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Old August 26, 2009, 06:11 PM   #2
inSight-NEO
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Join Date: November 7, 2008
Posts: 608
First off, even though Im not much a skeet shooter, I have considered just buying the necessary equipment in order to get in a bit of "following" practice whenever I get the chance. While I do not have any land myself, I have several friends who I regularly shoot with who have access to such land. This would be ideal for the skeet setup.

However, to answer your question more specifically, I currently shoot at either paper targets or "plinkers." But, again, this is mainly done while on my friends land. I dont do much shooting at the range (with a shotgun) anymore. Now, paper targets and plinkers are static and certainly not as much fun as shooting skeet, but when set up at varying distances, they can be useful...particularly if such practice includes moving + shooting "drills."

Now, if you can only fire at the local range (for now), this is still good enough in order to become familiar with the weapon and its patterning characteristics. When I went to my local range, using either the rifle bay or handgun bay (depending on the status), I was able to accomplish the beforementioned goals. For me, this was a good start. After that, I started making some calls in order to find a more "realistic" shooting environment. To expand on this, you could also spend a bit of time working on loading/unloading drills at home while using high quality dummy ammo. Of course, you could also add "mounting" or "shouldering" practice to the list. After a while, you can try doing some of these "drills" in the dark...concentrating on safety and the accurate use of speed/readiness. Of course, it should go without saying, make absolutely sure your gun contains no live ammo when practicing at home.

One more thing: consider "training as you fight." For example, if you tend to only keep 4 or 5 rounds in the tube for HD use, load no more than this while at the range. Also, while at the range, practice such things as loading/unloading, safety engagement/disengagement, trigger control, etc. (all within the safety mandates of your local range, of course); all of these mimicking what you would do during an HD encounter. This kind of stuff helps develop certain habits...hopefully good/safe ones. After all, if you should ever encounter a violent HD situation, Im thinking that you would "automatically" resort to techniques/habits most used in the past.

Whether shooting at paper, skeet, plinkers, whatever...practice, practice and practice some more. Just keep in mind, there is more to HD than merely firing a weapon!
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Last edited by inSight-NEO; August 26, 2009 at 06:41 PM.
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