Looking for dry fire training advice

[bnchief]

I have a stacatto xl gen 2 gun i shoot uspsa limited with it i want to use uspsa targets , idpa targets, i am looking for something that will measure my draw time as well as show where i am hitting such as a camera system .   I know i would have to rack the slide each time as well as use a laser trainer (which type) i am new to this so really have no experience with dry fire training.  I have shot idpa for a couple seasons i am 70  so i am not going to beat young guys but accuracy is important.

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by bnchief

[Amra86]

I suggest getting either Steve Anderson or Ben Stoegers dry fire books as a starting point. I haven't used any of the laser training systems.

[StefVanHauwe]

Agree, Steve Anderson's and Ben Stoeger/Joel Park's books are a great resource.

[mikeg1005]

My advice is to skip the camera/system that shows you where you are hitting.  This is useless without recoil in my honest opinion and you're better off working on that part at the range with actual ammo.  For timing your draw, get a shot timer and use the part time feature on it.  You'll need the timer for live fire anyways.  I would not worry too much about the actual trigger pull in dry fire, rack the slide each time off the draw then simulate pulling the trigger, on the dead trigger.  This is sufficient for dry fire.  The key as always is to break the live hammer shot as well as the simulated trigger pulls without disturbing the sights.  This means you can't lie to yourself as you don't have an actual bullet to confirm your hit, make sure you're actually pulling the trigger correctly.

 

Your main goal for dryfire should really be to work on everything but the actual shot itself... draw, transitions onto open/partial targets,  basic movements, etc. 

 

As far as dry fire material. 

 

If you want a book that is geared towards raising your classification, get the Steve Anderson book.  

 

If you want a book that is more geared towards overall match performance(which results in better classification) get Stoeger's book.  I don't know how his new one(s?) are but the ones that were around in the 2014ish is what I have and they're great guides for drills to work.  I have both is live and dry fire book and use the live fire one as a basis for my practices still today. 

 

 

[Boomstick303]

Stoeger’s and Joel Park’s new book breaks training down into 4 levels. It gives you increasing par times as your skills grow. Probably the best book to measure skills from people who know what they are talking about. Anderson’s books are good as well but if I were starting from zero I would go with the new book from Stoeger and Park.  

 

I have tried with a laser and wish I had not. It creates a situation where you “look for holes” (wait to see where the laser hit the target). Learning shot calling early on will save you tons of training time. 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Boomstick303

[bnchief]

First of all i wish to thank all of you for your advice and the points you made i will check them out . Thank you Mike and boomstick for your detailed responses.

[Kwontanamo]

After reading and following a couple of books, I've progressed to dryfiring on things that I specifically want to work on. Usually I spend the first few minutes working on my draw (focusing on grip, sight alignment, trigger squeeze, and stance) on a sticky or a quarter size target. Then I incorporate reloads and simple movements while reloading into the dry fire drill. This is also when i'll include no-shoot targets or hard cover targets. 

 

I usually practice in my study so i have small targets and do 90 degree turns for the most part. 

[X5SigChris]

On 1/3/2022 at 11:30 AM, Boomstick303 said:

Stoeger’s and Joel Park’s new book breaks training down into 4 levels. It gives you increasing par times as your skills grow. Probably the best book to measure skills from people who know what they are talking about. Anderson’s books are good as well but if I were starting from zero I would go with the new book from Stoeger and Park.  

 

I have tried with a laser and wish I had not. It creates a situation where you “look for holes” (wait to see where the laser hit the target). Learning shot calling early on will save you tons of training time. 

Out of curiosity, is this the “dry fire reloaded” book on Ben’s site? It’s in my cart currently as I’ve been trying to research different books to grab. 
 

not trying to steal the thread, just clarifying the exact book. Thank you 

[Boomstick303]

2 minutes ago, X5SigChris said:

just clarifying the exact book.

 

https://benstoegerproshop.com/practical-shooting-training-by-ben-stoeger-joel-park/

 

I am not affiliated with Stoeger Pro shop just identifying the correct book.

[X5SigChris]

18 minutes ago, Boomstick303 said:

 

https://benstoegerproshop.com/practical-shooting-training-by-ben-stoeger-joel-park/

 

I am not affiliated with Stoeger Pro shop just identifying the correct book.

 Thank you very much for the information. Take care and happy New Years. 

[Kwontanamo]

to change things up, I youtube drills. this one is 30 min long and gives me plenty to do.