How many people REALLY shoot anymore

[Warp]

I have one, outdoors, 0-100 yards, that allows any position, so long as you do it intelligently so that rounds hit the berm, not over, and not the ground. But no rapid fire (at least 1 second must be between shots). You can work handguns from the holster and do reloads as well, but the no rapid fire is annoying.

I have another one, indoors, that is pretty much anything goes as long as you don't break the 4 rules or shoot their target runners. But it's only 25 yards and you can't do rifle positions other than standing or seated at the bench due to the design.

Could be worse, could be better.

 

[jim243]

Not allowed to shoot in positions at the range I belong to. All centerfire rifle is shot from a bench.

Same here.

Jim

 

[Pete D.]

Position

I use the bench to zero or to develop new loads. Other than that, I shoot mostly prone, iron sights. I do shoot from both the seated position and offhand but less than prone.
About this earlier comment......

At a range close enough that wind and gravity don't have too much time to act on your bullet. The Biathlon for instance is at 50 meters, and those are a 4.5 inch target (offhand) and a 1.8 inch target (unsupported prone) with open sights.

That focus on the size of the target and the relatively close distance ignores what is happening in the biathlon competition....perhaps the most difficult of the shooting venues. It ignores the effect of the skiing.
These athletes have not just toured for a few minutes around the edge of a lake and then stopped to take a few shots. I have skied through an Olympic biathlon course and, especially if you are not a XC skier, you would not believe the difficulty of some of the climbs. No kidding, the average person would look and say "there is no way that someone can ski up that. It's a cliff. And they do ski up that, carrying a rifle on their back.....and then they stop and shoot.
Try it some time.
As for the comment about 8-9 MOA from position...or 4-5 with a sling and jacket / 2-3 MOA prone.....no, many HP shooters do better than that.
This was shot prone with an AR at 100 yards...a bit under two MOA...kind of a normal target for me......and I am not a particularly good shot. If I were, there'd be no nines and a lot more Xs. The 10 ring is 1.75" in diameter. I have seen men shoot 1/2" ten shot groups from the prone position more that once. The national record for 100 yard smallbore prone is held by Mary Sparling (1987) at 400-40x. The Xring on the smallbore target is 7/8" in diameter. 40 shots in the Xring.

 

[Trent]

Pete is accurate about the MOA from highpower shooters.

To consistently receive the lowest highpower ratings (Marksman) you have to be capable of shooting about 4 MOA, while standing at 200 yards.

I shoot sharpshooter on an good day, and have hit expert on a really good day.

Without a shooting jacket I routinely shoot 3 MOA or smaller groups while standing.

I routinely shoot sub 1 MOA groups prone in F-Class off a bipod (I shoot high master in F-Class).

I have yet to shoot over 2 MOA prone without a bipod or sling at 300 yards when I shoot the highpower prone stages. My scores for prone, even without a bipod, are 95+/100 per stage. I think the lowest score I shot on a prone stage this year was a 92/100. My kneeling/sitting stages are always 90+.

Standing, as mentioned, is more difficult, but not impossible. My highest score standing this year was an 88/100, if I recall correctly, but I'm averaging in the 70's. If I can get that score up I'll be able to consistently hit expert in highpower.

The ONLY thing I can say about hitting that mark is "practice, practice, practice."

My aggregate scores at the start of the year were in the 70% range. (Not real good.) As the year went on and I got more practice, my highest aggregate score was a 92.5%. I'm averaging in the upper 80's.

When you practice you are just not putting rounds on target - every time, no matter how "good" you think you are, you need to go through the fundamentals. Take each shot like it's your first shot ever, pay attention to *everything*, breathing, heartbeat, relaxing muscles that aren't necessary, trigger discipline, followthrough...

It's really quite difficult, but it is also very rewarding.