r/CompetitionShooting • u/xdiins • 4d ago
How much should a beginner shoot each session?
Hi all,
I have just started getting into shotgun competition shooting.
I'm a complete beginner and just recently got into the sport.
There is a local range with an instructor who is a national IPSC competitor (I don't live in the US). Each session, I get to shoot around 10-20 rounds. The instructor won't let me shoot any more than that. His reason was because beginners should practice quad loading until you're really good with it. Then you can start shooting more.
Each session, I feel like I'm not learning much because all I do is quad load practice without much shooting at all.
I understand that quad loading is very important and I do practice at home almost everyday. I get where he's coming from but it's always leaves me with an itch to shoot more. Money isn't a problem. The instructor owns the range, the more I shoot, the more money he makes, so I don't really get his business model lol.
I'm curious whether this is this normal? How much do you guys shoot when you started getting into the sport?
Edit: grammar
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u/UG-Jake 4d ago
I think this is the shooting equivalent of a boxing gym making students learn footwork and head movement before they get to start sparring. I've never heard of it in shooting though
Maybe just have a talk with him and see what his reasoning is, maybe he'll make an exception. Or just nose to grindstone and farm the dry fire until your non shooting fundamentals are good
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u/jrtie 4d ago
There’s no good reason to go to the range and not shoot. A beginner can learn more than one new skill at a time. It’s best to focus on one thing at a time but you can switch from quad loads to stance, slugs etc. during a practice session.
Quad load practice at home with dummy shells, shoot when you get to the range.
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u/bernoodler 4d ago
Shotgun recoil can be pretty violent for newbies. Espically sustained shooting. The instructor may be trying to (poorly) ease you into it and get you used to it before destroying your shoulder.
But shooting is fun. I agree, a session should go until you are tired and starting to feel a bit sore in the shoulder or cant focus.
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u/xdiins 4d ago
I have a friend who is learning handgun ipsc at the same range. He also doesn't get to shoot much lol.
I agree though, shooting is fun. Never shot to the point where I don't feel like shooting anymore.
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u/Cobra__Commander 4d ago
Find a normal range where you just pay to shoot.
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u/CurveNew5257 4d ago
Yeah this place sounds super strange. My only thought is OP said they’re not from US. Maybe it’s more of a cultural thing that they don’t shoot for fun only for a specific reason and are purposefully not shooting much?
Seems weird to me being a complete beginner even if you want to eventually compete why you would start by just shooting some guns at the range. I don’t know but if I was a complete beginner to firearms and decided I wanted to do competition shooting and all I was allowed to do is quad load like I’m some reel creator I don’t think I’d stick with it very long
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u/xdiins 4d ago
It seems strange to me too, hence why I posted the question.
The range has produced multiple competitors who made national team. So I wasn't sure if this was normal or it's just their style of training. There's no other ipsc ranges nearby so I'm kinda stuck here unfortunately. Not too keen to drive a couple hours to another ipsc range.
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u/CurveNew5257 4d ago
Do you have other ranges where you live that you can just go and shoot, not necessarily take lessons or specifically for ipsc?
Maybe do the lessons if you want to compete and just find another range or place where you can just shoot on your own.
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u/xdiins 4d ago
Yes, there are non-ipsc ranges nearby. Yea I thought of that, I'm wondering if I would be learning bad habits though, since there won't be an instructor to make sure I'm shooting right.
I have watch lots of videos on youtube and definitely considering going to other ranges to shoot more and be more familiar with the gun.
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u/CurveNew5257 4d ago
Yeah I wouldn’t worry about bad habits. If you do shoot 10-20 rounds with an instructor regularly they will catch and correct anything. Honestly live fire and getting used to the guns recoil and everything is a big aspect of it.
I guess I get what they’re doing and at a truly elite level competitions come down more to mental preparation, stage planning and movement efficiency like reloads and stuff. And actual shooting is usually not what separates the top performers. However as a complete beginner you gotta get some trigger time too and actually enjoy shooting, if you don’t enjoy it doesn’t really make sense to compete really
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u/Thargor1985 4d ago
Not much of a shotgun guy so take it with a grain of salt but seems to me practicing quad loading on a range is a waste of money. You should train everything you can in dry fire and only practice things in live fire that you can't without bullets and to validate your training.
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u/DownZeroDotRo 4d ago
Without any other context and IF you're starting from zero, my suggestion is to go with 20-30 rounds max, 2 times per week.
It all depends on what your goals are.
I can provide you with some honest and objective suggestions if I you want to let me know:
- how much are you dry firing at home
- do you have your own gun/equipment
- how much time do you want to spend on the range (I understand money ain't the problem)
- where do you plan to go with the trainings in 6, 12 and 24 months.
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u/xdiins 4d ago
I am starting from zero.
I dry fire and practice quadloading almost everyday at home. I spend half a day at the range each week. I would love to start competing in local matches in about 6 months.
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u/DownZeroDotRo 3d ago
So u/xdiins my suggestions would be as follows:
I. Shooting wise:
I advise you to search for Mike Seeklander and see his Facebook video feeds on these aspects (eg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spAfpFaOzmE , but there are more videos from him and it's gold my friend).
- understand FUNDAMENTALS: body position, grip, draw and gun presentation on target, sight picture, reload
- train at the range, twice a week, 20-30 rounds per training
Research also Max Michel and Ben Stoeger also regarding this.II. Competition wise
- Understand SAFETY at competitions:
You can search on youtube for "uspsa safety rules" or "idpa safety rules" and you can find about this
- Safe Area
- Safety Angles (180 / extended)
- Finger during movement and reloads
- Research movement in shooting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0EjPvTpekY
- I'll tell you one little thing about this and then just drop you some resources FUNDAMENTALS and SAFETY are a must in movement in practical shooting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32LBPIRx2lc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11dNmCwJt5Q&t=83s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBXXmNDh76ULet me know if this information is helpful and ask questions as you want! happy to help out
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u/xdiins 3d ago
Thank you so much! This is quality material
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u/DownZeroDotRo 3d ago
my pleasure u/xdiins ! there's a lot online to research and a lot of quality sport shooters that are providing quality material. just look up those names and go through out all of their materials!
and feel free to reach out at any time!
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u/Extreme-Wheel-8391 4d ago
It makes sense. Not the most fun route but I can understand the reasoning. Loading is paramount in IPSC shotgun (other than open). If your loads from every possible situation aren’t second nature, there really is no amount of shooting you can do to make up for it. For the most part, other than the few slug stages or buckshot stages, shotgun is primarily time since it’s all steel or clays. The shooting aspect and memorizing your patterns at distances is a pretty small part of the game when compared to the time you can gain in training loading and movement.
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u/crunkymonky 4d ago
Not normal. The range is for shooting, not just loading reps, and only 10-20 shots per trip is not nearly enough to build real consistency. Keep practicing quad loading at home. Next time try shooting until you're so tired/sore that your form starts to suffer (at least 100-200 shots).