hunting, say, squirrel. Like standing unsupported with the rifle.
 
All of my deer stands have rests, so I practice from the bench most often.
With handguns, if I'm testing a load, I'll shoot it from the bench, but other than that, standing.
 
For rifle I shoot mainly from a benchrest. With handguns and shotguns I shoot standing up. Very rarely do I shoot from a kneeling or prone position.
 
I shoot NRA High Power mostly so I practice offhand, sitting and prone unless I am trying to establish a zero or get a group size where I'll shoot off bags.
Pistol I shoot offhand.
 
How do you shoot?

Depends on WHAT I am shooting.

Self defense? Close range one handed hip shooting and two handed isosceles with flash sight picture and compressed surprise break (consider it the Modern Technique (MT) without the Weaver Stance.) Then for precision the isosceles with good sight picture and surprise break.

Target shooting. With either one hand or two the isosceles with good sight picture and surprise break. I use a semi-dualist stance for one handed and the same isosceles if two hands are used.

And that is that.

Deaf
 
Do you prefer shooting from a benchrest, sitting, standing, practice drawing and shooting from your carry position, ect? Do you mainly shoot for fun/plinking, accuracy/competition syle, or self defense purposes?
Being retired and having a couple home ranges and shooting a lot, I do about anything that comes to mind.

I do a lot of low light laser/light shooting. Average about three evenings a week.
Because of this type shooting and the knowledge I've gained, I have equipped all my defense guns and a number of practice guns with (good) lasers or laser/lights.


About half my fast shooting is at steel targets and half paper.
 
Any way I want.
I think it is best to stay well rounded and try to maintain proficiency in all types of shooting for fun, food and protection.
With private ranges and more guns than I'll ever come close to mastering I work up loads and check guns off the bench but shoot a lot of field hunting positions and defensive shooting with handguns, rifles, and shotguns.
I have a 300yd range with a sheltered bench and an 800yd that is so far without improvements, a place to shoot trap and a bit of a donga in which to play in.
 
How do you shoot?

I am interested in hearing how you prefer to shoot and why. Do you prefer shooting from a benchrest, sitting, standing, practice drawing and shooting from your carry position, ect? Do you mainly shoot for fun/plinking, accuracy/competition syle, or self defense purposes?

Drawing and shooting from concealment.

Competition.

Self defense.

On the move... no silly slow fire stuff.
 
I spent many years practicing drills to improve accuracy, speed and target acquisition -- both single and multiples; then it was off to the USPSA and 3 gun matches.

Now it’s all games. International skeet, bowling pins and variants on that theme using golf balls and paint balls.

I make up my own scenarios using paper, metal plates and other interesting stuff like dressing IDPA/USPSA targets in old shirts covering scoring lines to make it different and interesting.

I still go to USPSA and 3 gun matches for courses of fire that I haven’t done before to practice solving new situations.
 
Depends on what I'm shooting:

Black powder is off hand/unsupported for accuracy and competition.

Rimfire from the bench accuracy and to challenge myself.

Pistol is usually defensive IDPA or Steel.

Apple seed standing, sitting, and prone rimfire and center fire rifle. :D
 
Anything I hunt with, in every possible position as well as moving and with obstacles in the way. My stand has a rest but I'm not always in it. And I find shooting offhand a lot more fun than bench shooting.

For everything else. Whatever I feel like that day. I hate shooting handguns from a bench. Even w/ a load workup I don't use a rest. If they don't shoot we'll standing then why bother. I will use a rest for sighting in a scope and rifle load development. But they're more critical than handgun loads.


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Good question. I have posted this before but here goes..


I hardly ever shoot. In a normal year I will shoot my CCW revolver and pistol just 2 or 3 times. That is more out of obligation than desire. I really do not enjoy it all that much. I will shoot my deer rifle enough times to sight it in, then later shoot the deer. I will probably take about one or two shots a month at coyotes or hogs with it or one of the farm guns. And thats it. I can easily get thru a year on less than 200 total rounds. For whatever reason shooting is not somethign I am in to. I am a scratch golfer, travel a lot with work, have two kids under five, with a working ranch in the immediate family. That just does not leave a lot of time for new hobbies I guess.

Rimfire is a completely different story. I shoot 22lr all the time. I spend about every other weekend to maybe every third weekend on the farm. I will have at least two shoots with a 22. Turtles are my sworn enemy.

That all being said I buy guns like an idiot. I have not shot probably 90% of the guns I own. And that number will only grow bigger as I grow older. But I cannot drive buy a store that sells guns without stopping, and I am constantly buying one, or putting one in layaway, or shopping gunbroker, etc. etc. They just sit in the safe. Some grandkid is going to think I am the coolest person ever.
 
I try to do my shooting from as many positions as possible, with both left and right hands/sides - both carry guns and rifles.

When I sight in a rifle, or check zero on pistol or rifle, I like a bench.
 
I shoot for accuracy, but basically do it with either just a sling or leaning onto the table with my elbows. I'll use a bipod every once and a while.
 
I shoot very, very rarely from a shooting bench. And a whole lot standing, moving, from cover/concealment, and from field-expedient positions. I look at shooting from the perspective of what the gun was designed to do. Few guns were really designed to shoot from a bench or from a fixed firing line.

However, I also manage to shoot a bit of traditional 3-position High-Power/DCM type rifle competition from time to time.
 
I'll be the lone dissenter - NONE of the above - I shoot sporting clays with my shotguns for fun and competition. IMO, too many have a narrow view that guns are only for HD/SD use, whereas there are a LOT of fun things to do with all types of guns
 
Handguns, off-hand only. Never ever from bench. Rifle, almost always from a rest.

A bow...left and right handed... ;)
 
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I rarely shoot from a bench unless I am sighting in or practicing with a hunting rifle. And even then I am not shooting from a rest or sandbags, but from a propped arm.

Shotguns I shoot standing or moving. Handguns I shoot how I expect to use them: unconventionally. If I am adjusting sights I use good stance, form etc. But most of my shooting involves laying down, shooting non dominant hand, etc
 
From the bench and off hand. Just depends on what I feel like doing.
Sometimes I'll practice shooting in positions that I'll be in while hunting, like using a tree for support etc...
 
I shoot my EDC, my shotgun, and my AR standing at what I consider SD distances for each, and these probably get the most trigger time, especially the EDC, which obviously goes with me on every range trip. It gets at least a few magazines shot downrange, beginning with what's in it. Maybe more or less, depending on how I'm doing. My favorite range trips, however, are the ones shooting my SAR-48 or my Steven's bolt-action .22 from a bench at 100 yards. Very relaxing.
 
Handguns : Drawn from holster strong, and weak hand
I just imagine every situation where a perfect stance would be compromised, and try to perfect those skills,

Rifles : Always sitting with shooting-sticks
I only really hunt predators, and am always seated, backed into some brush or against a tree ,, usually with a shotgun for up-close encounters
 
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