Precision Rifle Dry Fire

[JFlowers]

Several people - here, on other forums, at matches - have told me I need to dry fire to help work through some of the issues I am having with Precision Rifle. Having shot USPSA for many years, I understand the importance of Dry Firing, but I also understand the importance of GOOD Dry Fire. Not reinforcing bad habits, not just playing with the gun and calling it dry fire.

For Pistol we have known experts and their work, both published and provided free, to reference. People like Steve and Ben have done a great job. But I am finding very little material on Dry Fire for the Precision Rifle. A small amount from sources for High Power and F-Class but little else.

So does anyone know of any good reference material, either online or purchasable, on Rifle Dry Fire?

[dauntedfuture]

Might I suggest the following from observing countless shooters in competition and the military: The majority of people don't have nearly as much of an issue with shooting as they do manipulation of the firearm. This is most easily observed when observing military (non competitive) shooters; most soldiers can hit the target on the pop up range but where they struggle is manipulation, clearing malfunctions, safety manipulation and more. The really good shooters don't necessary shoot a course of fire better then the other guy, they just do it faster. When it comes to USPSA and some other shooting disciplines you can miss fast enough to still win the match or stage, where they excel in one of the many other areas is how fast and smooth they draw, index, reload etc.

When it comes to specifics for rifle dry fire and more specifically to your point: When I was shooting lots of NRA highpower and got a new rifle I would spend lots of time getting into and out of position until it was second nature. I also adjusted the rifle stock and sling so I KNEW what settings were needed for standing, sitting and prone. I would call this "rifle manipulation" its kind of the same thing I was discussing earlier. This is/ was a first critical area for a new shooter to learn and overcome as a poor position is no way to shoot well consistently.

I cant say that I spent all that much time actually "dry firing" other then standing. One year at the Nationals in a clinic one of the drills was to dry fire an entire 10 rd string and plot the shots and record your score. After that you shot 10 live fire shots. The scores were almost exactly the same, more then anything else this will tell you how well and or honest your calls are on target. If you dry fire a 100-10X and shoot a 85-0x then you either cant call for crap and or your not honest with yourself.

Now, for three gun I "practice" the draw with the pistol, mounting the rifle and reloading the shotgun but... I'm no expert but I did stay at a holiday inn last night.

my .02

[Graham Smith]

Depends some on the type of shooting you are doing (precision rifle can involve a number of different things) but there are some general things to consider.

One of the most useful things you can do is to work on your position. If you don't have a good position then you are probably pushing or pulling or twisting the rifle in some way. You should be able to get into a position naturally. Close your eyes and get into position then open your eyes. Is your eye aligned behind the scope? If not, then you don't have a "natural position". That's simplistic but you get the idea.

Same thing for holding on target. You should be able to hold on target with your eyes closed and not find you have to shift position when you open them.

Dry fire can also tell you if you are jerking the trigger or twisting the rifle if you aren't holding on target when you pull the trigger.