Effective Practice

                                  

“Practice makes Perfect.” We’ve all heard that motto/mantra over and over our whole lives. However, that statement is absolutely false. Yep. False. Practicing, by itself, won’t necessarily make anyone better, much less, ‘perfect.’ Practicing the wrong thing could possibly make someone worse, or even injured… The key word is ‘perfect’ so everyone should change that phrase right now to “Perfect Practice Makes Perfect.” Specifically for the precision rifle game, learning how to practice perfectly is key. It saves you time, wear on barrel life and other parts, bullets, brass, primers, powder…money. For me, it comes down to gathering accurate dope, and technically, just the barricade. Building a simple barricade and practicing, dry firing, holding on very small targets, and doing it all slowly and methodically at first and then under time constraints. Paying attention to every little detail. How is the position? Will it work consistently and under stress? Where are the cross hairs during follow through?  All of this done in the back yard, garage, or range. (For legal purposes, always follow the NRA established rules of firearm safety while practicing!)

Then, it’s time to verify your practice results with live fire at the range. Is my dope still accurate? Are my positions working under recoil? Is recoil management an issue and can I see the results of my impacts or do I need to adjust the position? What ever the answer, the corrections need to be made. The biggest problem is that everyone needs to find what works for them. That position I may observe someone else using may not work for me and vise-versa. Good news is the results of the dry fire practice can be verified with live fire on the range. Write everything down and keep accurate notes so you can gauge progress.  Ultimately, have fun!