Dry Firing

[G17]

I know a lot of you are REALLY good shooters. I'm just curious to see how much time ya'll put into dry firing every day?

[exmr2sw]

I would like to do more BUT I try to get in at least 15 minutes per day and about 1/2 hour on the weekend days.. really helps out.

[Andreas]

I'll dry fire 30–45 minutes almost every evening during the week and hit the range one day on the weekend for practice or a match. This got me from 45% on my first classifier in April to A class in August. I'll run whole COFs in our condo with multiple reloads…

[Carnifex]

Until my hands hurt too much to continue.

[45 Raven]

I dry as often as I can, but it isn't always every day. I do so to reinforce something I have just learned or am trying to learn. When the learning/growing/reinforcement stops, so do I. Sometimes it's 5 or 6 minutes. Sometimes it's closer to 1/2 an hour. Quality of dry firing is much more important to me than quantity or frequency. Even more important is the recording of what I have learned from my dry firing sessions. This information is regularly reviewed and analyzed for opportunities to continuously improve my skills.

[G17]

I dry fire everyday. It's usually 15 minutes in the morning and a few hours at night. I just enjoy it. If it wasn't fun i probably wouldnt do it near as much.

[Therealkoop]

Right now I do about 20 mins a night (and then 20 mins with rifle and 20 with shotgun as well).

I can see improvement.

[Dkrad1935]

I am a new shooter and have recently started doing a lot of dry fire. It has had dramatic impacts to my speed. I shot an indoor IDPA match last night and had phenomenal improvements.

But I'd make a very important distinction that I think is über critical. Every minute I spend dry firing has a purpose. Mindless repetition will be much less impact flu I think.

For example, I was struggling with a drill which is part if the IDPA classifier. Turn, draw and fire 3 rounds across 3 targets, reload and fire three more.

I couldn't make the time I wanted so kept drooling it and breaking it down into components.

1st piece was time to first shot. Then time for three shots then add the reload etc. I was able to isolate what was hurting me - first shot and transitions. And really work that.

Dry firing has helped me identify the basic building blocks. Draw to first shot, single target transitions, multiple target transitions etc and help me find my biggest opportunities to focus on.

I know the rate of improvement will slow but right now it is dramatic. It's hard not to dry fire when u see the kinds of results I have been experiencing. I try to get up before work and hit it before bed and probably succeed about 4 times a week

[StraightUp_OG]

I dry fire as much as I can or until the old lady gets tired of me making noise during her programs.

[benos]

I dry fired (including drawing), probably 5 - 6 days a week, for 20 years. I really got into it. When I got into the magic-zone, it would feel as if the pistol was a part of my body. But that didn't start happening until after about 10 years or so.

[Zmego]

I dry fired (including drawing), probably 5 - 6 days a week, for 20 years. I really got into it. When I got into the magic-zone, it would feel as if the pistol was a part of my body. But that didn't start happening until after about 10 years or so.

Sweet! 9 more years to go....

[TonyK]

While everyone knows what dry fire is, I had to ask my mentor (a retired swat cop) exactly what else I am paying attention to.. Primarily you need to pay attention to what happens to your sights, what is the sight picture at the moment the trigger breaks the shot...

While all you guys doing this for years may already know this I didn't and hadn't seen it in writing. Maybe I wasn't looking in the right place...

I did read once that trigger management and sight control are two sides of the same coin... Both of which will improve with dry fire.

Lots more to it than listening for the click...

Come to think of it I need more practice..

[LilBunniFuFu]

Try for 10 minutes a day at least, longer if I strap my rig on and run COF at home like Andreas. If a bigger match is coming up I'll put up targets in almost every window and run around like a mad man with my trusty SiRT.

[john1911]

I live literally 2 minutes from Steve Anderson and have him give me coaching when he has time and dry fire per his book 3-4 times a week for 1/2 hr and try to shoot 100-200 live rounds a week also.

[ZackJones]

I dry fire as much as I can or until the old lady gets tired of me making noise during her programs.

This reminded me of something that happened the other night. I was setting up the timer for PAR time and then tested it. I tried it two or three times or so. I was upstairs and from downstairs I heard "Honey one of the smoke alarms needs to have the battery replaced." My wife thought the PAR time was a smoke detector going off .

To stay on topic I'm getting back into shooting and try to dry fire at least 15 minutes per day.

[Ben Stoeger]

Until my hands hurt too much to continue.

I like this answer

[TroyB]

I've just been dry firing 3-4 nights a week 30-45 minutes for about the last 3-4 months. I dried fired before then, but now much more discipline and structure. It might still be a little too early to tell, but I do feel more confident in the matches. I know I need to shoot more which is only twice a month right now.

[chalkdust21]

Dry fire as much as possible until you can live fire. Then repeat.

[johnhhuber]

I enjoy dry firing 15 to 20 minutes in the morning and then 15 to 20 minutes before dinner. If I have a big comp coming up, I will fit in another session around lunch or before bed. For me, doing shorter durations throughout the day let me stay focused better.

[Nimitz]

4-5 days a week at 15-30 mins plus 3 live fire days/week

Get Ben's dry free book. Besides buying more ammo it's the best money you'll ever spend if you are serious about getting better in this sport ...

[RussellM]

I try to do at least 1 hour a day, more if my hands can take it.

[AJE]

I've been dry firing a lot lately. I never really thought about the fact you can practice most of what you do shooting without actually shooting.

Plus I have some boredom working third shift, its good to be able to burn up some idle time that way.

[Gakracker]

Has anyone considered using the Laserlyte shells and Target in conjunction with their dry fire? Looks like a way to receive feedback on what is really happening when the hammer falls?

[Nimitz]

Yes it is but you only really need the LaserLyte and reg paper targets ...

[Mpie427]

I dry fire (pistol including draws) prior to matches, but I also practice for shotgun and rifle especially practicing shotgun reloading. I know I should be doing more.