Do you practice? How often?

[ORsouthpaw]

With talk recently about the future possibility of having a bow hunter certification requirment and having to prove your skills I am curious as to how much practice do ifish hunters really do in the off season either with a bow or a rifle if that's your prefered method. I shoot weekly with my bow. With my rifles however I may get out only a handful of times in the off season.

How much time do you spend shooting?

[ehunter]

With my bow I shoot weekly usally starting in the spring. With the rifle I have been out shooting about 4 times this summer and well get another 2-3 times before season I hope. I really like shooting the bow and it cheaper for me so I am some what finance limited with the rifle since I do not re-load.

Originally Posted by ORsouthpaw

With talk recently about the future possibility of having a bow hunter certification requirment and having to prove your skills I am curious as to how much practice do ifish hunters really do in the off season either with a bow or a rifle if that's your prefered method. I shoot weekly with my bow. With my rifles however I may get out only a handful of times in the off season.

How much time do you spend shooting?

[toas243]

When is the off season, ,I practice with my Bow about every Day ,and I like to shoot my rifles alot too ,I happen to be very fortunate because where I live I have both a 100yd rifle range and a up to 70 yard Archery range with pins from 20-30-40 .........,

[Abalone]

That's kind of a conditional question.

I shoot into my backyard target a few times a week. That's just to keep my arm strength up. I don't like the indoor range at Broken arrow so I don't get to practice as much as I would like. I prefere an outdoor location. I need to start getting out more often so I make it a point to go
along the Clackamas river and shoot on private property but don't get much up and down hill practice..

The more the marrier especially now. I think you can over do it also.

What really matters to me is my first couple of shots..... IF I hit to Bullseye the first couple of shots every time I practice I feel pretty good about it. After that it's just excercise as far as I am concerned.

So in addition to your question. How much outdoor, 3D up and down hill shooting do you do ?

I'd like to go shoot at Silven one of these days. Dougas ridge is supposedly building a 3D range
Does anyone know anything about this ? I'd like to become a member if they do....
It' s much closer to my house. Other then that I practice on OFC property....

[nitrobass]

This time of year I shoot my bow at an outdoor range twice a week and in the backyard almost daily. The backyard is only a 20 yard shot but its great practice to keep me sharp. I start shooting in the spring and ramp it up bigtime in late June. Of all my trips to the range this year I've seen other people shooting just twice. Happens every year.

[Twodogs]

Douglas ridge has a range but i haven't seen any 3D's yet
I dont like the way the range is setup all the bales are in line so if someone is shooting at 20yrds you can't shoot at 30yrds.
I wish they where setup like sylven.

[ORsouthpaw]

I have only attended a couple 3D sessions and it was indoors, 30 yards and less. I really like the sounds of the outdoor ones though and I am going to have to make it a point to go shoot at some of them. There's one in particular that I have been told is really good. It's usually in April though and it's up in Woodland WA, I believe. Anyway I also have a back yard target so I'm almost exclusivly outdoors. I do a lot of side to side shooting from different positions, kneeling, standing, even sitting but I don't have a lot of elevation variation. I agree also that beyond the first few shots your simply excercising unless your sighting in of coarse. Glad to hear that Douglas Ridge might put up a 3-D range, It would certainly make t easier to justify joining

[ehunter]

I used to go to 3d shoots a lot when we were younger like 25 years ago and they are fun and good practice. Now I hike every weekend with the dogs and combine them into scouting trips. I always take my target then I can shoot from unknown distances when we get back the dogs get to rest and I get to shoot every one is happy. Some times on my hike with the dogs I will carry my bow and shoot blunts into banks and stumps.

My only problem with the out door ranges I have been involved with and most recently is the zoo range is that there are too many people shooting to be able to get the best practice for me. If we get there early enough we will shoot a couple warm up arrows. Thee we stand with the target at our back and toss arrows out from the target and shoot unknown distances and from our knees. What I hate to do is shoot in a line from set distances every time. I also get tired of the long distant rangers who think it is fun to shoot 60 to 80 yards as good practice I don't even have a pin beyond 40 and Ijsut added that this year. So carrying a target for me works out best. I also will occasionaly shoot in the garage from 10 yards just to keep the muscles and release in form.

Here is fun thing to do if you have not done it, make a tic tac toe target and shoot with a friend this is a fun way to practice. What are some of the things other shooters do to make it interesting?

[QH's Paw]

Originally Posted by Abalone

I think you can over do it also.

What really matters to me is my first couple of shots..... IF I hit to Bullseye the first couple of shots every time I practice I feel pretty good about it. After that it's just excercise as far as I am concerned.

That's pretty much how I look at it. The first shot at an animal is the one that counts the most, obviously. As for practice, I try to practice 3-4 times a week. Lately the sessions end with my son throwing a foam circle for me to shoot flu-flus at. I intend to hunt deer archery but my priority is to get good at moving targets for waterfowling with the bow this season. I been pretty fortunate that I've always lived somewhere that allows me to shoot the bow outside. Don't know if I'd practice enough if I had to drive to an indoor range to do it.
I don't spend much time practicing with rifles usually, unless you count shooting at coyotes in the pasture. I will be practicing this year since I drew a 3 month cow tag so I guess I'll have to hunt with rifle a little bit anyway.

[steelhead22]

Originally Posted by ORsouthpaw

With talk recently about the future possibility of having a bow hunter certification requirment and having to prove your skills I am curious as to how much practice do ifish hunters really do in the off season either with a bow or a rifle if that's your prefered method. I shoot weekly with my bow. With my rifles however I may get out only a handful of times in the off season.

How much time do you spend shooting?

I don't have a ton of time, but I started shooting (archery) regularly about the middle/end of March. Had to get ready for turkeys, and then just kept on shooting after that season ended. I've picked it up lately, since I've only got a month and changed a couple things on my set up. I'm probably shooting at least 3, but more often 4 times a week these days.

[mtn300]

For archery I like to start in May and shoot at least 5 days a week. Rifle I take them out 10 times a year and shoot. Test new loads out.

[lor]

When I was a single man, 2 days a week starting in October thru May/Jun.
For the summer months, I attended 5-6 3D shoots to focus on yardage estimation since all the winter shooting has taken care of form.
1-2 broadhead only session to insure good grouping.

Once I got married, the amount of available time for myself dropped, and with the birth of my first child, its down to a couple of time in the winter, 2-3 3D shoots during the summer, and a couple of Broadhead site-in session at washington park.
This year, 1 indoor session, probably 1 3D shoot, and a couple of broadhead sessions at Washington park.
Would I like to shoot more, definitely, but time seemed to elude me this year.

[SImudBogger]

i don't shoot archery, but i do rifle hunt. i bring my rifle every time i go camping and shoot a few 100 yd groups. I try to concentrate on good form and breathing more than how good my group is, only because i'm shooting leftover stuff from the last few years. I save sight in for september when i start shooting my hunting ammo.

Its amazing how i can shoot a 1 1/4 inch group 1.5 inches high at 100 yds with 150 grain federal ammo, and then shoot 180 grain of a different manufacturer and its 3 inches left and 4 down. I think a lot of guys shoot different loads for different animals and assume that they're good out to 300yds with all of them because they are sighted in with one. Different shapes, style, etc. fly different. I've seen guys shoot way over and way under elk because they were shooting a bullet that was 30-50 grains heavier than what they sighted in with.

just something to ponder......

[ORsouthpaw]

Its amazing how i can shoot a 1 1/4 inch group 1.5 inches high at 100 yds with 150 grain federal ammo, and then shoot 180 grain of a different manufacturer and its 3 inches left and 4 down. I think a lot of guys shoot different loads for different animals and assume that they're good out to 300yds with all of them because they are sighted in with one. Different shapes, style, etc. fly different. I've seen guys shoot way over and way under elk because they were shooting a bullet that was 30-50 grains heavier than what they sighted in with.

That sounds like exactly what happened with a relative of mine. He had sighted in his 7MM Mag using 180 grain Federal Ammo, was hitting 2" high at 100yds, group size was about 1.5" then he shot some 180 from another mfg and he was 4-6 inches low and 2-3 inches to the right. I know different mfg's vary but that was plain scary. I guess the lesson is practice with what your going to use. The same is true for bows, some guys shoot different arrow head wt's for hunting and wonder why they can't dial in thier broadheads.

[SlyHawk]

I shoot my bow at least every other day, target is in the back forty. I belong to a club and shoot my center fires 2X month until I'm literally black and blue. I love working up tailor made hand loads, I might add. Oh by the way------practice is worthless without purpose.