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Dry fire. A complete newbe needs tips


calebj06

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Ok so I've been looking all around on this site. Reading a lot and trying to learn. I will admit that I'm a complete newbe at competition shooting. 

 

So so far I've shot one local match and will shoot my first uspsa match in 2 weeks. 

 

Dry fire practice is completely foreign to me!  I see a lot said about it here but I have NO IDEA where to even start!!  

 

So so can someone break it down to me from the very beginning?  

 

Am am I best to get a book to start with?

 

Ive looked over Ben stoeger's site and looked at some of his drills and see he has some book that might be helpful. 

 

Im just not sure where to start at for a complete beginner! 

 

Do do I need a timer? Which one? What do I even use it for? HOW do I use it?! Lol. 

 

Do I need to buy uspsa targets or can I just cut some cardboard? 

 

 

I just just have no idea where to start. I don't wanna start the wrong way and ingrain bad habits.

 

Thanks

caleb 

Edited by calebj06
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So much to say, so little time.  Anything with Ben Stoger's name on it, will probably be a safe purchase.  You don't have to have books to  direct your dry fire, but it will give you direction and save you time in the long run.  My preference for dry fire targets is to buy them in sets from the companies that make them.  Although, you can certainly use your printer and paper to print scaled targets.

 

Initially, you won't need a timer, but you will eventually, so you might as well go ahead and get one.  

 

Start slowly and make it your mission to practice with perfect form.  For me, the most important thing about dry fire is to have adequate light to really SEE your front sight.  

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As someone who still considers himself new going into my third year of USPSA, my advice is to keep it relatively simple.  My first year and a half of dryfire followed one of Ben Stoegers plans and it was pretty comprehensive but I have since simplified a bit.  Movement into and out of position and barrier and port work is part of the game, but during my off-season dryfire this year and took them out and focused on draws (which help with getting a consistent grip and index), trigger control, transitions, and reloads.

 

And for me, having a schedule helps.  I get up early to do dryfire, and my days are M, W, F, S, S.  I have a sheet listing all the drills for the day as well as my par times.    This works better for me than just dryfiring when I have spare time and figuring out what I am going to do as I go.

 

I used an app for a long time, but a dedicated timer works better for me.  I can get more repetitions just clicking a button rather than going over and swiping the timer then restarting it every rep.

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You will want a timer at some point.  I used the practice timer IOS free, and it walks you through some drills and malfunctions.  Not great, but worth a free download.

I printed some targets I found online that are scaled for distance and then cut them from melamine, stuck bases on them and put them around my shop.  It gives me targets that I can vary and move for practice. 

I have the Ben Stoeger dry fire book and it is really well done with lots of drills to practice.  You will find all of your questions answered there for sure.

You can do a quick search for dry fire and find all the basics, but setting up a daily routine is the way to go for sure.  You will notice results just from practicing trigger pulls without moving the sights.

 

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Buy Ben's book, or Steve Anderson's.

 

Do the drills. You'll get noticeably better in two weeks.

 

I heavily advocate learning to dryfire by doing 15-20 minutes a day 5-7 days a week at first. A common trap is to do it for two hours and get sore and feel satisfied... and then not do it again for many days.

 

Do shorter dryfire sessions so that you're still hungry to continue when you quit for the day. It'll make you practice tomorrow!

 

Shorter practices 7 days a week also generate much more rapid improvement than long practice sessions done once a week.

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Speaking from my last year as a new shooter, you can get further than most local shooters with the "Shot Timer" iOS app, post it notes as dry fire targets, and a dedicated dry fire schedule.  

 

Being new to the sport, don't get caught up on which timer to buy, which dry fire targets are best, etc. Practice consistent draws, magazine changes and target (post it note) transitions by seeing your sights and you'll be B or A class in no time. 

 

 

Edited by TravisNC
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31 minutes ago, TravisNC said:

Speaking from my last year as a new shooter, you can get further than most local shooters with the "Shot Timer" iOS app, post it notes as dry fire targets, and a dedicated dry fire schedule.  

 

Being new to the sport, don't get caught up on which timer to buy, which dry fire targets are best, etc. Practice consistent draws, magazine changes and target (post it note) transitions by seeing your sights and you'll be B or A class in no time. 

 

 

Thx Travis. Some times it just needs to be simplified. 

 

Honestly, my goal is to become a B class shooter. If at that point I love it I'll think about getting real serious. 

 

But it I don't want it to take 5 years to become alB class either!!  Lol

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Just now, calebj06 said:

Thx Travis. Some times it just needs to be simplified. 

 

Honestly, my goal is to become a B class shooter. If at that point I love it I'll think about getting real serious. 

 

But it I don't want it to take 5 years to become alB class either!!  Lol

What division are you shooting?

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I have a set of those mini practice targets and I think they are a good idea.

 

Also, purchasing a timer like the ones used at matches is also a good idea.

 

The timers can be set to give "par" times and a delayed start tone. What this means is you can set if to beep 4 seconds after pressing the start button giving you time to get ready which is handy when dry firing by yourself. The "par" feature lets you set the timer to give another tone at a set time after the start tone. Handy for increasing speed of a drill because as you repeat it over and over and setting shorter par times you will get a sense of urgency and speed.

 

You will get used to hearing the sound of a timer and you will find that at matches it will be less stressful because you are used to hearing it.

 

Find a small fixed point at the wall like a light switch lever and use that as a target for slow fire. It is easy to see the front sight move while pressing the trigger at a small defined target, this will help you learn to hold the gun steady.

 

When you dry fire you want to make it as close to the actual conditions as firing a match. Wear the same gear, eyeware, holsters/belts and so forth. Buy or make inert dummy rounds that are easy to distinguish from live ammo. The added weight of your dummy rounds will help you learn muscle memory to exact live firing conditions and is better for your firearms than pressing the trigger with an empty chamber. Be very care and diligent to ensure that when you dry fire in your home that real live ammo is NO WHERE IN THE SAME ROOM as your practice session. Practice everything that you might do at a range including reloads and clearing jams, getting a sight picture, breath control, follow up shots, on and on. As others have said better to practice short periods every day than a long period once a week. Designate a "down range" section of your room and make sure you don't break the 180 rule or handle the firearm in any way that would be considered unsafe at the range.

 

Just a few thoughts I have....

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No expert, but recently added dry fire, I feel it has makes a difference.

I got Stoeger's book, because it has goals, and I need those, or I just go, "that was good enough". And it beats scouring the internet for useful drills.

You need a timer. An app will work ok for dry fire since you only need par time for it.

 

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3 hours ago, Beef15 said:

No expert, but recently added dry fire, I feel it has makes a difference.

I got Stoeger's book, because it has goals, and I need those, or I just go, "that was good enough". And it beats scouring the internet for useful drills.

You need a timer. An app will work ok for dry fire since you only need par time for it.

 

So what drills are you starting with?

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10 minutes ago, calebj06 said:

 

Not sure yet. Eventually will be carry optics when I get my dot. Right now, probably limited minor. 

C class shouldn't be an issue with minor scoring, but you'll need all points possible to make B in Limited.  Dry fire with a focus on magazine changes and target transitions and you'll make it.  

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So what drills are you starting with?

I started at the front of the book and have been moving through it. I skip an occasional drill, and revisit some to warm up.
I suggest the same, you may be surprised how hard some of the fundamentals/foundations/whatever he calls them are when you first try.
Now my focus is mostly movement as it is my horrible and very obvious low hanging fruit, and for that I'm not leaning on the book, but keeping logs so I can push myself harder.
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13 hours ago, Beef15 said:


I started at the front of the book and have been moving through it. I skip an occasional drill, and revisit some to warm up.
I suggest the same, you may be surprised how hard some of the fundamentals/foundations/whatever he calls them are when you first try.
Now my focus is mostly movement as it is my horrible and very obvious low hanging fruit, and for that I'm not leaning on the book, but keeping logs so I can push myself harder.

 

You could use cones to set up stations to practice your movement. Also suicide sprint drills will help with that type of quick directional change. It's always interesting to watch the top shooters, they're absolutely sprinting from one station to the next. 

 

I'm taking notes from this thread too. 

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If you want to get better at classifiers Anderson's refinement and repetition book is the ticket.  The first 17? or so drills in that book.  I used these drills for about 3 months in a row.  when you want to move on from classifier work I find stoegers books, especially his new one to be my style.  When I first started dry firing the par times seemed ridiculously unobtainable.  Drills like 6 reload 6 reload 6 seemed just impossible at first.  It will come with time and the par times are obtainable.  I'm close to M class with 75% dry fire training.  I dry fire for a minimum of 30 minutes every morning.  I find morning works best for me as I am more focused and alert.  Things I have learned personally from Ben, Jake and others about dry fire is always cock the hammer, learn what the trigger should feel like.  Work the trigger hard in dry fire because you will in live fire.  If you work the trigger hard and your sights are moving in dry fire your going to do it in live fire.  Grip the shit out of the gun in dry fire.  Stand aggressively like you do when shooting at a match, dont dry fire lazy.  Remove distractions like your phone.  Get a real timer, phone timers dont do well with sub 1 second par times (I like the new shotmaxx for dry fire because its convenient).  Be honest with your sight pictures.  Dont skip the drills that seem boring (25 and 50 yard sight pictures for me).  Remember practice makes permanent.  Once your up and running in your dry fire routine if you dont feel good about something, record it, post it up for others to review or pay a pro to review it for you.  

 

Learn what it feels like to go blazingly fast.  Learn what it feels like to shoot in control and call every shot.  Practice at speeds and intensity that the wheels fall off, but know what speed is consistent for matches.  If your not sweating by the end of a dry fire session and your hands are not tired and beat up, your probably not working hard enough.  If you grip your gun like a little B in dry fire you will grip your gun like a little B in live fire.  

 

Find an easy way to change up targets.  I have tried everything.  My current system that I am really liking is I bought some pieces of thin 1" wide metal (strap or flatbar) and mounted two rows of these to my garage wall.  I then purchased some reasonably priced magnets on amazon and glued the magnets to the back of my targets.  I can now throw up targets in any order I want quickly.  I can also add no shoots easily.  I like the cardboard targets from the ben stoeger pro shop.  You can do it cheaper on your own but these work and are the right size.  My time is limited so I need to keep things simple.  You dont want to waste your valuable dry fire time by trying to arrange targets or skipping drills because its too much hassle to move targets around or change out targets.  

 

I just recently built a single 8 foot wall with a port in my backyard to run more movement drills, my garage is a little small for big movement.  Once you have worked skills in isolation start including multiple skills in your drills.  Running stoeger's quick step drill in 3.5 seconds?  Add in a reload and get it down to 3.5 with the reload.  Having trouble with a specific skill?  Break it down to its parts with the recommended micro drills or create your own.  

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