Dry fire drills

[IronArcher]

Several questions on best practices for dry fire drills:

1) Best way to do sets? Keep all par times challenging? Or start out a little slow, and get faster each set (say sets of 5)?

2) Any benefit to breaking drills down to the basic components? Example: practicing only reloads vs. draw, fire, reload, fire etc.

2a) Any true benefit to doing say 20-50 reloads (on or off the clock) and again (for IDPA) 20-50 reloads with retention (again, on or off the clock)?

3) How many reps per set (range)? 5? 20? 50?

Currently, my drills are:

Draw and fire. 5 sets of 5

Draw and fire, reload, fire, reload, fire. 5 sets of 5

Gun and mag on table, sitting. (Poker scenario) beep, grab and load, fire. 5 sets of 5.

New to the routine:

Draw, fire 2, reload, fire 2 on a different target, reload, fire 2 on different target.

Thanx for your insight!

P.S. Is it odd that my poker table drill is as fast as my draw drill?

[Reshoot]

I recommend Steve Anderson's Refinement & Repetition dry fire book.

One of the most important aspects, of dry fire, is being totally honest with yourself. It is so easy to cheat, which is why one needs to do the drills during live fire as well.

[Husker95]

+1 for Steve Anderson's book. Also, Ben Stoeger has some excellent dry fire books and programs. Take some time to get setup right and don't cheat for speed.

[perttime]

One of the things that Brian repeats in his books is: Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes permanent.

Before doing too many repeats, see that you are NOT teaching yourself anything that is highly detrimental. Doing it slowly first lets you observe your movements in more detail than doing it fast.

[Hi-Power Jack]

Brian repeats in his books is: Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes permanent.

+1. Great advice.

[Firefight5243]

I have two practice sessions that I do.

1. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KwM5OLsaa40

I load this and it's on my tv, video is 5:30. I do it regular draw, then turn and draw... The plan is to go through each string once per mag... I step it up to a string reload string. The last few call for a reload, I do two. But with everything good practice is good practice... Crappy practice is crap.

2. I printed off a ton of USPSA target 1/3 size, and create stages around my basement. Set a par time and run the course. If I beat the clock, I cut the time, and keep cutting till I cant, best the time. This is actually a lot of fun. I have my wife set up stages for me, she does not shoot so she comes up with some weird stuff but it helps. I even built a swinger target for my basement 1/3 size to add into the stage.

Both of these have helped a ton, do it as much as you can and get tired. It actually can turn into mini cardio workout. If you're not pusing your self, never going to get better. But don't do it for the sake of it, I have got everything out started practicing and just wasn't into it. So I put it all away.

[Grant]

I recommend Steve Anderson's Refinement & Repetition dry fire book.

One of the most important aspects, of dry fire, is being totally honest with yourself. It is so easy to cheat, which is why one needs to do the drills during live fire as well.

I'm getting ready to start this book this weekend!

[derekmelton]

Start slow. Mechanics are the key.

[arkadi]

Ben Stoeger's and Brian's books. I timebox every drill to 5min and component drill to 3min. The whole topic takes about an hour. Use dummy rounds for real gun balance.

[Steelix]

When doing dry fire do you use a snap cap or empty. I read you should rack your slide every shot. I just don't want to hurt the firing pin or slide by firing empty so right now I just use dummy rounds with old primers but just pull back hammer to cock the gun.

[Jake Di Vita]

I actually rarely drop the hammer when I dryfire anymore, I'll just manipulate the dead trigger with more force than is required to fire a shot. As long as I'm keeping the dot where it needs to be, I'm doing my job.