Drills for getting used to red dot

[DClass]

I just switched to open and love it but want to know drills or what I can do to get used to “Finding my dot”

[Sarge]

Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire. Strong hand, weak hand, table start, around corners, etc until you get the dot EVERY TIME.

[Hammer002]

26 minutes ago, Sarge said:

Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire. Strong hand, weak hand, table start, around corners, etc until you get the dot EVERY TIME.

 

And then do this again the next day.  And the day after....

[Hi-Power Jack]

All true - I also "index" a part of the C-More - when that's aligned,

I can usually see the dot    

[DClass]

Thanks it is a bit of a learning curve 

[Jake Di Vita]

Considering that your chosen handle is DClass, you just need to set up a daily practice regimen and stick to it. If you are actually a D class shooter, you don't need to be asking questions right now. You need to put the work in and have a gun in your hand every single day.

[Hi-Power Jack]

I spent decades practicing weekly, and improved very little compared to

using the wealth of information here on BE.

 

Wish I had asked more questions when I was getting started.

 

As Jake mentioned, "setting up a daily practice regimen" is a great start,

BUT, you do have to "find the dot" first     

[caspian guy]

13 hours ago, Sarge said:

Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire. Strong hand, weak hand, table start, around corners, etc until you get the dot EVERY TIME.

Yep there is no substitute for this.  Also you need to mix some live fire to start adding "seeing the dot" to "finding the dot".

[DClass]

Thanks and I am pretty dedicated and will come up with a set schedule for training dry fire is easy as like most people don’t always have time to get to the range as much as Inwoukd like but can always make time to dry fire at the house 

[stick]

13 hours ago, Jake Di Vita said:

Considering that your chosen handle is DClass, you just need to set up a daily practice regimen and stick to it. If you are actually a D class shooter, you don't need to be asking questions right now. You need to put the work in and have a gun in your hand every single day.

 

4 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

I spent decades practicing weekly, and improved very little compared to

using the wealth of information here on BE.

 

Wish I had asked more questions when I was getting started.

 

As Jake mentioned, "setting up a daily practice regimen" is a great start,

BUT, you do have to "find the dot" first     

Great info.  Consistent practice seems to be the underlying theme.

[Reekus]

Not to take away from what others have said about dry fire (it is super crucial), but live fire is going to help a lot too. You're going to want to start working on tracking the dot throughout the recoil process. You could start really simple by taking two slow, deliberate shots on steel. Then slowly start speeding up your splits until you lose the dot, and then back off the speed slightly. Taking this measured approach has helped me a lot among other drills and dry fire regimes.

[GOF]

Get plenty of draw time to get your wrist angle/presentation right to find the dot quickly. There is a difference between 'from the holster' and starting with the gun in your hand.

[rooster]

It takes awhile but this helped me.  Hold gun out in shooting position, find dot in middle of the glass, now feel what that is like and holster, then draw again and repeat.  After a while you will get the hang of it.  

[Wisemenofgotham]

The best advice I've received was to dry fire.  When you think you've done enough, go do some more.  Add in some live fire and practice draws.  Repeat and succeed!  

[DClass]

For the people that do a lot for dry fire to you find it help to use reduced sized targets or you you just pick points to an at 

[George16]

I’m using 1/3 scale targets since I use them also for my production rig.

[Jake Di Vita]

2 hours ago, DClass said:

For the people that do a lot for dry fire to you find it help to use reduced sized targets or you you just pick points to an at 

 

In an ideal world you'd use full size targets at full distance. Compromise however you need to. I've dryfired at more light switches and outlets than I could possibly count.

[SilverBolt]

Changing your focus from front sight focus to target focus is one of the bigger challenges.  Dry fire, dry fire, and then dry fire some more.  I am old, slow, and horrible about practice.  It has taken me about 18 months to finally begin to crack the code of the dot.  Had I spent time with practice it would not have taken nearly as long. 

[38super]

Jethro Dionesio used to practice at the Long Beach Police Range before Steel Challenge (early 90s).  He started with a 11yd blind draw on 12" steel,  couple days later it was 25yds.  Some people have natural talent, the rest of us have to really work at it mediocre.  Try AirSoft, the Marui STI fits my holsters.

[SCTaylor]

8 hours ago, 38super said:

  Some people have natural talent, the rest of us have to really work at it mediocre. 

 

Bullcrap. I'd wager he practiced hundreds or thousands of hours to achieve that and/or the baseline skills to do that. Don't short yourself.

 

Do what Sarge said, that's what worked for me during a short stint into CO and Open.

 

[MemphisMechanic]

11 hours ago, 38super said:

Jethro Dionesio used to practice at the Long Beach Police Range before Steel Challenge (early 90s).  He started with a 11yd blind draw on 12" steel,  couple days later it was 25yds.  Some people have natural talent, the rest of us have to really work at it mediocre.

 

I have never talked to a guy who is competitive at the highest level (or even local GMs) who didn’t put in a dozen times more practice than your average shooter does.

 

Edited June 19, 2018 by MemphisMechanic

[jkrispies]

12 hours ago, SCTaylor said:

 

Bullcrap. I'd wager he practiced hundreds or thousands of hours to achieve that and/or the baseline skills to do that. Don't short yourself.

 

and

9 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

 

I have never talked to a guy who is competitive at the highest level (or even local GMs) who didn’t put in a dozen times more practice than your average shooter does.

 

 

Yes and yes.  I dare you to find a GM--or legit upper tier achiever in any field--who will shrug his (or her) shoulders and tell you they got there without effort.  If they do, ask them to define their "lack of effort" and you'll be shocked at how long, hard, and smart they've worked without considering it to be "work" simply because their level of work ethic is such that they don't even consider their efforts to be abnormal.

Edited June 20, 2018 by jkrispies

[firewood]

At least in my experience which is limited, I have to dry fire practice at least 3 days/week and even then some days I pick up the dot very fast and other days quite a bit slower. Not sure if there is a correlation between success and doing everything correct but it seems to me that an important  component of effortless dot acquisition demands that all of the fundamentals be correct. In particular a good solid and proper grip coupled with a positive attitude are helpful in fast accurate draws on a distant target. I think it took me about a month of regular dry fire to pick up the dot fairly quickly and consistently, even at my low level of performance continued practice is required to keep the skill in check.

 

So I would say regular honest practice and attention to details are the key. I also really don't think there is a big difference between the theory of finding a dot vs. finding the proper sight picture using irons quickly. Both require a lot of practice. The more you do it the less time you spend thinking about exactly what you need to do, instead you just simply do it. Don't misunderstand me shooting irons is more difficult but both require practice, a lot of practice if you want to excel and improve. The problem is that dry fire, while absolutely necessary, is very boring.

[Chili]

On 6/18/2018 at 2:48 PM, SilverBolt said:

Changing your focus from front sight focus to target focus is one of the bigger challenges.

 

I have found this to be a huge hurdle in the transition to the dot, when I start to struggle I will find at times my focus has come back to the gun and I am looking through the window at the dot.

Edited June 20, 2018 by Chili

[HoMiE]

2 hours ago, Chili said:

 

I have found this to be a huge hurdle in the transition to the dot, when I start to struggle I will find at times my focus has come back to the gun and I am looking through the window at the dot.

I find that if you pick a particular spot on target you can keep your focus there and the dot will show up where you look. Pick a piece of tape, pick a line, look at the stamped A on target. When I just look at brown then your focus will come back to the dot and that is slower then looking st what you want to hit and then your hands will get the dot there. You also do not need to track the dot in recoil. You only need to see where it lifted to call your shot. I think that is where a lot of people struggle, they look at target, then try and follow the dot. Then they try and keep the dot in focus and move it into next target. Trust your vision.