Posted: 2/19/2016 4:16:46 AM EDT
| Professional Athletes around the world will run with weighted vests, parachutes and tires attached to their backs. Baseball players and golfers will swing weighted bats and clubs. All of this to get a quicker first step, to build endurance and stamina, get quicker bat and or club head speed to hit a ball. Does anyone think this same theory could be applied to firearms? Would training with a heavier grain bullet, help your grip for a lighter grain bullet ? Has anyone done this, or heard of it being done? I've seen the opposite where people train with lighter loads because the recoil of the larger load is a bit too much to shoot often (.357, .38 special comes into mind, not to mention same caliber, lighter grained bullet weights and reduced recoil loads). |
|
Not really, or yes, or maybe. Heavier bullets to stay at the same pressure levels go slower velocities. This can translate into the recoil impulse being longer and less "snappy" and easier to control recoil wise. Or... not. Depends on the round. Also depends on the shooter. I.E. I find 147 grain 9mm standard pressure ammo shoot WAY smoother and with less muzzle rise than standard pressure 115 grain. So pressure for pressure, not really. As you pointed out, velocity for velocity, .357 in your example, can lead to training scars. Tons and tons of dryfire with lots of live fire is what does the trick. |
|
I practice with the same loads I compete with, so there is no difference.
I have found practicing with hotter loaded rounds just throws me off when I go back to the lighter ones. I used to shoot 115gr 9mm because they were cheaper, but I got talked into trying 147gr. It threw me off for a good month or so before I got used to the different recoil impulse. (Lighter bullets loaded to the same power factor will be a heavier recoil for pistols, btw) I don't think it's necessarily wrong to practice with hotter ammo, but I don't think it's really a benefit. Depending on what your game is (or if you're even talking about a game) I think it's more beneficial to focus on other things. |
|
Quoted: Does anyone think this same theory could be applied to firearms? Would training with a heavier grain bullet, help your grip for a lighter grain bullet ? Has anyone done this, or heard of it being done? Not really. A lighter grain bullet at the same power factor is going to feel snappier. It's counter-intuitive, but true. I've used 115gr before in practice due to cost but the benefit of having one load for everything far outweighs the benefit of saving a fraction of a cent per bullet. I get where your head is at on this topic, but your shooting will be better served by focusing on more low-hanging fruit. |
| Perhaps a heavier bullet/increased pressure will/may not work. But food for thought, if a professional baseball player adds weight to his bat to make his swing faster, what if a shooter were to wear a weight on his wrist. Much like what a jogger would wear on his or her ankle for increased resistance. After practicing a draw x number of times, would your arms not feel lighter and possibly faster? |
|
Quoted: Perhaps a heavier bullet/increased pressure will/may not work. But food for thought, if a professional baseball player adds weight to his bat to make his swing faster, what if a shooter were to wear a weight on his wrist. Much like what a jogger would wear on his or her ankle for increased resistance. After practicing a draw x number of times, would your arms not feel lighter and possibly faster? Not sure if serious. |
|
I think it would be detrimental. I use the same bullet weight for training, concealed carry, shtf stash, etc for handguns.
With different weights the gun will recoil differently, which might throw you off compared to your training rounds. I have a pretty good idea where my front sight will go when I pull the trigger. Change up the bullet weight and I'm sure it will change some. I might to to shoot some different weights this weekend to see if I can really tell a difference. |
|
Quoted:
Perhaps a heavier bullet/increased pressure will/may not work. But food for thought, if a professional baseball player adds weight to his bat to make his swing faster, what if a shooter were to wear a weight on his wrist. Much like what a jogger would wear on his or her ankle for increased resistance. After practicing a draw x number of times, would your arms not feel lighter and possibly faster? Fair point. Adding weight to your wrist could theoretically improve draw speed. But I think that's a different scenario entirely vs changing bullet weight. ETA: welcome to arfcom! 
|