Range Time and Endurance

[1-UP]

Just wondering how long you tend to spend at the range when you go. I almost always quit at about the 2 hour mark. Much less and it doesn't feel like a "satisfying" trip to the range. I can really feel fatigue setting into my arms at about the 1.5 hour mark though and my shooting quality begins to drop precipitously.

Now if I'm mostly shooting the breeze and not actual bullets, duration can increase exponentially.

[B. Lahey]

At my usual rifle range where the shooting positions are in the shade, I'll stay all afternoon.

But today I went to a different range. No shade. No breeze. Serious sun. I only stayed an hour. Any longer and my Irishy skin would have exploded in flames.

[Russ5924]

I will normally stay about two hours or until I shoot my 200 rounds. I find that after about 200 I tend to get a little sloppy with my shooting

[johnwilliamson062]

I said under an hour. That would be actual shooting time, not set-up or clean up or talking to someone about how great the LCR looks and how we are both waiting to see how they hold up. After an hour of shooting I don't get much out of it as far as improving my trigger pull etc are concerned.

The only exception would be if I am shooting a 22lr for fun.

[chris in va]

Depends on the amount of ammo I have, and the condition of the targets. Bowling pins last pretty long but don't stand up so well to multiple hits with an AK round.

[Slopemeno]

I found that more sessions for shorter periods of time made a positive difference in my performance.

[wingman]

I found that more sessions for shorter periods of time made a positive difference in my performance.

Same here.

[Kermit]

Back in the day, we would go through 1000's of rounds and spend hours at the range at a time. Now, w/ the scarcity and cost of ammo, we don't shoot as much or stay nearly as long

[Kreyzhorse]

If I'm at the rifle range, I'm usually there at least two hours. At the pistol range, I plan on being there about an hour.

[Dingoboyx]

If I have noobs & fellow shooters it's great to hang out all day. On my own, maybe 2 hours tops..... gets boring. I like the social/sharing part of shooting... the look on noobs faces & outshootin' my buddies (well, I try)

[ZeSpectre]

If I'm training I can get in about an hour before I'll start making fatigue mistakes or loosing focus. Beyond that I'm just burning ammo for no particular extra gain.

When I run the "Staunton Shoot n' Greet" get together I'm there for many hours but that's as much a social event as it is a shooting one.

[Arub]

I go for fifty to one hundred rounds (pistol). After that, I start slinging lead rather than shooting. Ususally meet a friend at the range and the session runs about 1.5 to 2 hours.

[grymster2007]

Usually one to two hours. At our recent annual mancamp, for one session we had 12 or 15 guns and 10 or 12 shooters, including lot's of noobs. I think we went well over 3 hours, but I probably only put 50 rounds or so downrange. Spent a lot of time helping others and that's fine. I get some significant satisfaction from helping people have fun while learning to be safe shooters.

[Sevens]

REALLY depends. If I'm there with my bro-in-law as we often do when we get together (he lives 200+ miles away) then we tend to do a lot in about 1.5-2 hours, then wrap it up. Typically, we are at a public range and we keep things moving along, especially since we usually have more plans the rest of the day with other things. (family stuff, etc)

If I'm at a public range by myself, I almost always have at least 3-4 handguns with me and I plan to be there at least 3 hours or more.

If I'm headed to my private range at my buddy's place, then I usually arrive about 9 or 9:30 am dragging more stuff than you can imagine and I don't typically pack up until 3 or 4 pm. I'm usually driven out by hot sun, feasting mosquitos, pestering flies, or hunger. But suffice to say, I don't ever quit because I'm bored or out of ammo or sick of shooting.

I do have one little scheme that I run, and I'm sure others do also. When I'm at a public range, I always have my Ruger Mark II with me. Sometimes I shoot it because I want to, but other times, it just makes the trip with me. When I've accomplished all I set out to do (usually load development or trying a new handgun) and most of my centerfire ammo is gone, I still have an enormous load of rimfire. So I'll shoot .22 as a cool-down and wrap-up, but I also keep it at the ready for when more shooters are arriving or there's a bunch of neglected brass (or the chance of neglected brass) to be left behind. This way, I can stay at the range when some of the twice-a-year warriors come out and sling 100 or 200 pieces of brass then take off for their golf game or their evening tea.

I offer to help folks police their brass and happily give it to them if they want it, and MORE happily take it for myself when they don't. Most folks, when I help them pick it up not only don't mind when I want it, they'll also clean up their shooting point and then drop it in my bag for me. It's social, enjoyable, and a great way to make up for some of the pieces of my own that I inevitably lose.

But yeah... bottom line for me is that RANGE DAY means a full morning and most of an afternoon of shooting. I don't ever recall leaving a range because I'm sick of shooting.

[CWPinSC]

1 - 2 hours for me. At the end of 2 hours, my arm is getting tired and I've shot up an obscene amount of ammo.

[Maser]

Depends on whether I'm shooting at an outdoor range, indoor range, or a non-range (shooting spot). Also depends on the guns I'm shooting. If we are talking about an outdoor range and shooting my friend's .30-06 rifles, can go about 100-150 rounds before my shoulder gets sore and I spend less time shooting and more time watching. I really can't handle hard kicking centerfire rifles that long. Centerfire handguns are different for me. I seem to be able to handle hard kicking handguns more than I can handle hard kicking long guns. So I pretty much can shoot those all day until the range closes or I'm out of ammo. Rimfire handguns and long guns are no problem. Ammo is cheap and I can shoot those all day. Indoor ranges it doesn't matter what I'm shooting because I don't like spending much time there due to it always being overly cold down there. And as far as shooting spots, well no closing time.

Sorry, I can't give actual time frames, but it's pretty much on average in the neighborhood of 1-3 hours unless no closing time and shooting rimfires.

[CortJestir]

I can go for about 2.5 hours max and then diminishing returns start making a waste of ammo and targets.

[FrankenMauser]

That question has a multitude of answers... depending upon weather conditions, actual range visited (I haven't been to a real range in over 8 years), firearms being used, ammo being tested, and how I happen to feel.

Typicaly 'range' sessions will last 3-6 hours for me, but the time is split between actual testing and just plinking. That's the beauty of the desert. If you're bored with sitting at the bench... go take a walk and chase some jack rabbits.

[J.Smith]

Rifle typically 2 hours
Handgun typically 2 hours and 250 rounds. I can shoot 230gr .45ACP all day.

[overkill556x45]

It usually takes me and my buddy (or buddies) about 3 hours per trip. I try to keep the round count lower because I want to save some money and sometimes my shooting goes to crap the longer I'm out there (sort of like my golf game--one bad shot ruins the day).

These days I'll take maybe 150rds for the Tokarev and 45 rounds for either the Nagant or 24/47 Mauser. I shoot the .22lr a bit more--maybe 200 rifle and 200 pistol if I can find ammo. Either way, I seem to have a better time if I come up with a rough sort of training outline of what I want to practice while I'm out there. Just standing there squared off with a target at a known distance gets dull for me after a while.

[Steviewonder1]

For load development about 15 minutes, only will be shooting 10 rounds and recording results. For practice 30 minutes to 2 hours, or when I get ankle deep in brass. Then it is time to sweep it up and leave.....

[PhoenixConflagration]

I quit when my broke @$$ runs out of bullets, which is usually in 45-60 minutes (100 rounds).:barf:

[raftman]

Depends on the variety of guns I and whoever I am with bring. It tends to range from just one pistol and one rifle between 2 people, to something like 8 firearms between 2 or 3 people. When it comes to ammo, that usually ranges from 150 rounds to about 500. Time spent will be anywhere from under an hour to over 3 hours.

[MosinM38]

I shoot all the time I don't let the urge build up.

Most at set times though is an hour. I don't do actual "Range" very often.

Usually 4-5 mags at most (Some exceptions). The vast majority is nearly constant (5-6 times a day) a brief 5 minute break shooting gophers with my handgun.

And then there's .22's at gophers, .22's plinking, .223.etc. ALl varies depending on the day

[rampage841512]

I can't really give an accurate response to this. I go until the ammo I've allocated for that particular training session is gone. Generally, though, I'm usually shooting for 2 to 3 hours. But it just depends. I've been known to spend all day running through various drills I've constructed or just plinking away with a rifle. Sometimes I'll just do a cold run with one magazine out of my carry gun just to see how I do without any kind of warm up.