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Is anyone still practicing?


Kirk James

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Is anyone still having live fire practice?  The primer shortage must be keeping most shooters from practicing.  I am sure dry fire has increased.  Went out today and practiced with 3 rounds in revolver and one round in rifle working transitions from right to left and then left to right.   I also practice with 3 in rifle and one in revolver both ways just working on seeing my front sight and transitions using a window on a table and another table.  Then switched to shotgun and rifle.  Burned around 200 practice rds.  Are you and how?  I may start shooting monthlies only.  What is you strategy? 

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"Is anyone still practicing?"

 

"still?"  haha!  I never practiced.  However, during the 13 weeks of cancelled matches here, I spent time reloading and so stockpiled more than usual (normally I have enough for one match at least with each set of guns).  That is also when the powder drop in my Lee autodisk measure decided to get crudded up with crud and advance me from a one-squib-per- couple thousand rate (which is still not acceptable) to about 1 per hundred or two hundred, which I discovered when we started shooting again.  So I still have 500 rounds that I had labelled as "practice".  But now, hmm, that's 4 matches worth.  I will save them but if push comes to shove they will get shot in local matches.  If the shortage clears (for me, anyway) before I get to them, them Practice, Here I Come!  :)

 

 

 

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I plan on shooting cap and ball this year. That should cut my primer consumption by 50%. I’ll shoot some monthly’s for live fire practice. Home range practice will mostly just be picking up guns from different staging positions and working on transitions. Hopefully primers will be back on the shelves by mid to late summer

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I'm still shooting pistols a lot but mostly those that use large pistol primers like 10mm, 460 Rowland and .45 Colt/ .44 Mag stuff.

 

I ain't shooting any shoulder guns like the SG until my heart doc says its safe.   

 

I also shoot a lot of .22 stuff both rifle and pistol.

 

..........Widder

 

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Well, our last monthlies were a few weeks ago, and winter coming, so nothing really happens until end of March or April.  Plan on going back to percussion in my Old Army's for gunfighter, as I still have plenty of caps, and 38's since I still have plenty of primers.  Large primers are low, and shot shell primers only get loaded for black for two day matches.  Oh yeah, my monthlies are, or were, my practice sessions.

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Practice?

 

I had to look up that word. :huh:

 

Got primers, just no time to shoot. :blink:

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I've been shooting matches every weekend throughout the pandemic.

Shootin a two day match at Cowtown this weekend.

I think I only missed one weekend since April.

Gotta luv that about Arizona.

I've been out to practice a few times, but most of my favorite shooting spots have been taken over by "homeless campers".

 

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I haven't shot a match or practiced since the TN State shoot in early October.  (Mostly because I reserve the fall for hunting.)  I shot a few pistol rounds at the range one day, testing my first few loads with Clean Shot powder.

 

I have plenty of Shotshell primers and a new to me hammer TTN, so any practice I may do will be mostly shotgun.  I have to try a few different combinations of BP, shot, and wads before I load up a couple hundred hulls.

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so glad I stocked up before CA background check on AMMO

10 cases of federal black box 22 s

25 cases of rem gun club 12 gauge shells

small pistol primers down to 3000 with 2000 round loaded 

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I've been out shooting my cap guns.  Not so much for practice.  

 

 

 

I found a box of 50 45 Colt loaded with Unique and 200g bullet that I loaded when I started Cowboy Action Shooting in 2013. I've soon converted the Marlin to feed C45S and shoot BlackMZ in matches so these 50 are good candidate to take out and shoot up.  I've replaced the carrier in the Marlin for that purpose.  When we get a comfortable weather,  I'll maybe do some transition drills and use it up.

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10 hours ago, Kirk James said:

Is anyone still having live fire practice?  The primer shortage must be keeping most shooters from practicing.  I am sure dry fire has increased.  Went out today and practiced with 3 rounds in revolver and one round in rifle working transitions from right to left and then left to right.   I also practice with 3 in rifle and one in revolver both ways just working on seeing my front sight and transitions using a window on a table and another table.  Then switched to shotgun and rifle.  Burned around 200 practice rds.  Are you and how?  I may start shooting monthlies only.  What is you strategy? 

Howdy Kirk,

headed out to the range as it warms up.  I haven’t really been bothered by the components shortage as others have. For family reasons I haven’t practiced in over two years so have stuff that was purchased (and loaded) from well before the current situation. If I chose to a 3-4 hundred round session per week would not be out of the question. However being frugal is not a bad thing so here is what I came up with. Set up a stage with as many targets as possible. Split shotgun and pistol and dry fire the stage three or four times. One possible would be P-SG-R-SG-P.  Then live fire it once or twice. No errors reset the targets into a slightly more complex/different sweep and move on. If you have errors dry fire again then live fire again.  Work on speed and sight alignment on the dry fire and work on “smooth “ on the live fire. I have been getting in 30-40 full stages using less than 200 R-P and 50-60 SG. 
Pretty amazed how my skills deteriorated without repetition. 
Best of luck my friend 

:FlagAm: :FlagAm: :FlagAm:

Gateway Kid

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Good post.  

I have cut live round practice back considerably, sometimes not even once a week, but keep dry fire practice to almost daily.  I still  try to make near as many monthly matches as in past but may limit to a one day weekend match rather than two day, and watch just what "big matches" seem worthwhile for distance, the offerings, and ammo count.  Sad, but needed criteria as things are.  Sassy has had one carpal tunnel surgery of recent and soon to do another so that has really helped keep ammo use down.  The cancellation of Winter Range, which for use included shooting at Tombstone, will help in ammo supply, although I expect we may pick up one or two annuals that we have not been making each year.  I'm good at 25K and limiting as you are Kirk, I might stretch to two years, maybe tad more.  I don't reload shotgun and the price of sg ammo has me concerned and certainly a limit there.  Like you, more shot run stages, pickup/draw drills, helps cut back yet still very helpful in the overall need for results.

I live in country and have nice range on the ranch about half mile from home so target array is there for me as is cut-outs at house/shop, so what I have been doing in a "cut-back effort" is make stage scenario runs at range only with dummy ammo.  And yes, times are great and no misses :D, but it is good practice and certainly great for transitions.  If I analyze my run and time thinking of actual sight picture I usually know if there was a chance of miss if I had used live ammo.

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1 hour ago, Deadwood Miner, SASS # 45575 said:

Slowed down considerably since I refuse to pay the locals $80/1000 for primers.

Sure?

$.08 for primer, $.02 for powder, $.08 for a .38 projectile is $.18 per shot, or $7 per box, versus $30 for non-existent ammo.

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7 hours ago, Dantankerous said:

Practice?

 

I had to look up that word. :huh:

 

Got primers, just no time to shoot. :blink:

 

Better watch your back. :lol:

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I'm in the "pay to practice" court. I've got plenty of components, but it seems like such a waste to just shoot them up. Practice isn't going to move me from 32 second stage times to 17 second stage times.  

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I broke my leg from a fall and separated my shoulder from another one this year. That pretty much stopped CAS rifle, buffalo rifle and shotgun shooting.  :rolleyes:

 

I dry fire with my revolvers every day and live fire with my revolvers every week on my home shooting range. I also shoot at my bullseye club one day each week using 100 .22 low velocity rim fire in my S&W Model 40 and 100 .45ACP in my Les Baer. Unfortunately, my advanced age precludes much gain in speed.  :rolleyes: The practices do help keep my muscle memory in shape. That's essential for an older shooter. :wub:

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Cowboy shoots are stll happening at a lot  of  clubs  in Australia, my wife & I usually do a lot of travelling but with everything going on that has virtually stopped, shooting a lot of Trap & also shooting a bit of Tower & skeet.

Our Gamblers Club on the Gold Coast just had there Xmas shoot, 49 came along for 6 fun stages, 16 clean !!

Unfortunately our future International travel could be finished as we both won't have the vaccine &  some airline company's are already saying 'no jab no fly '.

When you say in the USA that reloading components are going thru the roof it basically means we will have very little available here & also more expensive, I have a very healthy stock of everything but that's not much help when there may be no one to compete against !!!!

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On 12/5/2020 at 11:21 PM, doc roy l. pain said:

I plan on shooting cap and ball this year. That should cut my primer consumption by 50%. I’ll shoot some monthly’s for live fire practice. Home range practice will mostly just be picking up guns from different staging positions and working on transitions. Hopefully primers will be back on the shelves by mid to late summer

I was thinking the same thing! Looking at getting a pair of Remmies or maybe Old Army's.  I had Colt repros but I didn't like fooling with the wedge. The Remmies or Ruger Old Armies are much easier to work with.

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https://www.strikeman.io/

 

Strikeman – Necessity is the mother of invention. With the COVID lockdowns and a lack of ammunition, it was only natural for someone to come up with a way to practice dry-firing a handgun using a laser and a cell phone. If you aren’t good with modern technology, you will want to stay away from this. If you think you can handle using your cell phone to record laser hits on a wall target, then this can be a way to practice aiming and trigger pull. No, they don’t make them for muzzleloaders. Their selection of calibers is limited at this time but I can see it expanding as time goes on.

 

I just put this in my column for the February issue. You will need six of the "laser" bullets if I understand it right.

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3 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I was thinking the same thing! Looking at getting a pair of Remmies or maybe Old Army's.  I had Colt repros but I didn't like fooling with the wedge. The Remmies or Ruger Old Armies are much easier to work with.

There is a really nice pair of Remmies that are on the sass classifieds right now. I’ve never held a pair or I might be interested in these

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21 minutes ago, doc roy l. pain said:

There is a really nice pair of Remmies that are on the sass classifieds right now. I’ve never held a pair or I might be interested in these

I just checked them out, thanks for the heads up! They look nice! ;)

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1 hour ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I just checked them out, thanks for the heads up! They look nice! ;)

 

Rye - I can vouch for Dragoon’s work on NMA’s, I’ve got a couple that he’s worked on and they’re smooth and a pleasure to shoot.  As a plus the ones that Yazoo City Girl has are nice looking with extra cylinders.

 

8 minutes ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

Percussion caps are available?

 

Some, mostly CCI #11, Remington not so much.

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19 hours ago, Tequila Shooter said:

 

Rye - I can vouch for Dragoon’s work on NMA’s, I’ve got a couple that he’s worked on and they’re smooth and a pleasure to shoot.  As a plus the ones that Yazoo City Girl has are nice looking with extra cylinders.

I waited too long, I was really thinking about those but Doc Roy L. Pain beat me to it! I haven't made up my mind 100% about cap and ball yet but it's certainly an alternative if this primer shortage continues!

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7 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I waited too long, I was really thinking about those but Doc Roy L. Pain beat me to it! I haven't made up my mind 100% about cap and ball yet but it's certainly an alternative if this primer shortage continues!

 

Sorry to hear that!  C&B is a lot of fun, I’d been shooting FCD now I’ve started Frontiersman and I’m really enjoying it.  Like everything in our game it’s going to take some $$ to get everything you need to get started, can you tell that I didn’t mind?  If’n your think’in about gett’n inta it talk to a couple of smiths first, lot’s of input on make and models.

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13 minutes ago, Tequila Shooter said:

 

Sorry to hear that!  C&B is a lot of fun, I’d been shooting FCD now I’ve started Frontiersman and I’m really enjoying it.  Like everything in our game it’s going to take some $$ to get everything you need to get started, can you tell that I didn’t mind?  If’n your think’in about gett’n inta it talk to a couple of smiths first, lot’s of input on make and models.

I dove into C&B a few years ago and had some issues with '51's that's why I said I would go with Remmies or Old Armies. I know quite a bit about the ins and outs of C&B but thanks for your concern. 

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57 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I waited too long, I was really thinking about those but Doc Roy L. Pain beat me to it! I haven't made up my mind 100% about cap and ball yet but it's certainly an alternative if this primer shortage continues!

I didn’t buy them:huh:

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