Summertime gives all of us lots of opportunities to go shooting and get outdoors where the other three seasons of the year can greatly hamper those openings. If you feel like your shooting routine is getting stale or you simply have plateaued, then what do you do? One thing that you could try is a new shooting discipline entirely. You might be thinking, “how could shooting shotguns help my CCW or handgun skills?” Well, there are a lot of common properties and similar principles that can be fluidly applied between both. I have a great personal example to share from a recent trip I made down to the Remington Ammunition Plant a few weeks ago.
Like the example above, my shooting skills have flatlined for a little while now for the moderate amount of time that I am able to get out and shoot. I shoot roughly once per week with my handguns and they vary in size from a micro-compact Springfield Armory Hellcat to a full-size, Tyrant-enhanced Glock 17. When you are constantly pushing repetitions and rounds down range alone it is difficult to keep it exciting and fun for yourself. Shooting at different targets like steel gongs or even the occasional 2-liter pop bottle is definitely fun, but what are you to do if you don’t always have a cadre of friends to push you and cannot attend classes from a reputable instructor?... Like I alluded to earlier, it might be time to try a new shooting discipline.
I am not a big shotgun shooter, but while down visiting the Remington Ammunition Plant they offered us multiple, free rounds of trap and skeet shooting. I am never one to turn down the chance at shooting for free so when in Rome, right? I was a little rusty shooting shotgun, but quickly picked up on it and had a ton of fun, too. When I returned home and went shooting with handguns a week later all of my skills had improved like a Jedi mind trick. I was a touch faster… I had a slightly better draw stroke… and I had less hesitation getting on target and pulling the trigger. These are all strong principles you need to succeed in shooting trap and skeet fast. It didn’t dawn on me for a while, but venturing out and trying something new helped improve my pistol game. It is a simple idea, but I cross-trained my shooting abilities. So, if you ever end up like me and you feel as though your skills are plateauing it might be time to try something new. Until next time, continually check out our blog, join our newsletter, and watch the website for new and exciting updates! As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below. We love it when you participate in our articles and keep the conversation going!
