Anyone who tells you that shooting is always fun and that he or she has never had a bad day on the range either has low expectations or doesn’t shoot enough. Those who train — and train well — understand that we all make mistakes. Sometimes, we simply have an off day.
My friend Rod is a consistent shooter who works hard. He has won a number of statewide and regional contests. He says that range work isn’t grim but that it can be demanding at times. Still, he puts in the work and wins often.
If you’re suddenly shooting worse than usual, the answer isn’t always to keep firing until things improve. Sometimes the best training decision is to stop, figure out what is going wrong and correct it before continuing.
This is similar to my philosophy on hiking and trail walking. I work hard at home. The trail or the hike isn’t the exercise. The training at home enables me to effectively engage in the activity. Even so, I’ve underestimated a trail before; ask my wife about the Tri-State Peak, but let me leave the room first.
Why Do You Have Bad Days at the Shooting Range?
Recently, I’ve been immersed in training to adopt optics for everyday carry, and it’s been a challenge. While I eventually made significant gains in speed and accuracy, there was a point when I was disappointed with my performance. I made the mistake of thinking quantity could replace quality. There is no magic number of rounds or range sessions that guarantees improvement. How often you train with your carry gun should be balanced with the quality and purpose of that training. I loaded 10 magazines for the Glock 19X/Holosun combination and fired until I developed a flinch and began clutching the trigger.
I’ve had bad days during the initial work with what are now some of my favorite handguns. Sure, I let it bug me, but not for long. After all, there have been many bad days, along with far more good ones. Consistency and on-demand performance are what matter.
In that spirit, let’s explore how to avoid bad days and recover from less-than-stellar performance.
Set Realistic Expectations
The first rule is to expect reasonable performance. If the handgun is a compact pistol, it should perform within the limits of its design. By the same token, a 45-ounce target gun has a different standard for accuracy and control.
With the Glock 19X/Holosun setup, I worked hard for very poor results. And that’s the real rub: I worked harder for bad results than I often do for good results. I felt like an amateur, jerking the trigger, missing the X-ring and failing to pick up the red dot every time. My hands shook from strain.
I thought picking up a flinch from a 9mm Glock was out of the question, but I managed to prove myself wrong after firing about 150 rounds. I fired too fast, and perhaps my death grip was too much. I picked up my brass, put the pistol and magazines in the bag, and went home.
I didn’t give up forever, just for that day. You need to know when to walk away.
Prepare Before You Go to the Range
There are things you should do before going to the range and things you should not. I have found that black coffee, for example, doesn’t give me the shakes, but missing a meal or failing to hydrate, especially in an outdoor setting, will really mess with my performance.
I’ve fought diabetes for a decade or so, and I have it under control and keep it that way. But if I don’t hydrate or keep something in my stomach, something is going to be off when I arrive at the range.
Now, you may say that you cannot prepare and plan for a gunfight, which is true. But a range trip involves tenfold more rounds than the hottest private-citizen gunfight. If you show up on an empty stomach or haven’t taken in enough water, you won’t be at your best. And in training, you want to be at your best: relaxed and properly prepared. Good results build confidence. You want to train well and become more proficient with each new practice session.
Don’t Ignore the Mental Side of Shooting
Sometimes a bad day at the range has very little to do with the gun or even your shooting fundamentals. Stress, frustration, distraction and pressure can affect performance too.
I learned that lesson the hard way during an IDPA match in which just about everything went wrong. My times were slow. I missed targets, hit non-threats and collected procedural penalties. I could blame the heat, a migraine, my equipment or any number of other things, but I also knew I could perform the same skills successfully during practice. The difference was the added pressure of the competition, the audience and that darn shot timer.
That experience reminded me that mental preparation matters just as much as physical preparation.
One teammate told me it was OK to have butterflies; I just needed to get them “flying in formation.” In other words, feeling nervous or anxious isn’t necessarily a problem. The challenge is keeping those emotions under control and directing that energy toward staying alert and focused. Another teammate recommended deliberately quieting the mind before it was time to shoot: Stop talking, stop visiting and focus entirely on the task ahead.
That advice applies outside competition too. If you arrive at the range distracted, frustrated or already putting pressure on yourself to perform perfectly, you may be making the session harder than it needs to be.
Take a moment before you begin. Focus on what you actually intend to practice rather than everything that could go wrong. And if your performance isn’t what you expected, don’t immediately decide that you’ve suddenly forgotten how to shoot.
Perfect isn’t the goal. Improvement is.
Bad shooting days can be discouraging, but they can also teach you something about how you respond to stress and frustration. As I’ve said before, I never lose when I’m training or trying. I either win … or I learn.
— Beth Alcazar
How Long Should a Shooting Range Session Be?
There’s also the matter of what each session’s duration should be. At least for me, more than an hour of constant practice can be counterproductive. And I repeat: Stay hydrated while you’re training. Take water with you, and don’t forget to drink it.
Range work, when done properly, is a workout of many skills. Just the same, don’t expect to run drills at your best when you’re moving to a new system. There’s stress involved when you’re switching to a different platform or sight setup, especially if the upgrade isn’t immediately recognizable as such — say, for instance, moving from a Glock to a 1911 or from tritium sights to a Holosun 509T. Take it easy as you go. The performance will come, so don’t lose perspective.
I often do range work three times a week or more, and most of it is work-related in one way or another. Shooting for fun on my own time is fairly rare.
Use Dry-Fire to Build a Better Foundation
An important preparation for range work is dry-fire practice. I use a triple-checked, unloaded firearm and aim at an area that would stop a bullet if I were to make a mistake. I get the measure of the trigger and understand its take-up, break and reset. This goes a long way toward firing accurately at the range. Dry-fire is essential, not optional.
I also practice quickly getting my sight picture and sight alignment squared away. With a carry optic, this step saves a great deal of frustration and, not incidentally, ammunition on the firing line. I start out easy — slowly and carefully — and combine trigger press and sight picture after coming to a good understanding of each. That’s my primary preparation, and I would heartily recommend it.
Stay Focused During Range Practice
At the range, concentrating on the task at hand is crucial. With four children and nine grandchildren, I find it difficult to convince myself to turn my phone off, but I do. (I can’t hear well enough to talk at the range anyway.)
Training shouldn’t be used as a distraction or to clear your mind. You must be in a good headspace, with your body prepared, or you may well have a bad day at the range. For some, range days are a once-monthly excursion at best. You don’t want to waste precious time because of poor preparation.
Take a Break When Shooting Performance Declines
If your range work is not going well, take a short break. Work on your breath control and drink some water. I have come to prefer indoor ranges for the convenience and easy access to restrooms, parts and concessions, not to mention a wide array of targets and ammunition. I take a break, walk a little, chat with the crew and then return to the firing line. Often, a recharge is a fresh start.
Not long ago, I broke off a training session, had lunch with my daughter and grandchild, and then returned to the range. Training isn’t supposed to be a torture test or a burn-down trial. I use the gym for that.
Know When Not to Train
If you’re tired or sick, it’s not a good idea to head to the range. As an example, I have an old injury that dogs me at times. (I have several, but this one is the worst.) I don’t need a cane every day — or even every week — but when I do, I really need the support. That’s not the day for training.
Perhaps it’s a day for bench-resting the Ruger Standard Model heavy barrel with a Bushnell optic or breaking an egg at 100 yards, but it isn’t the day for training.
Training is learning new things and building muscle memory. Repeating things I already know and am skilled at is another activity altogether. If you’re having a bad day physically, perhaps it’s time to engage in dry-fire. As mentioned, it’s the foundation of accuracy, and you can do it at home at your convenience.
Expect Shooting Skills to Decline Without Practice
We’ve all had that perfect day at the range — that day when our hand-eye coordination and the firearm we were holding combined to produce an epiphany. But if you’re away from the range for an extended period of time, your skill will deteriorate to some extent. Expect it. You won’t revert to novice status, but you won’t be as sharp. It happens to everyone.
I may not be as sharp every day as I am on my best day, but if I keep at it, I’ll remain consistent. I don’t focus on groups because a fast hit at 7 yards matters a lot more than how tightly I can clump rounds in slow-fire. Rapid-fire training is important, and so are controlled pairs and failure-to-stop drills.
Use a Baseline Drill to Measure Performance
As far as one drill to help make your range days more productive, I gauge my performance with a new gun using the “Standard Response Drill,” in which I draw and fire and get a center hit at 10 yards in 1.5 seconds. I also use this drill to test holsters and other new gear. It’s my baseline and has been for some time now.
Rule Out an Equipment Problem
Don’t automatically assume every poor range session is your fault. If a firearm begins malfunctioning, parts loosen or reliability changes, stop and inspect the gun. Shooter technique is often worth examining first, but equipment problems happen too.
Sometimes, the problem really is the gun.
Why Is My Shooting Accuracy Getting Worse?
When you’re having a bad day at the range, ask yourself why. What’s caused it to go off the rails?
In my case of training with that Glock 19X/Holosun combo for the first time, I was shooting the old way: I was driving hard and waiting to “get it,” but I didn’t correct my grip. When you’re moving to a carry optic, your wrist is locked slightly differently and your nose is driven to the rear of the slide in your line of sight. In fact, I sometimes teach a beginner to lay his or her cheek along the arm for a kind of cheek weld. (You can abandon the cheek weld as you achieve proficiency in red-dot shooting.) I should have remembered that I often give this advice.
Take some time for introspection. Your stance, grip, wrist lock or sight picture may need adjustment. Perhaps your trigger press is at fault. But whatever ends up being at fault, remember that a bad day at the range is a learning experience. And in order to avoid the day being a total loss, ensure that you diagnose the cause and move forward with what you’ve learned.
A bad day at the range is a learning experience. Diagnose the cause and move forward with what you’ve learned.
*This article originally appeared in the April 2026 edition of Concealed Carry Magazine and has been modified for the web.
Sources
Bushnell: Bushnell.com
Glock: US.Glock.com
Holosun: Holosun.com
Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.: Ruger.com
FAQs
Why am I suddenly shooting worse at the range?
Fatigue, dehydration, lack of food, excessive shooting, unfamiliar equipment and problems with grip, trigger press, wrist position or sight picture can all affect performance.
Should you keep shooting if you’re having a bad range day?
Not necessarily. If technique is deteriorating or fatigue is causing you to reinforce bad habits, take a break or end the session and diagnose the problem before continuing.
How long should you practice at the shooting range?
Bob finds that more than about an hour of continuous practice can become counterproductive for him. The appropriate length will depend on the shooter and the training being performed.
Can shooting too much hurt your accuracy?
It can. Bob describes firing until he developed a flinch, began clutching the trigger and saw his performance worsen. Quality practice matters more than simply increasing round count.
Does dry-fire improve shooting accuracy?
Bob considers dry-fire essential preparation for live-fire training because it allows shooters to work on trigger control, sight alignment, sight acquisition and familiarity with the firearm without using ammunition.
Do shooting skills get worse if you don’t practice?
Yes. Bob notes that an extended absence from the range will cause some skill deterioration, though an experienced shooter does not simply revert to beginner status.
