I'm not a newbie to firearms or shooting, but a newbie to consistent training. I've taken defensive pistol and carbine courses, have had a CHL for over 10 years, but have never sat out to train and definitely don't train/shoot regularly.

I want to change that. Like many others, the two limiting factors are time and money. I'm looking at an annual membership at a local range to avoid range fees, but I'm wondering for someone who knows how to shoot but can certainly stand to improve, will 50 Rounds a week shooting 9mm be enough? Is there any type of proven threshold for training volume to actually get consistent groups with speed?

Thanks in advance.

50 rounds a week will be more than 90% of shooters. Like going to the gym, have a plan before you go to maximize your 50 rounds.

Dry firing throughout the week before you hit the range will also give you the reps needed to build confidence in your shooting process. Lots of good resources out there for dry firing.

Thank you. I'll start searching dry fire training.

50 rounds a week is way more than the average know it all internet commando shoots. Good for you!

When I read it in this context, it makes a lot of sense. It's not 10,000rds a year, but it's also not 50 a year, either. Thanks.

50 rounds a week is pretty good for most folks that aren’t carrying guns for a profession or training for competition. Add in dry fire a couple times a week, and you’ll be ahead of 90 percent of gun owners.

Get a timer, and shoot some drills that have measurable standards. Just shooting 50 rounds with no plan or goals will be less effective.

Thanks for the reinforcement of having a plan. That's part of what I was hoping to get out of this post. 50 rds a week, how can I make them count?

Just shooting is not training.  

Take a class, that actually is training, then practice what they tought you.

Try a few of the 50 round range guides like TrexArms and Clint Smith has one too I believe. Might find some on youtube. Also, police or federal handgun qualifications are sometimes 50 rounds. They are a great way to get a baseline. After that, its go where your ability takes you. Isolate what basics you need to improve, find specific drills for those and then progress into a variation of drills like 25 yrd B8 slowfire or Bill drills.

This site helped give me a few ideas on what to practice
https://tacticalhyve.com/shooting-drills-the-ultimate-list/






Sounds like he has

50 rounds a week is a great amount. Buy ammunition by the case.

Thanks. I usually do, but I haven't purchased ammo in a while. I still have around 600-700 round, so it should me started as I choose the right range for me and research training topics.

@58Teague
That tactical hyve site is an awesome resource, thanks for posting that!

5×5 Drill is only 5 rounds.  It's a good start for balancing speed and accuracy.

Bill Drill 1 & 2 burn a bit more ammo, but are well worth it

The Test is more advanced

As others have said, you’ll be training FAR MORE than the vast majority of “gun people”.  

As a Newb, working on safe gun handling skills, dry practice, etc is very important.  It costs nothing but be HYPER VIGILANT about insuring your weapon is unloaded and no live ammo is nearby when doing this at home.

I’ve been carrying since 1992 and have witnessed a couple of bad things happen when people get lax with the basics (usually due to over familiarity).

Everyone is different OP. Different money, time etc. Use the 50 rounds to achieve something as oppose to just plinking. Try for a 5" group at 10 yards for the last 5 rounds of the day for example. Next week if you make the five inch group reward yourself with a second try at it. Things like this do make you focus.

Like others have pointed out, have a plan on what your shooting (practice) will involve.  Strong hand, weak hand, emergency reloads, tactical reloads and if possible, move and shoot.  Don't just stand and shoot at a target.  If possible, practice different distances.
There is no need to go through 100 plus rounds each time you go to the range.  Also do not load your mags full.  I load 2-5 rounds in a few mags and mix then up.  That way I have no idea when I am out of ammo.

OP- Training can be very subjective. To begin I would identify the objectives you want to accomplish in your firearms training with realistic goals achieved per expected time period. Determine a good mix of dry practice that will complement your live-fire 50 round practice. What Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) or skillsets are you striving to achieve, and are you logging your dry practice and live-fire practice sessions to identify your strengths, weaknesses and gains?

Creating a robust firearms training program for your expected needs, you’ll need to be honest with yourself to determine your useable firearms skill set and determine what skills you’ve learned along your firearms journey that have held the test of time with positive results and still offer that flexibility for growth. My almost 30 year career in the firearms training field I encountered a lot of people who over complicated their firearms training and failed to identify the most important skillsets of the basic marksmanship fundamentals.

Example:

    Step 1: ID your strengths and weaknesses;
    Step 2: Design a firearms training plan that will measure and strength your firearms objectives and expectations;
    Step 3: Establish a scheduled time table and resources dedicated for the training plan. Since you indicated 50        
                 rounds a week, then will design a robust dry-fire practice sessions that will validate your live-fire  
                 sessions. For every live round fired, your plan should include at a minimum 10 dry-fire trigger pulls,
                 which is about 500 dry-fire trigger pulls a week. For a 5-day practice plan that’s about 100 dirt-fire  
                 trigger pulls per day.
    Step 4: As indicated, time is a factor, so setting aside 15 minutes of dry practice a day is feasible within a 24
                 hour period. As you progress you can always add more time to your dry-fire practices to build stamina
                 for live-fire sessions, just be cognizant not to burnout during dry practice. It will carry over to live-fire
                 sessions.
    Step 5: Keep your training fun and invigorating. You’ll recognize the time when its a life saving skill your learning
                 and applying, and when it’s just to let your hair down and have fun! ( I shot for 17 years on my National
                 Marksmanship unit. It started out as fun but then became work and I pursued the peak skills to win
                 matches!

Take a few steps back and identify your strengths and weaknesses, and log them into your training book. Design micro drills, both dry-fire and live-fire practice sessions that will test your perceived firearms skillset to measure your abilities in the mental, visionary and physical planes. Don’t be afraid to experiment and fail in your practice sessions, that’s how we excel. Failure points bring out our will to strive, excel and improve our abilities for continuous improvement! Best of luck in your training journey and best wishes!

50 rds a week is 200 rds a month, is 2400 rds a year.
9mm is currently about $250 a case (1k rds) including shipping.
So, for about $625, you would have 2500 rds.
That does not include range fees or gas for your car to make it too/from the range.
For about $900 you could purchase a Cool Fire CO2 dry fire system and a Mantis X10 Elite and be able to “shoot” as many rounds as you want, whenever you want.
If you only “shoot” 50 rds a week, it will take about 18 months to pay for itself,(based on ammo prices alone).
If you “shoot” 100 rds a week, it will pay for itself faster.

You might consider going that route.