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Zeke

Time at range you care to spend

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outdoor pistol - 1-2 hrs or so depending on weather. try to shoot 300 rds per session, so however long that lasts

outdoor rifle - 2+ hours. very therapeutic to sit on that damn bench with finger on trigger

outdoor clays - stay tuned. first shotguns incoming!

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31 minutes ago, Indianajonze said:

outdoor pistol - 1-2 hrs or so depending on weather. try to shoot 300 rds per session, so however long that lasts

outdoor rifle - 2+ hours. very therapeutic to sit on that damn bench with finger on trigger

outdoor clays - stay tuned. first shotguns incoming!

Ooooh you gonnna love it sooo hard you hate it!

trust me..

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5 minutes ago, Bklynracer said:

Indoors 1-2 hours, try for twice a month. Think I'm going to join Cherry Ridge to shot outdoors and try clays. 

We’ve ( we, wife and I and friends) have been hitting indoor once a month. That works for us. I get bored with paper.

She( MrsZ) would be there once a week min if was close and nice

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I like to show up early on a week day when I have the whole place to myself.  I'll typically shoot clays for 45 minutes or an hour.  If it's handguns half an hour does it.  Rifles - an hour or a little more.

I'm in and out.

I often shoot clays for half an our or so all by myself before work.  I'll go though one box of shells and pack up.

If I'm taking a friend shooting, especially a new shooter, I'll stay as long as they want to stay but I always try to figure out when they're feeling like it's been long enough so they don't feel trapped at the range.

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8 minutes ago, maintenanceguy said:

I like to show up early on a week day when I have the whole place to myself.  I'll typically shoot clays for 45 minutes or an hour.  If it's handguns half an hour does it.  Rifles - an hour or a little more.

I'm in and out.

I often shoot clays for half an our or so all by myself before work.  I'll go though one box of shells and pack up.

If I'm taking a friend shooting, especially a new shooter, I'll stay as long as they want to stay but I always try to figure out when they're feeling like it's been long enough so they don't feel trapped at the range.

Hear ya with new shooters. Frustration and fatigue ... always another day I say

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Clays all day, multiple days. In fact just back from the Gunshine state and several days at different ranges.  Quail Creek Plantation now added to the list with the OK Corral Gun Club.  Still waiting for the Palm Beach County Shooting Sports Park to open, should be soon.  Need to get a FL address. Need some more $78 R/T airline tix.

Local club every Thursday Evening followed by burgers and brew at the firehouse social club. How long? Until the ammo runs out!

Outdoor range at least the whole day, any week day. 

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As recent as a few years ago (prior to the formation of the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners) I would hardly ever go "casual shooting" or "plinking", as I would be kept quite busy shooting multiple league events/disciplines at several clubs/ranges.  Friendly "competitions" sponsored by the clubs where they were shot.  1st & 3rd Fridays were Old Bridge's USPSA Indoor Action:  4 Stages per evening of "runnin' & gunnin'" with a round count around 75 or so.  2nd Friday is still Police Practical Competition (PPC) as I'm the Match Director & Discipline Co-Chair at Old Bridge (have been for approx. 15 years now).  We do 2 relays at 60 rounds per relay engaging B-27's & B-34 silhouette targets from 7-25 yards employing strong-hand, weak-hand, freestyle (both hands) combined with sitting, kneeling, prone & standing positions using cover indoors.  First Sunday of the month I'd shoot black powder revolver & percussion sidelock rifle at Old Bridge Black Powder League.  3rd Sunday I'd shoot Shotgun League at Old Bridge (50 clays from Lincoln throwers in various presentations) AND THEN drive to Somerset Fish & Game to shoot IDPA Match (that Stu now is the Match Director of). 

For a while I was also a member of the Mallard Trap Club in Monroe Twp., NJ, where I'd shoot on Wednesday afternoons in the summer as well as a Saturday every-so-often.  I used to also shoot the Bowling Pin League when I was a member of the Monmouth Co. R&P Club years ago on the 2nd Sunday(?).  Weekdays on Tuesday & Wednesday I still shoot Shotgun at Old Bridge (clays thrown from radio-controlled electronic traps that offer limitless presentations) when I can get out there with the retired guys.  So basically, other than showing a Newbie the ropes in any of the several disciplines I shot, the only time I squeezed or slapped a trigger was in "competition".  Often I had to decide which league at which club I felt like shooting that day!  I couldn't begin to hazard a guess as to how much time I spent at the clubs/ranges.  Learning by DOING taught me a LOT; I can tell ya that much!

All of that has now changed thanks to my serious commitment to guarding the Second Amendment for all of us.  I mentor every other month at Tony Simon's "The 2nd is for Everyone: Diversity Shoot" held at Gun For Hire's Woodland Park Range, teach a Boy Scout shotgun or rifle Merit Badge every so often and still try to see you guys once in a while in addition to mentoring new shooters whenever the need arises.  All of my writing, meetings, press relations, travel, personal appearances, trade shows like NJSAFECON, CNJFO hog hunts, pheasant hunts, Lehigh Sporting Clays, etc. now take-up most of my time.  Somewhere in the middle of it all I managed to run a photo studio until my health waned a bit a few years back.  These days I enjoy mentoring the most, followed by black powder hunting of hogs & pheasants (we still have ONE opening for 3-17 Pheasant Hunt)!

FWIW all of the leagues I mentioned are still in operation to this day and non-members can shoot them, usually for the $20 minimum fee the BOT has set (Old Bridge).  Several leagues in addition to those I mentioned are available:  High Power Rifle, Bullseye, Adult Smallbore, Static Steel, Knockdown Steel, Rimfire Action (USPSA w/ a .22 semi-auto), etc.  If anyone need info about all this available FUN, just hit me up :) 

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Indoor: just over an hour or the 150 rounds I bring.  I usually try and shoot in groups of 5 rounds to see how much I improve or regress. 

Outdoor: as long as possibly can.  Love being outside.

clays: all day. I shoot the loop at LVSC at least once a month and local WMA range as often as I can since I live half a mile a way

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3 minutes ago, voyager9 said:

@Smokin .50 spent more time writing that post than I do at a range in a year. Lol. 

Hahaha!  You poor bastard!  Your guns never git DIRTY!  Time for me to make the pancakes & watch the snow melt!

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2 minutes ago, Smokin .50 said:

Hahaha!  You poor bastard!  Your guns never git DIRTY!  Time for me to make the pancakes & watch the snow melt!

It’s a sad fact that I’m more worried about cleaning them due to lack of use than I am dirt from use. 

As for your post, I think “events” would be more fun than putting holes in paper. At least once I can accurately do the latter so I don’t embarrass myself at the former. 

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"Events" are what I migrated to years ago.  These events are shot by all types of folks.  Former military, SWAT, clay dusters that can break 100 straight, Engineers, reloaders, gun builders, gas company dock foreman, Cops, Top Shot tv show contestants (JJ Racazza), and yes, even regular schmucks like me, lol!  It's amazin' what you can learn thru osmosis, how many holsters NOT to buy cause they work like SH!T, how to grip your guns, even how to transport within the constraints of NJ gun law (I load my mags before I leave the house, lol).  The bonus is you get to make lifelong friends that will literally surround you & loan you everything you need to shoot the match IF you forgot an item OR took the wife's car by mistake & all yer stuff is sitting in yer trunk in yer driveway!  I've seen it with my own eyes:  guy shows-up to USPSA Friday night Indoor Action match straight from doing overtime at work.  No gun, no holster, no mags, no ammo, no eyes & ears.  He came to "just tape" & gets a complete outfit loaned to him!  One guy has a spare hand gun, another has spare mags for it, another has a ton of extra ammo, someone loans him eyes & ears, and another guy or gal has a spare speed belt & mag pouches!  League competitions are a "brotherhood"!

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Pistol i bring 100 rounds, i usually bring 2 pistols at a time so 200 rounds total.

Rifle. usually 150 to 200 rounds usually spend hour two hour ish in the morning.

But i am disabled and i try to make it to the range 2 times a week aslong as the weather is decent. :-)

I get to cherry ridge range where im a member at like 8am walk my poor target, get everything set up and then wait til its time to shoot :-)

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When I first started shooting, I would regularly go through 1 to 2 bricks of .22s a session, on my own, mostly with a bolt action rifle, plus probably at least a box or two of 9mm.  I'd typically go about every month to 1.5 months.  Hours of shooting cost $35 (2 bricks of .22) plus a $10 lane rental for the day.  When I was done, the ground around me was littered with more spent casings than all but the most outrageous Hollywood blockbusters.  The place I shot had pieces of wood hanging on ropes, usually 9 pieces per lane, and I would shoot away chunks of them from the bottom up.  I had to switch lanes at least once because I ran out of wood to shoot.  I really miss reactive targets - shooting those wood chunks was hugely fun.

I still spend the vast majority of my time on rimfires at outdoor ranges.  While I still enjoy a good mag dump, I have slowed way down from my early days.  My last range trip, I brought only two .22 bolt guns, went through about 200 rounds between the two, and was there about 2 1/2 hours.  Other times, I might spend 4.5 hours on the range; 60% of my time on precision rimfires on the rifle range (likely 100-250 rounds), 10% on centerfire rifle on the rifle range (likely 20-80 rounds), 15% on plinking rimfire on the rimfire range (including .22 pistols) (likely 100+ rounds of the cheapest crap that will run), and 15% on centerfire pistols on the pistol range (likely 50-150 rounds).  I'd say outdoor range, bare minimum for me is 2 hours, maximum of around 5 hours

Clays - I almost always end up being late for NJGF outings, so I'm usually only there ~2 hours and 50-100 rounds downrange

I've only shot indoors once, for an hour, and dunno if I'd really care to go back- there was an overwhelming feeling of having to rush.  I'd rather spend the money on ammo since I already have a year membership at my outdoor range, and don't feel like I have to rush the entire time.

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"I've only shot indoors once, for an hour, and dunno if I'd really care to go back- there was an overwhelming feeling of having to rush.  I'd rather spend the money on ammo since I already have a year membership at my outdoor range, and don't feel like I have to rush the entire time".

Lots of Noobs "finish a box of ammo" because they're paying by the hour at an indoor commercial range & feel they "have to get their money's worth".  When I bring a Noob to the club I belong to for some mentoring, I bring cigars and in nice weather I cook lunch on my Little Webber Charcoal grill!  Shoot a little, relax, use a D-Lead wipe, cook some burgers, chops or a steak, wash it down with a cold soda or water, have a cigar & shoot some more.  NO RUSH!  Indoor ranges do have their usefulness, especially during inclement weather or after dusk.  Like anything else, it's a balance :) .

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I participate in a local indoor shooting league; once a week I spend about 90 minutes at the range shooting 150 rounds. I belong to an outdoor club that I try to get to once a month hen the weather is agreeable. When at the outdoor club I will spend a few hours to a half day shooting pistols and/or rifles. 

I enjoy the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Program courses of fire; they keep me focused on a specific goal when shooting. 

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I prefer multi day classes if training - multiple 10-16 hour days (breaks as needed for food, instruction, and rest). I retain more, even if it’s a fraction of what’s covered by the instructor.

An occasional 1 day (8-12 hour) class as a tune up is good too.

For practice sessions I stay as long as it takes to complete my range plan.

Go to the range with a plan. Have a drill or two that lets you work on a skill. Limit how much ammo you bring. Avoid ballistic masturbation.

If you do it right, you can make each round you fire make you better.

If taking new shooters, I stay as long as it takes to make them feel accomplished without getting too fatigued.

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Never shot indoors. Usually 2 to 3 hrs outdoor. Im usually with at least 1 other person and with all the cease fires at R14 it doesnt leave you with much time, unfortunately. Its an hr drive each way and with work and kids i can generally go only once every month or two.

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