Shooting gone flat

If bored, try something different, or maybe buy a very different style of gun.

If shooting ability has "gone flat", the answer may be in whether you're satisfied with what you can already do, or if you want to improve. If you post some of your targets here, along with the data, maybe others here will be able to help you see what needs to be done to improve (if you want to improve, that is).

Maybe enter a shooting competition?
Learn to reload?

Not sure what you mean by flat but if you are bored you would obviously try something different. Moving targets, bulls eye shooting, competitions, different firearm, longer distance.........
myers post wasn't up when I wrote my post but we hit the same thoughts.

I cannot just run out and pick up a new pistol. Just not in the budget. So, I change over to rifles...for a while. In fact, thats where I've been for two years. I've never been seen as a very good pistol shooter. Once my vision kind of went, the semi decent pistol shooting "went south". Kept trying for several years but I knew it was a lost cause. I put peeps on my .30-30 and scoped my AR ... the range trips are better now.

Don't get me wrong, I still shoot the hand guns. Need to keep myself in practice. Even run the shotguns a bit as well.

Mark

What they said. Whether it's a different skill set with handguns or moving o rifles or shotguns for a while.

When you get bored with shooting them, try your hand at a parts kit or some other manor of building one.

Pick up a bow and try archery, or a blowgun or an atlatl. Take up fencing, or Tai Chi. If you're a semi auto guy, try out a revolver. if you're a revolver guy, vice versa.

Try a different caliber than what you normally shoot.

Competitions, even the dress up kind like Cowboy Action can hone skills.

Put yourself in a position to meet other shooters. Let them shoot your guns and ask to shoot theirs. I've found that 9 times out of 10 if you strike up a conversation with other people at the range or wherever you shoot and show interest in their guns, they'll offer to let you shoot them.

If your eyesight is the problem w/ pistol sights , you can try the red dot sights & see to shoot again .

Two easy ways to end 'boredom' for me is to shoot at significantly longer distance targets, and to switch to shooting handguns exclusively with my other hand.

Either approach can be quite humbling and challenging for me. If the longer distance is physically not an option, shooting strictly 'left-handed' makes me focus extra on fundamentals, and helps remind me again why I enjoy my shooting hobby.

First, and most important question is?
What are you shooting?

There are practical limits to how good you can get with a 2" snubby, or pocket rocket 9mm.

Try to master 50 yard NRA Bullseye with the best match grade .22 pistol you can buy, and you will never out-shoot what the gun is capable off the rest of your life.

rc

Capt. Obvious

Maybe you just need a break away from guns for awhile. When I use to get tired or bored with guns (as well as the ever increasing prices for new ones), I switched to another interest. I also collect knives, sports memorabilia, coins, and a lot of other things. Eventually I would see or hear about something gun related and my interest would go back to my guns.

Give it time. I have several hobbies only one of which is shooting and I've cycled through them all on a fairly regular basis for well over 50 years.

Sometimes I just do none of the "hobby" things and grab a book I've been meaning to read for years.

Thing is, don't worry about it, do what interests you and realize many things are going to change in many was as you get older.

Capt. Obvious said:

What do you do when your shooting ability has gone flat and you find yourself bored with the pistols you have?

Click to expand...

Buy a new gun Capt. Works every time.

Shoot with your other hand.

Teach someone to shoot.

Black powder......

I don't care how long you shoot...you never get bored with black powder

Ditto on switching to black powder. It is a whole another world. Forget what you know about smokeless powder and learn about F, FF, FFF, FFFF black powder, volume measures, lube, patches, soft lead balls and conical bullets.

For handguns Pietta makes very nice Navy, Army, Remington clones. How about a 1849 Wells Fargo model for concealed carry?

Then buy a kit and build your rifle including browning the finish.

After you do that learn to shoot and build your own flintlock pistol and rifle.

Also since reloading takes longer a pound of powder lasts longer.

Maybe pick up an old beater rifle on the cheap and try your hand at restoring it and giving it a new life. I personally find the mechanics and the hunt for parts endlessly fascinating. It only enhances my love for all things that go bang. By the time I'm getting close to done, I'm dying to get it to the range. Then the tuning and trying to make it shoot better. It's quite satisfying.

Just my .02

I learned from a very young age to never ever say I was bored. If I did, my mom would hand me cleaning supplies and put me to work. From then on, I have always learned to occupy my time 100% of the time.

There's always something to be done, unless you are filthy rich and pay someone to do everything for you. Take up a new hobby, buy some different guns, fix on your house......

Then, when you look at your guns, and you get the itch to punch holes in stuff, or knock things over, you'll know it's time to pick it up again. Or as others suggest, try some more challenging shooting. Move the target back. Go to a moving target range. When paper gets boring to me, I throw a shooting ball out on the ground and try to hit it while it is still moving around.

Do you shoot any form of competition?
If so, are you a consistent winner?
If not, I can see where solitary vice can be dull with nobody to compare with or talk to.

I have long since plateaued, but at my age, hanging on to the edge of that plateau is challenge enough.

I don't seem to get bored with shooting or firearm related projects. I have more projects than I have time. Now, back to reloading.

also....there is nothing wrong with taking a break from shooting....

i know i get bored with shooting from time to time......so....i simply stop shooting, im not going to do something i dont enjoy just for the sake of doing it.

i shoot competitively in the spring, summer, and fall....and then i more or less take the winter off.......that keeps me from getting "burned out" and i find myself wanting to shoot when next season comes around.

i keep several hobbies on deck so when i get bored with one, i can switch to another....shooting is just one of them....

I go fishing.