Ever compare your targets to others at the range?

[Strakele]

Just wondering if any of you guys check other the targets of people next to you at the range? I have a pretty competitive mindset and I shoot in precision competitions... I can't help but look and see how other people are shooting (and of course what they're shooting).

I generally find that the majority of people on the pistol ranges... suck. Pretty badly. I'm talking CD sized groups at like 3 or 5 yards, slow fire. There's always the occasional shooter who knows what he's doing, but most just aren't that good. I'm sure some of them are just learning and there's nothing wrong with that. We were all there at one point. I occasionally offer tips and help too, I'm not just trying to be arrogant.

Then on the rifle side there's the obligatory people with .22's just burning through ammo and shredding paper, the guys with the AK's who are always all over the place, as well as the generic Remchester bolt actions with decent groups. Of course every once in a while I see somebody with the AI .338 with a suppressor, some super expensive glass, and the chrono setup that prints out the velocity of each shot. I don't look at other targets on the rifle range as much but I still notice every so often.

At the skeet range, there's just hand-cocked spring launchers. Every once in a while I'll see somebody shoot 4 or 5 rounds at one skeet with his nice semi-auto and miss them all.

Of course it's the ones that aren't that great that stand out the most. Once again I'm really trying not to sound arrogant or anything, just mostly wondering if anyone else is like me in that they compare thier targets to others. If it sounds like I'm describing you at all, I'm very sorry. I'm young and competitive with good eyesight, and I know it won't always be that way.

 

[BenReal]

Not really.I look to see them looking at mine.

 

[OOOXOOO]

I've peeped at others targets. Sometimes I feel real good sometimes not so good. As long as I am focusing on what I am doing,I tend to do better.

 

[John828]

It is one of the Ten Commandments in reverse:

Instead of, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors ass;

it reads, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors groups.

We've all done it. I don't care what they say.

 

[Jefferson Herb]

When you're at the Range and see Dad with sons shooting the 30-30,etc;ASK FIRST and let them settle in with you're varment rig - coach them thru the shots- and watch their eyes as they shoot some very small groups.It makes their day!

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

sure, but its kind of like looking over the urinal screen.......

 

[mio]

nope because thier situation may be very differnt from mine.

im an average shooter i like to think. i dont own any rifle that could be considered sniper or moa accuracy. my rifles are for deer hunting and shoot fine for that. most of the time i can cover a 3 shot group with my palm and thats all i need at 100yds.

the guy next to me may be new to shooting and happy getting 3 shots on paper or he may be a varmint hunter that is angry about a 1in 5 shot group at the same range.

i worry about my shooting and its purposes and let others worry about thiers.

 

[Rob P.]

I look.

I look because I'm usually sitting down between shot strings thinking about what I'm doing right or wrong. Looking gives me something to do besides obsess on my failings.

Plus I sometimes see some pretty neat things I'd otherwise miss. Like the idjit who's showing his girl how to shoot with a .50 DE. Or the idjits with shotguns who shoot from the hip and spray shot all over their neighbor's target and completely shoot out of their own lane. Or the cute petite chick with the really snappy high polished blue snubby revolver that I'm LUSTING over (The gun not the girl. You know your gun fever is bad when you overlook a cutie and commit one of the seven deadly sins because of her sidearm.)

Plus, I get a kick out of the young and overlyenthusiastic wannabes who come to the range and shoot the "poker" target and get really crappy hands. Or they shoot at a tennis ball on a string. Or they shoot something like 300 rounds and only print 25 of them on 24X18 paper targets. At 15 yds. With a .22.

Like I said, it gives me something to do and provides comic relief when I'm feeling really pressured by poor shooting performance.

 

[Cuda]

I used to compare to the wifes. She's a better shot so no more do I compare targets.


C

 

[bullseye308]

When I'm at the indoor range shooting at 15 yards next to the sherrif's fireamrs instructor, and his target looks like a shotgun hit it at 10 yards, and mine looks like this, yep, I look.

 

[ndh87]

Sometimes I look, most the time it scares me. I either spend too much time shooting or alot of people dont practice near enough.

 

[mcwjr13]

That is like asking if you don't look at the car next to yours at a traffic light. Of course you do.

 

[WardenWolf]

Yeah. Guys who had low-end, finicky AR-15's were looking at their targets next to mine. I had my Saiga .223, so of course there's a bit of rivalry. One of them asks the other, "Why can't you shoot like that with your AK?". Now, their targets weren't that stellar. Maybe 2 MOA. I piped up, "You can, if you get a good quality one." For all intents and purposes, they might as well have been the same target.

 

[frogomatic]

I don't care about other peoples targets, but I do like to check our their guns.

 

[rainbowbob]

I generally find that the majority of people on the pistol ranges... suck. Pretty badly. I'm talking CD sized groups at like 3 or 5 yards, slow fire.

I generally shoot CD sized groups COM at 7 to 10 yds with my carry gun, an S&W M36 snub. That's all I'm trying to do at this point.

I look at my neighbors targets to see how they're doing, who are usually working on the same thing - competency with their carry gun at defensive shooting distance.

Competiton is a whole 'nother thing. I want to try IDPA for the same reason as above - and just for the fun of it.

 

[Odd Job]

I look at their guns and their targets. That's how we start before we do some swapping. Nice to experience other rifles, and the discussion about the target is my foot in the door to get that.

 

[TRGRHPY]

I look around when I get there to see who is there and then what they're shooting. I'll look at targets to see if there is something unusually good or bad and then check to see who shot it and what gun they were shooting.

 

[sourdough44]

I don't try to compare to much but at times happen to see. I wonder how it is that everyone on the net is always shooting 1/2" rifle groups at 100yrds & I'm always seeing much larger groups at 50yrds? I usually try to avoid the public range when I can.

 

[DRYHUMOR]

I glance around from time to time.

I have concerns when someone next to me is all over the place, makes me watch how they handle the weapon, so I don't get shot.

 

[30 cal slob]

i can't speak for everyone, but when i was first starting out, i went through my spray and pray phase. lol.

over the years, i've progressed from recreational shooter to one who is obsessed with the placement of each and every round, even with full autos.

because my mindset has changed from recreational to defensive.

i (try) to shoot as if my life depends on it. every round! changing motivation is powerful.

bear in mind that there are many casual shooters and beginners at the range. remember when you first started out?

i find that when i'm shooting noticeably tight groups ("CD sized at 5 yards" knock on wood), people around me WILL NOTICE and, perhaps, try to subconciously improve their own. sometimes people will actually come up to me and ask me what i'm doing. it's much easier to do than explain! first thing i say is ... "SLOW DOWN!"

my own view is, better to (try to) be a range role model in every respect (especially with safe firearms handling) vs. being a snob.

 

[Strakele]

Yeah, like I said, I try to offer tips when I can or when asked. I never act like a snob.

Thinking back on it, I think I overestimated the distances that I see the noticably bad groups at. The indoor range I shoot at has electric target carriers so shooters can set them wherever they way. The outdoor range has set target stands at varying distances, the first being 3 yards. And I'm talking about bad groups with full size weapons like Glocks or 1911's. A CD sized group at 5 yards with a small defensive pistol or revolver isn't really bad at all.

Anyway, I feel like looking at other people's targets or guns is not quite in the same league as looking over the urinal wall...

 

[jpatterson]

I am pretty new to handgun shooting and am fascinated by the accuracy some of the guys at my range get with their handguns. I often ask them for tips on my stance and hold, etc., and my pistol shooting has improved drastically.

Fortunately, I have a tiny range (only 4 open booths) and this allows me to get lots of experience with a friendly staff and lots of nice people offer pointers. It may not be much, but man, I love that place.

As for comparing targets, most everyone that goes there shoots better than I do, so I do a lot of watching and comparing targets. Nothing malicious or competitive, I'm just trying to learn.

 

[Coyote_Hunter_]

I like to give a cursory check on the firearms other people are using, watch how they are handling them and, yes, I like to give a cursory check to their targets as well, to see how they are doing with them. Call it paranoia, but I want to know that the people around me are handling their firearms in a safe manner and are actually hitting somewhere in the vicinity of POA.

From a competitive standpoint, no, I don’t have much interest in other people’s targets.

 

[Cannonball888]

I always compare my targets to others at the range. Mine are always nice and new-looking after shooting while other peoples are full of holes. Yuck!

 

[MD1775]

One visit at the range that sticks out in my mind is a guy two lanes down that I see doing push-ups, just cranking them out. He'd do 20 to 30 repetitions, get to his feet, draw, and put his rounds down range. His groups were about as big as a Mini-DVD. When he finished I struck up a conversation with him about his routine and he told me of how he was in duty-related shooting a few years ago, came out at the good end, but what stuck in his mind most was how he dropped into tunnel vision, had a hard time controlling his breathing and heart rate, and (in his opinion) it was a matter of sheer luck that he hit the guy. He told me that he never wanted to feel the way he did that night again and made a promise to himself that from that point on he'd train like it was his life at stake..not with the purpose of punching pretty groups in paper. I laughed and pointed toward the respectable group on his target, considering his heart rate was at 160 (he had a heart-rate monitor on)when he shot, and he replied that it was a nice byproduct of the extra time he now put into the range.

I can't say that I've done the same thing ever since I met him that time but I do try to incorporate some of it every time I go to the range and I plan on adding more and more of it to my training.