Why am I dry firing?

[mbrody]

Just a noob question, but what is the purpose of dry firing as a training exercise? I am doing it on occasion but want to know what I should be focusing on.

[twodownzero]

Get Anderson's books from Brian's website. Each drill tells you why you're doing it and it'll help you focus on what you need to be focusing on.

[mbrody]

Thank you TIm

[Chris iliff]

It's not the trigger work as much as the gun manipulation. IMHO. You should invest in Steve Anderson's books and learn to structure the dryfire to get the most benefit.

Think of everything you do with the gun, different draws (hands relaxed or surrender), transfer to WH, draw and transfer, table pick ups, reloads, the list is endless. This is just the beginning. With some dedicated dryfire you will quickly hone skills to your subconscious.

In short, you should focus on gun handling. Doing everything correctly.

We all don't know what we don't know. With this in mind, instruction early on is invaluable. Once you know exactly how to do something, like draw, then dryfire will ingrain it.

Again, instruction, buy Steve's books, dryfire.

[toothguy]

Just a noob question, but what is the purpose of dry firing as a training exercise? I am doing it on occasion but want to know what I should be focusing on.

[bigfish]

In the past I never really did much dryfire practice but this year I did. It works. I went from a C class shooter to an A class shooter in only 6 months and I fired far less live rounds this year then I did the last 2 years. When dryfiring you can work on so many little things that you dont need ammo to practice. Things like draws, reloads, coming into position with the sights on target so you can get that first shot off faster, learning how to balance speed and acurracy, shooting on the move, the list goes on forever. Then when you do live fire you are just making sure you are dryfiring correctly. The biggest thing that cant be duplicated in dryfire is finding the A zone back on your second shot after recoil.

Edited November 22, 2012 by bigfish

[mbrody]

Thank you all for posting. It is very helpful.

[bigfish]

Some people say that they cant afford to practice alot. When thats just b.s. Dryfire is free exept your time and a 9v battery every couple months for your timer. Dont get me wrong, there is no substitute for live fire, but you will gain more from 20-30 min of dryfire 5 times a week then you will from $20 of ammo each week.

[Sac Law Man]

Dryfire will help you learn how to pull the trigger without disturbing the sights... It will help you learn how to reset the sear and prep the trigger.. Take what you learn during dryfire and apply that to livefire. Learn these first..

[kevin c]

Like Steve Anderson says: Refinement through repetition.

Of course, with unlimited ammo, range time and gear replacement, you can groove in the skills with live fire repetitions. Most of us, though, will have to get the reps in dry fire.

[DonovanM]

In the past I never really did much dryfire practice but this year I did. It works. I went from a C class shooter to an A class shooter in only 6 months and I fired far less live rounds this year then I did the last 2 years. When dryfiring you can work on so many little things that you dont need ammo to practice. Things like draws, reloads, coming into position with the sights on target so you can get that first shot off faster, learning how to balance speed and acurracy, shooting on the move, the list goes on forever. Then when you do live fire you are just making sure you are dryfiring correctly. The biggest thing that cant be duplicated in dryfire is finding the A zone back on your second shot after recoil.

Oh hell yeah, this.

The point of practicing is to ingrain the performance of various tasks, like gun handling (which includes reloading, trigger control, draws, etc), movement, transitions and recoil control into our subconscious so we no longer have to think about them in a match and can just show up and focus on shooting Alphas. All of those things save one can be practiced without ammo.

Edited November 26, 2012 by DonovanM

[kevinj308]

I'd like to recommend a book. "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle.

It's written for the lay person, I sure as hell am one, but it's very informative on why we practice anything at all.

Kevin

[Micah]

It is the best way to refine the skills needed in sports shooting. Draw, reload, transitions, shooting on the move, footing, ports...on and on. And when you dryfire, your home is your range, so there is never an excuse to not gun up and get to work.

[Babaganoosh]

Cuz you can't be on the range all the time.

[anilson]

Dryfire will also help you hand speed!

[JimmyZip]

I can always tell those that either dry-fire, or have tons of rounds down range. They handle their pistols/rifles/shotguns with confidence and ease. They are less likely to bobble a reload, and usually they shoot well. Shooting well makes for a fun match. Why go and spend money on all the stuff we do and not get good at it or at least mediocre? When you get more fluid at the basics of gun-handling and start to be able to think of the match from more of a controlled perspective knowing your weaknesses and strengths you have identified in dryfire, it just brings an easiness to your shooting. You now can think without all of the background noise in your head of where to have your gun as you move or how to hit the magwell on the move, and think moref of things like how you are going to get into and out of ports, around barricades. Once you stop thinking of how to hit the target with regularity, then the real shooting begins.

Dryfire all the way baby!

[AlexOsensei]

dryfire , only if u want to improve as quick as possible..

[MC1]

Dryfire is boring and I find myself practicing bad habits. Am I alone on this one?

By the way, I know it is very productive and the quickest way to improve, so take it easy on me.

[tackdr1ver]

Dry fire CAN be boring. But you can alos make it fun! If you're reinforcing bad habits it's time to reevaluate what you're doing wrong and why you're doing it and make every effort to stop. I think it all boils down to two things: dedication and a desire to succeed, if you want to be a M or GM bad enough, you'll find a way to put in the work.

[Steve Anderson]

"Dryfire is boring and I find myself practicing bad habits. Am I alone on this one?"

For some reason, I find myself simply wanting to ask: Why?

"By the way, I know it is very productive and the quickest way to improve, so take it easy on me."

And this caused me even more confusion.

And the answer must be that our shooter hasn't done it long enough to see the gains that are inevitable.

And to the original question: Why am I dry firing?

Because I want my gun to be an extension of my body and simply do whatever I do.

This will be a gross over-simplification, but I tend to be a grossly simple guy. Think of our sport as comprised of two elements:

1. The ability to fire an accurate shot on demand.

2. Everything else.

Guess which of the two can be practiced virtually anywhere, anytime, by anyone with the desire to improve and the creativity to implement and perhaps modify the plan that has been provided for you...

And by the way, you can get pretty far down the road to the other one in Dry Fire as well.

But not if you don't know why.

What if you spent as much time dry firing as you spent _________________ ?

[Xcaliber]

I sometimes I find walking to be boring. So why do I do it?

Answer: To get to where I want to be...

I don't think I have ever met Mr Anderson in person, but I can tell you that he is one of 5 people that have saved me years of time and ammo by providing me with knowledge that most people spend years accumulating through trial and error. I think I may have one of the first copies of his book and now years later I am using it again.

If you are like I was and have lots of time to go to the range 3-4 time a week and shoot a few thousand rounds every month, do you really need dry fire practice?

Yes, you do. Range time is important, but a lot of the most important skills you need develop are best practiced without all the "drama" of actually firing a shot. In fact, you don't even need a pistol...

You can trust the advice you get here. This is where "The Gods of the Arena" hang out. No need to think about it, just do it.

[fireman489]

Dont just "get his books", TAKE HIS CLASS ! Im pretty much brand new to action pistol sports (probably one of the newest here), w that said I bought Steve's books on Oct 3. On Oct 6 of this year they arrived. I did the first 14 drills every AM & the rest every PM. 4 weeks later I entered my first sanctioned match and easily won my class (w 4 malfuntions). Take away those malfuntions & I am 2nd in the class above me & 4th in the class above that. My point ...... his books work as long as YOU WORK.

As good as I got in that 4 week period I knew it wasnt good enough & I WANTED to be faster. So 2 days before Thanksgiving I set up a class w him ..... at Anderson HQ in Columbus, Ohio. Your probably thinking, "he's lucky, he must live near Anderson"...yeh I do....1200 miles south in Florida. But I will tell you the 5 hours he spent w me in his "dojo" changed my definition of "speed" , by making things repeatable, smooth & efficient, all while MAKING SURE to have an ASP (acceptable sight picture). Example: when I started, on the 6R6 drill, it took me about 9.8 secods..... after a month I had it down to 4.6ish.... after 20 min of Steve tweaking things I did a 3.9........ Yesterday I busted a 3.8, fairly easily. This tells me, Im well on my way to reaching my shooting goals. I still see improvements everytime I shoot a match. The best guys, at the range I shoot at, also see it. Its kinda funny, 2 months ago those guys didnt even know my name, now they ask me all the time about what drills Im doing etc.

Im sure if you really want it, & make it a priority you can see the same results as well. Just book a class w him, & Im sure you'll come out the other side a better shooter. Just make sure to put on 2 seatbelts when he drives ya to lunch.... his driving makes his shooting look slow...... lol