How do you structure your practice sessions?

Like a lot of you I work full time and have a family, I also try to practice once a week and shoot 12-15 matches a year.

Sometimes I wonder what to do to make the most of my practice. I try to alternate the course of fire. I try to stay focused on improving fundamentals but it can be easy to get distracted and just sling lead. What have you found to be most productive. I'm trying make the final push to master.

Smart question.

(Sarcastic Allen Iverson YouTube clips and sincere responses may follow.)

At the beginning of every year I set my goals for the year and try to do an honest, no-BS assessment of what it will take to get there. From that I create a list of things to work on in training. Then I try to break those down as small as possible.

For instance, I know I need to clean the short line with each gun. What does that mean?

- Break first shot smoothly as the targets face
- smooth rhythm and recovery
- squeeze on way in
- Hold well within the black
- "shoot the sixth shot" (i.e., same rhythm, recovery, aggressive trigger for all 5 shots)

Any one of those can be a single training session in and of itself. If I'm fortunate/smart/disciplined enough I can work on more than one in a single training session.

That's why they/ or himself call him the answer LOL

it's in the sticky:

https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t2071-what-do-you-practice-at-the-range

Lol that video is pretty funny. Thanks for the serious reply though.

john bickar wrote:- "shoot the sixth shot" (i.e., same rhythm, recovery, aggressive trigger for all 5 shots)

That's it right there!

I read this just before I was walking out the door headed to breakfast and then to the range. 

I have a bad habit of lowering the gun after the fifth shot, or any single shot without obtaining that "last" sight picture. I don't drop the gun so soon as to blow the last shot though.

I went and ate breakfast and went over my process continuously in my mind and made a very conscious effort at the range. 

Thank you for posting that in such a timely manner as it really helped!

That sticky also has some good stuff. It's amazing how easy it can be to practice sloppy. That's one reason I like matches, you are at your peak attention level.

Personally I retired...  Took a part time job at a local indoor range.  Turned into a 30 hour a week Rangemaster job. I shoot and dry fire all I can stand.  Matches are what I need more than anything.