Dry fire practice

[gkgold90]

I'm new to this forum so please bare with me as I may propose some odd questions.

My first question is: How do I know I am dry firing properly. Or better still, what is considered good dry fire practice?

Thanks

Larry

[Chris iliff]

First, you should buy Steve Anderson's dryfire books. They are a fairly definitive collection on the subject. The short answer is don't move the sights during the trigger press. Also work on snapping your eyes to the next target and the gun will follow. Sometimes, during dryfire, we don't even press the trigger, we are concerned with execution and sight alignment. Steve explains this in his first book, which is worth every penny.

We "add" nothing to dryfire. DO NOT simulate recoil or any other normal gun reaction.

A good check is a target at ten yards. Draw and fire two rounds in the "A" zone and note the time. Your dryfire time should be maybe a little faster, not much, tenths of a second to a second.

This is fine, dryfire is usually a little faster as we are not dealing with recoil and such.

Good luck and good question. Burn to excell!!!!

Edited May 26, 2011 by fourtrax

[Norone]

First, you should buy Steve Anderson's dryfire books. They are a fairly definitive collection on the subject. The short answer is don't move the sights during the trigger press. Also work on snapping your eyes to the next target and the gun will follow. Sometimes, during dryfire, we don't even press the trigger, we are concerned with execution and sight alignment. Steve explains this in his first book, which is worth every penny.

We "add" nothing to dryfire. DO NOT simulate recoil or any other normal gun reaction.

A good check is a target at ten yards. Draw and fire two rounds in the "A" zone and note the time. Your dryfire time should be maybe a little faster, not much, tenths of a second to a second.

This is fine, dryfire is usually a little faster as we are not dealing with recoil and such.

Good luck and good question. Burn to excell!!!!

I have a question and it may show my simple side... Can I do splits with my stock Glock and just "sim" the second trigger pull?

Does it matter? Should I rack it for singles only?

Thoughts?

Thanks guys!

[inkballedtarget]

First, you should buy Steve Anderson's dryfire books. They are a fairly definitive collection on the subject. The short answer is don't move the sights during the trigger press. Also work on snapping your eyes to the next target and the gun will follow. Sometimes, during dryfire, we don't even press the trigger, we are concerned with execution and sight alignment. Steve explains this in his first book, which is worth every penny.

We "add" nothing to dryfire. DO NOT simulate recoil or any other normal gun reaction.

A good check is a target at ten yards. Draw and fire two rounds in the "A" zone and note the time. Your dryfire time should be maybe a little faster, not much, tenths of a second to a second.

This is fine, dryfire is usually a little faster as we are not dealing with recoil and such.

Good luck and good question. Burn to excell!!!!

I have a question and it may show my simple side... Can I do splits with my stock Glock and just "sim" the second trigger pull?

Does it matter? Should I rack it for singles only?

Thoughts?

Thanks guys!

I too have wondered this... Im looking forward to getting his book!

[KungFuNerd]

If you rack the slide constantly you will develop that habit.

I dry fire 1911 a lot and developed the habit of quickly cocking the hammer after every shot (not a good habit for 1911!!)

so for me....even though I do have to rack a Glock or cock the hammer or rack the slide on the 1911 I just try to make sure it doesn't become part of my shooting "ritual".

I try to think of it as part of the prep for the next drill rather the end of the current drill if that makes sense.

For Glock, some people do the trick of propping it open with cardboard.

Let's you move the trigger repeatedly but without the Break or Reset

[remoandiris]

Can I do splits with my stock Glock and just "sim" the second trigger pull?

Buy a dry fire trigger kit for your Glock. No racking and you get to pull the trigger as much as you want. Just remember to put the "firing" trigger back in before you go to a match.

[blazeops]

If you rack the slide constantly you will develop that habit.

I dry fire 1911 a lot and developed the habit of quickly cocking the hammer after every shot (not a good habit for 1911!!)

so for me....even though I do have to rack a Glock or cock the hammer or rack the slide on the 1911 I just try to make sure it doesn't become part of my shooting "ritual".

I try to think of it as part of the prep for the next drill rather the end of the current drill if that makes sense.

+1. You can develop bad habits while dry firing. For example racking the slide immediately after a trigger pull and then holstering your weapon. As a LEO, losing a round is definitely a bad thing.

To break up my dry training and the continuous racking of the slide, I use the cardboard method to get the Glock slightly out of battery to allow for multiple trigger pulls. Of course the feel of the trigger is different but it allows me to practice transitions, follow-up shots, and break up my training.

I also try to train as if I wasn't just shooting paper. I tell myself to assess the threat, continue covering the threat, and check my peripheral. When I think to myself that it is safe, I reholster. I only do this half of my training session or else my session would take forever. Of course, you can't do this in competition. I feel if you are consciously aware of what you are doing while practicing, when the time comes, whether for self-defense or a race against the timer, your mind and body will know what to properly execute.

[Dan Hefta]

I'm new to this forum so please bare with me as I may propose some odd questions.

My first question is: How do I know I am dry firing properly. Or better still, what is considered good dry fire practice?

Thanks

Larry

Welcome to the forum Larry. Check out Micah's range diary http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=47027&st=0 He posts lots of great info and videos of his dryfiring training.

[Corey]

One thing to keep in mind with dryfire. There are no bullet holes to look at to see if you hit your target like you wanted to. You have to be honest with yourself and whether you called your shots correctly. If you hustle through a drill to beat a certain time but your indexes, transitions and "shots" are poor, you are hurting rather thatn helping yourself. Max Michel says he does 50% or more of his dryfire at a reduced speed (half-speed maybe ) to do nothing but ensure his form is correct and not wasting any movements.

[southtexaswoman]

Corey, I like what you said Max M. said about doing 50 percent at a slower pace. I know I sometimes get sloppy when I dry fire. Seems if I go from dry fire to a match I miss. However dry firing has helped both my smoothness and speed so if I get one live practice in between dry fire and match time I seem to do pretty good (for me).

[Dwain C. Baer]

A friend purchased Steve Anderson's first book, and we have been following his suggestions. Since we both have a tough time getting range practice time, we try to do dry practice every chance we get . Although we could certainly do more in the way of range practice, conducting dry practice is essential for us... Plus, it really helps with confidence too.

[Micah]

Thanks Dan!

Also, here is a video that I made a little while ago:

[Micah]

Also, just rack the slide and put a small piece of paper folded over once in the space between the barrel breech and the slide to keep your Glock ever-so-slightly out of battery. This will allow movement of the trigger without having to rack the slide every time. I've been doing this for 5 years and a trillion dryfires

[Micah]

And more thoughts pour in:

The major goal of dryfire is to breed familiarity with your body, skill set, and your equipment. Things like the draw, reload, first shot, entering and leaving a position, transitions, snapping attention between wide targets, turning on the draw, and many more can be honed to a razor sharpness through dryfire...and you never have to leave your home. Dryfire with dummy ammo. Learning to draw or reload with an empty gun will teach you nothing and throw your understanding of the feeling of your equipment woefully off. Dryfire with a timer. Not necessarily with par times, but acclimate yourself with the sound of the beep. As Max says, listen for the B in BEEP and GET TO THE GUN! After a few weeks of religious dryfire, start noting your times on specific skills like drawing to an open target at x feet and record it. Working to beat your par times can be counter intuitive if you are not careful, as it can lead to rushing drills and not seeing what you need to see. Dryfire on small targets. Practice hard, win easy.

[DoubleA]

I agree on how regular par times can actually damage your skill. If making a certain par time is your main focus, then you are taking away from the correct goal which is to do the rep correctly. This has forced me to go back and reprogram certain skills so I would do it correct repeatably instead of just fast.

I feel the par time should be more of a quiz/observation and used sparingly throughout a dryfire session. I also feel that 80% of a session should be used to reinforce 100% correct repetition and 20% of the session pushing just past the edge of control to gain ground in speed.

If you spend your whole session pushing it then that is what you will do in a match. That is how mikes and deltas show up on your score.

[dab]

One thing to keep in mind with dryfire. There are no bullet holes to look at to see if you hit your target like you wanted to. You have to be honest with yourself and whether you called your shots correctly. If you hustle through a drill to beat a certain time but your indexes, transitions and "shots" are poor, you are hurting rather thatn helping yourself. Max Michel says he does 50% or more of his dryfire at a reduced speed (half-speed maybe ) to do nothing but ensure his form is correct and not wasting any movements.

I agree with some reduced speed dry fire. I like to start off my first few repetitions slow, practically by the numbers, to reinforce the correct technique.

[Paul-the new guy]

Thanks Dan!

Also, here is a video that I made a little while ago:

Micah,

Where did you get the little poppers? I need some of those...

[Micah]

A long time ago there was a dryfire kit that could be purchased. Realistically, you can find your own template (Google for it) cut them out in cardboard, and paint them up.

[Steve Anderson]

I would like to remind everyone the you must balance an aggressive dry fire plan with some live fire, particularly with iron sighted guns.

It's very easy to become a dry fire GM if you never have to actually put a bullet on a target.