We are starting to get into a tough season. This weekend is the only free weekend we have this month. July has at least half of the weekends claimed already and at least one in August. I love the summer but it is hard to do the things that I want to do.

Since I haven’t been to the range since February, I am very delayed in my planned goals for the year. In my head, I am OK with it because I have shot trap a couple of times and there is no ammunition to refill once it is gone. But I thought that I would share my plan on how to make the most of my time.

I am going to do my best to get there this month. But just in case, I will call it my next range trip plan. I have two 20 gauges. Last year I purchased a shorter barrel and a red dot sight for one. Neither have I ever had on the rifle range to see how slugs would perform, let alone sighted in. I would like to see the difference that a longer barrel vs. a shorter barrel would make. I would like to switch brands of ammunition to verify effect.

Said another way, I plan to sight in the red dot with slugs at 50 yds. Then I plan to check the difference of ammunition. After that, I plan on checking the pattern of buckshot at that difference. Along the way, I am going to switch barrels and firearms to see if I can tell the difference of different variables on the same ammunition. Below is the breakdown of my plan.

870 20 – sight in red dot on 18″ barrel (15)
870 20 – slug test field barrel (5)
870 20 – brand change (5)
R22/20 – test fire on range (5)
870 20 – pattern buck on range
870 20 – field barrel buck pattern
R22/20 – test fire buck

If you look carefully at the picture, you can see that the Remington slugs are 5/8oz and the Winchester slugs are 3/4oz. Reportedly, both are at a muzzle velocity of 1600 fps. It is highly likely that they will not zero at the same point with the red dot. And certainly, the heavier slug will have more drop at distance. This is why it is important to take your check your hunting ammunition at the range.

This is a fairly simple plan. It will likely take a couple of hours to perform. And even at 40 shots at most, it is still $125 worth of ammunition. My dad wants to go as well, so it will probably go a little longer, I would say it will be a good half day,

If the cost (and availability) of ammunition wasn’t so much of a problem, I would also have liked to try more ammunition variations like 2 3/4″ vs 3″ shells of the same brand, standard vs reduced recoil of the same length shell and some different chokes. I would also like to move out to 100 yards and maybe even 200 yards. I would also like to do some similar variations with buckshot as well. I am just not going to be able to get this done at least at this time.

Change Your Programming Routine: When time and resources are limited, planning makes the most of both. Being deliberate with your actions is the most efficient training that you can perform. I don’t know anyone personally, but I have heard through podcasts and radio people that shoot 1000 rounds a session. I have never had the inclination to shoot that much from a cost and time standpoint. I just want to make everything count.