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8MM Mauser · June 23, 2014, 05:02 PM

Had another interesting range trip this last weekend. My dad and I had planned a father's day excursion to shoot some trap the previous weekend; but had to cancel when my dad got called in to work.

Instead we went this last Saturday. Friday night my daughter was having a nightmare about bugs crawling on her (on top of being sick, poor little lady!) and so the night before we went to shoot I got about 4 hours worth of broken sleep. We got the the range early (around 9) and shot a couple rounds of trap; then as planned broke out the pistols, shot a few targets to pieces and then went to town on the clay pigeons we had leftover as well as some tin cans.

I actually obliterated my dad at trap; I did better than I usually do. We fired about 200 rounds a piece and I missed twice! Really great for my usually sorry self! When we went to the pistol range though I really began to feel my exhaustion. My first couple groups were OK but not good. After the first 100 rounds of 9MM they really began to open up though. When we started I was shooting 4 of 5 for 5 on the clays we set on the backstop with my pistol. By the last mag it took me all 15 rounds to hit all five!

I was so tired that on the way home I was nearly nodding off in my dad's truck. It really made me appreciate the effect that tiredness has on shooting. Usually before I go shoot or hunt I go to bed very early and try to eat as healthy as possible. This sort of impromptu event on little sleep taught me that my shooting will deteriorate greatly (almost double average group size) when very tired. That makes me reflect on what it might be more realistically like in a nighttime HD situation. Now my HD plan is set up in such a way that it would funnel anyone approaching my room into a very narrow hallway and into my line of fire, so it is sort of a "minute-of-badguy" situation anyway, but still a reflection of what happens to my skill.

It also make me appreciate the hell out of soldiers, some men that I know who go or have gone into combat on just a few hours of sleep.

Anyway I just thought I would share my experiences as a sort of "food-for thought."

June 23, 2014, 05:02 PM	#1
8MM Mauser Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 2011 Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan Posts: 647	Shooting while exhausted Had another interesting range trip this last weekend. My dad and I had planned a father's day excursion to shoot some trap the previous weekend; but had to cancel when my dad got called in to work. Instead we went this last Saturday. Friday night my daughter was having a nightmare about bugs crawling on her (on top of being sick, poor little lady!) and so the night before we went to shoot I got about 4 hours worth of broken sleep. We got the the range early (around 9) and shot a couple rounds of trap; then as planned broke out the pistols, shot a few targets to pieces and then went to town on the clay pigeons we had leftover as well as some tin cans. I actually obliterated my dad at trap; I did better than I usually do. We fired about 200 rounds a piece and I missed twice! Really great for my usually sorry self! When we went to the pistol range though I really began to feel my exhaustion. My first couple groups were OK but not good. After the first 100 rounds of 9MM they really began to open up though. When we started I was shooting 4 of 5 for 5 on the clays we set on the backstop with my pistol. By the last mag it took me all 15 rounds to hit all five! I was so tired that on the way home I was nearly nodding off in my dad's truck. It really made me appreciate the effect that tiredness has on shooting. Usually before I go shoot or hunt I go to bed very early and try to eat as healthy as possible. This sort of impromptu event on little sleep taught me that my shooting will deteriorate greatly (almost double average group size) when very tired. That makes me reflect on what it might be more realistically like in a nighttime HD situation. Now my HD plan is set up in such a way that it would funnel anyone approaching my room into a very narrow hallway and into my line of fire, so it is sort of a "minute-of-badguy" situation anyway, but still a reflection of what happens to my skill. It also make me appreciate the hell out of soldiers, some men that I know who go or have gone into combat on just a few hours of sleep. Anyway I just thought I would share my experiences as a sort of "food-for thought."