Low cost shooting practice

[Jimmybacon43]

Looking for ways to get better at shooting my AR other than by...shooting my AR

Normally I'd be shooting a lot of .22, but we all know why that's not going to happen.

So far I'm thinking dry-firing with the AR and maybe buying a pellet gun, but will these methods really help me become a better shooter? I don't have a ton of cash to buy as much .223 as I want to shoot, so I'm just looking for a low cost alternative.

Also any other suggestions for low cost ways to improve my shooting would be welcome.

[Divernhunter]

Pellet gun works.

[350skylark]

pellet or air soft.. some of the airsoft guns are incredibly similar in operation to the real weapons

[echopapa]

SIRT AR Bolt Trainer???

[HOGLEG]

I watch movies and training films. Then I draw the blinds and slip into my camo pajamas and go all tactical. pew pew pew!

[krwada]

I use dry fire. Pellet, or bb guns are good too.

Just about anything that allows you to overcome flinching is very good.

[Jimmybacon43]

Yeah, I don't flinch like really bad with rifles but it's enough to throw the shot off a little bit, I wanna get over that.

Most likely what I'll do is get a .177 break barrel air rifle, and just use that like all the time when I can't dry-fire or go to the range.

[ja308]

The Olympians reportedly dry fire 3 hrs for every shot fired. So yes dry practice is a great way to shoot better .

If you haven't been to a top notch school like gunsight, thunder ranch, NRA Whittington, Appleseed clinic, etc . I would suggest you do a program to learn perfect practice before expending lots of energy that may not improve your skills.

[someoneeasy]

dry fire and more dry fire. We use to dry fire the week prior going to the rifle range in the Marines, it helps.

Do you have a .22? If so, PM me, I might be able to help you out some

[mikehtiger]

Have you considered reloading? I can pump out .223 rounds pretty cheap!

[Anthracis]

Airsoft is good for weapons manipulation drills. Tac reloads, speed reloads, etc...but for trigger control, try dry firing with a dime on the end of the barrel.

Keep the dime balanced on the barrel while squeezing the trigger, keep the trigger squeezed and manipulate the charging handle, release trigger until reset and squeeze again while keeping the dime balanced.

Rinse and repeat...lol

[Walking Fire]

Get a Wrist Rocket and go to a Pea Gravel Pit...

[beanz2]

The easiest thing to stick to steel case ammo and clean the chamber well. If you look at Gunbot.net, steel cased .223 can be had for $.30 per round or so.

Someone must have suggested a .22lr conversion kit, about $190 for the simple kit. You use the exact same rifle, get the same weight and trigger feel, but different recoil and you may have to re-zero your sights when you go back to .223. And $190 buys you 542 rounds of Wolf Gold .223, and .22lr is a little hard to find these days.


Or to practice at home to save gas and range fees:
Laser Lyte:
You still fire using your rifle, so the same trigger feel, weight, sights, etc. but no recoil and you have to pull the charging handle each time.

These can be found for as low as $82 on Amazon (please use shop42A.com to access Amazon and have portion of your sale go to CalGuns Foundation)
You're still not saving all that much really, $82 buys you 230 rounds of Wolf Gold .223 or 273 rounds of TulaAmmo steel case.

In my case, I switched to 7.62x39 then 5.45x39, but it was a slippery slope toward AKs I never recovered from

[Jimmybacon43]

Airsoft is good for weapons manipulation drills. Tac reloads, speed reloads, etc...but for trigger control, try dry firing with a dime on the end of the barrel.

Keep the dime balanced on the barrel while squeezing the trigger, keep the trigger squeezed and manipulate the charging handle, release trigger until reset and squeeze again while keeping the dime balanced.

Rinse and repeat...lol

lol I did the dime thing, for a couple of "shots". My AR is a heavy barrel though so it might make it easier, maybe I should use a quarter. lol.

[Jimi Jah]

Get off your couch and order some .22LR from Cabela's. I got plenty from them for cheap, about $24 per brick of Federal.

Pop in a .22LR conversion bolt and shoot, for real.

Or buy a BB gun.