Do it in groups or not at all

If I do something I try to do it well - no point in doing something badly. Striving for 'continual improvement' has been a constant also; it just makes sense to try and do better, be better.

I was recently shown a shooting target which had bullet holes sprayed over then entire surface, no grouping whatsoever. Considering the main objective of shooting is accuracy...well, there wasn't much accuracy to be found on that person's target. It made me think about my own shooting journey and how I've progressed throughout almost thirty five years of being a shooter. From the moment I began I wanted to do better and actively sought out ways in which I could be - I got very good at it. That's me above with a steel gong I tagged at almost 1,300 metres, you can see my two shots in the dinner-plate sized target....it took a lot of effort to learn to shoot at that range with accuracy and repeatability.

I'm often asked if I ever miss and, yes, sometimes I do, is the answer.

I don't miss much though and that's because I work constantly at honing my skills. I'm a trained long range rifle shooter and am also trained on handguns, both of which are perishable skills, and I have to work at staying at a high level of competency. I instruct others now and one things I look for in shooters is the desire to improve, if I don't see that I don't waste my time because there's no point in doing so. Wanting to be better is one of the keys to actually becoming better.

_{I taught my girl how to shoot a while back, she wanted to do what I do. This was a group she shot with one of my .308 rifles at 200 metres after her first day of instruction. She can shoot accurately out to 1,000 metres now (one kilometre) and hit a chest/torso-sized target with a hit percentage of about eighty five percent on target; it's a solid effort and I'm proud of her.}

I remember showing off targets as a young lad once or twice in the very early days; embarrassing but true. There was a certain pride-factor when I had a target on which my groupings were ok and it felt nice to show someone. Thinking back though, those groupings opposed to how I was able to group shots later on after all that training I mentioned...those early groupings make me wish I'd crawled under a rock and hid in shame...or that I'd not showed anyone those targets.

_{Here's one of my steel targets I shoot with my 300 Winmag rifle at long range - it's about the size of a standard person's torso. Within the lead splash-marks you'll see distinct bullet impacts to the 'head' and 'chest' section which I made at 1,000 metres. My girl made the two individual shots you can see to the 'shoulder' and 'lower breastbone' areas. She hates shooting my 300 Winmag (it kicks violently) but does a reasonable job with the rifle.}

Shooting accurately is not easy; it takes years of training and practice. Shooting accurately at a range is easier than shooting in the field and under duress and there's many other factors that can cause a shooter to be inconsistent or simply shoot badly...the greatest of which is the shooter himself, or herself which is partly a mindset thing.

I've seen many people out there at ranges and other places who fail to keep the form, forget (or neglect) their training or instruction or who apply the principles incorrectly - some just lack the aptitude...I can accept all that, some just want it more than others I guess. What I don't like is when people simply don't try to improve and accept bad results - I see it as poor character and figure it permeates other aspects of their lives.

I don't mean someone who will probably only shoot once in their life, I mean people who are regular shooters and especially those who show off their targets which are covered with scattered bullet holes without any thing that even resembles a group. Idiots.

_{This is three shots from one of my .308 rifles at 200 metres after I zeroed the scope in. If a long range rifle can't group like this at 200 metres it will never be accurate farther down range. They call this grouping a 'clover leaf' as the three holes so close together they sort of resemble one.}

Shooting is a serious business and can be dangerous, firearms are unforgiving and when things go wrong they go very wrong...in my opinion, there's no room for showboating and certainly no room for those who don't respect firearms and the fact that they could actually die operating them, or kill someone else. It's not a video game where one can respawn and continue from where one left off. It needs to be respected and one, in my opinion, needs to focus on improvement because doing it badly may end up costing more than a person wants to pay.

I believe a person who operates a firearm has an obligation to understand what they are doing including the safety aspect and general operation and to seek to improve their skills.

The above situation is not always the case though and many times I come across people who just want to blast away and brag that they hit the target regardless of the lack of skill and accuracy; it's poor form in my opinion - firearms are not toys and if shooting them can't be done properly it shouldn't be done at all. Not wanting to improve, not trying to, is irresponsible when it comes to firearms and there's a lot on the line, life itself. It's all about grouping and if one doesn't work to tighten up their groups one should stay away from firearms.

Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp

_{[Original and AI free]}
_{Image(s) in this post are my own}