My "Dry Fire" Routine? I Just Don't Know....

[dart368]

I am afforded the opportunity of having an area to practice during my lunch hour once or twice a week.

I put on my IPSC Production gear and with no ammo, I will pick an imaginary target somewhere (A sign, a door knob, a light switch, etc), practice my draw, pull the trigger once (I have a Glock 34) and then move to another spot that I just make up. I usually will move sideways about ten feet. As I am doing so, I am dropping that magazine and reloading the next one from my belt. I do this back and forth or maybe at an angle forward, another ten feet or so as I am reloading. I have a total of 5 magazines, one in the gun and 4 on the belt. I will do this until I have no more magazines on my belt. I try to get in about 8 reps at least.

Is this going to get me higher scores on the 19th than what I had previously?

On a different note, how many magazines should I have on me? I have 6 total but is that overkill?

Thanks.

[DoubleA]

There is nothing "wrong" with what you are doing really, you just could be doing so much more and reaping the benefits.

Having some actual ipsc targets or 1/3 scales ones if you have limited room would be a big improvement. There aren't tons of signs and door knobs at matches and when they are there it is advisable not to shoot them You can do a search for scaled dryfire targets on here or google I believe and find some you can print out.

There are tons of things you can work on in dryfire. Ben Stoeger has a pretty good dryfire routine you can find here:

http://benstoeger.myonlineplace.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=46&Itemid=64

Steve Anderson also has a book on dryfire drills you can find in the store section here I think.

If you are shooting a G34 then I assume you are playing in the production division. If this is the case then 6 mags is good. It's always nice to have an extra mag or two in case you drop one or it causes a malfunction.

Edited February 10, 2012 by DoubleA

[Cy Soto]

On a different note, how many magazines should I have on me? I have 6 total but is that overkill?

Only you can answer that question and this answer will vary depending on the length and difficulty of each stage.

[dart368]

Thanks DoubleA. Now THAT'S the kind of advice I need. I was sort of hoping to hear from guys who went from being a "D" or "C" shooter to an "A" or "B" shooter doing something like what I was doing.

As I said, I have an area and my equipment. Sometimes, the area is outside and is at night. Although, the parking lot is pretty lit up. Any advice is appreciated of what I can do.

[dravz]

I would also add using some sort of par timer to your routine to push yourself to get faster. Perfect execution is probably more important at this point, but at some point your eyes and hands are going to have to practice moving faster. Steve Anderson's dry-fire book is outstanding for this.

[Steve Anderson]

I don't know if this is an original statement, it's more likely a combination of quotes...doesn't really matter.

But as I sit here doing finger exercises on an unplugged guitar (chromatic 16ths, I'm preparing for my old band's reunion show) and reading this post, this occured to me:

What gets measured gets better.

And that's the problem with our poster's routine. It appears to be random and unmeasured.

So to improve it, it needs to be organized and measured.

(I went from 116 beats per minute to 120 beats per minute and began missing a little... back down to 116, no point in practicing sloppy playing. )

SA

[dart368]

Steve,

Yes, I agree with you and Dravz. I am not quite sure how to measure the time though so that it is consistant. I could use my watch and set up a course that is exact each time I go. I guess I was thinking that varying the "Course" it would be beneficial since courses vary.

Like was said before, I think my practice is too random as well. I really don't know what I am doing, besides practicing reloads and moving.

Sorry if this was a little choppy, my 6 year old was asking me spelling questions while I was writing.

[Cy Soto]

I am not quite sure how to measure the time though so that it is consistant.

There is really no need to reinvent the wheel nor to over-complicate your practice. Here's the tools you need...

+

[whitedog]

Mike seeklanders book helped me. He actually lays out dry fire routines. Don't have steves book, but heard its good as well. Also get a timer.

[dravz]

There is really no need to reinvent the wheel nor to over-complicate your practice. Here's the tools you need...

+

Exactamundo.

[dart368]

How does the shot timer work with dry firing with a Glock?

[sirveyr]

How does the shot timer work with dry firing with a Glock?

The timer doesn't pick up any sounds during dry fire. You would set the PAR time to a specific time and try to preform a specific task between the two beeps. An example would be to set the timer start beep for random and the PAR time for 3.00 seconds. When the timer beeps, draw fire two A's into the light switch, reload and fire two additional A's into the light switch. Does that make sense?

The key to using a timer for dry fire is to be honest with yourself. It is pointless to practice sloppily. There is no point to simply perform a task before the second beep if that task was not performed PERFECTLY. A perfect, yet slightly slower, rep is much better than a sloppy rushed rep that was just done to get in under the PAR time.

[Steve Anderson]

It is especially important with iron sights. It's very easy to become an iron sight dry fire GM, and be very inaccurate at the range.

You gotta be absolutely sure you are seeing Alphas. Open is more forgiving is this aspect.

Also, be sure to keep up your live fire to remind your brain that that the gun goes bang and moves around.

[swatcop]

+1 on Ben Stoeger's routine. It's on you tube. No need to purchase anything other than a timer. However there some timers on the net that you can pull up and use as a par time. There used to be on Matt Burkett's site. Haven't used it since I got my own timer though.

[swatcop]

http://www.predatortactical.com/cart.php?m=knowledgebase_detail&id=5

Yep, They are still there. Check it out. Much better than a door knob.

[sroe3]

I was taught that dry fire practice is to ingrain excellent technique. My routine starts very slowly with deliberate movement and I think about the economy of motion principles. Correct draw and reload technique. I begin to speed up after a few minutes and finish with 5 minutes of shot timer practice. I must have perfect sight picture every time. What you practice becomes your default at a match. I use 3 full size IPSC targets with a noshoot concealing half of 1.

[dart368]

Awesome suggestions everyone. Thank you very much. I feel like I am more on track now than before.

[Don Springer]

If you have an Iphone you can download Surefire's shot timer. It's perfect for Ben's 15 minute program.

[dart368]

I got a droid. I found some shot timers and a couple of them have a "Par" setting. I was practicing with it tonight.

Any other suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

Edited February 12, 2012 by dart368

[hunt_fish]

This is an awesome thread - anyone else think it would be a good idea to collate the links in this thread (and I'm sure there are others, dry fire comes up a lot!) into one thread that can be easily found? Those links are brilliant

[Nimitz]

as whitedog said ... get Mike Seeklander's book & a PACT timer & just follow his complete 5x week dry fire program. he's done all the hard work ... no thinking required on your part ... just follow his training program. I just finished his 2 day competitive training course at my local range & started his program. I've only shot 2 matches (just started competitive shooting) & my learning curve is basically vertical). Also, get his 2 videos for your live fire training program as well. It was amazing when I got those as I thought I was back at the range in his class again. You'll be really glad you did. Good luck!

[dart368]

Thank you all for the input and I am always open to more.

I have the Enos book on order and the Repitition And Refinement book coming as well. I am thinking that will start me out for now.

I have to beleive that my dry fire work is helping out. I shot a match yesterday and even though I had some SNAFU's like a dropped magazine which kept me from finishing one stage, blowing past two targets for 4 misses and two procedurals and my gun doing light strikes, most of my hits were in the Alpha area. Although my times were not the best but I have been told that accuracy is better than speed to an extent in production.

Got some help on my gun from the awesome guys in my squad. They replaced my trigger spring which solved the light strike problem so the last two stages I could at least not worry about the gun going "Click" when the trigger was pulled.

Gonna have to invest in some of those 1/3rd size targets and work on my mental game. I think I got a little rattled after my mess ups. But I learned a lot.

[daves_not_here]

I'd like the hear what works for you in such a short time.

What I try to focus on a couple days before a match are the non-shooting things and rhythm and I don't try to "get faster".

Non-shooting things:

Reloads - finding the speed where smoothness disappears. Usually I can feel my muscles tense up to move faster so it's the point where I'm not "tense".

Draw - the same by finding the "tense" point then backing off.

Position to position - LAUNCH OUT of position and GLIDE INTO position. When I practice I maintain proper muzzle orientation. I especially concentrate on obstacles and odd shooting positions.

Rhythm:

It's hard to explain but I visualize standard target setups and count at a speed that I know I can accurately hit. I also do this while walking the dog envisioning egaging different trees, signs or mailboxes. Focus on the knots of the tree, a single number on the mailbox or the bolts holding up the sign. Aim small = Miss small.

Rhythm of transitions that are "just fast enough". Getting to the target at the right speed and stopping smoothly rather than quickly twisting towards the target, overshooting then back tracking. I look for the same "tense muscle" feel and back off.

Oh yeah, when I smoke my friends I respond like a steely eyed gunfighter. It's much easier on the pride on an off day if I didn't gloat when I was rockin.

[dagger10k]

Hey dart368, I think we might have been on the same squad last month. If you are who I think you are I'm the guy with the shiny limited gun who noticed the missing part in your Glock. Glad to see that you are working on dry fire to improve!

90% or more of my practice has been in dry fire, and I think it has helped enormously.

My advice for dry fire would be to always keep it changing and make it interesting. Practice everything: unloaded starts, table starts, turn draws, shooting on the move, shooting prone, leaning, weak hand, strong hand, etc. Dry fire is free! Just make sure you get SOME live fire practice in, even if just at the static range. Most of my live fire practice is just shooting slow-fire groups, and making sure I can track my sights and call my shots when doing so.

[dart368]

Dagger:

Yes, It was me. With a very embarrassing day of shooting. Not to make excuses but I feel my head wasn't in the game that day. Not saying I am usually good and I know I have a lot to work on.

Good meeting you and thank you for helping me out with the gun. Hope to see you in the future and if you ever have any advice for me, please feel free to help me out.