Dry Fire

[jkatz44]

I have a few questions about dry firing. 1. What snap caps are good for my sw mp 9mmL and where could i get them? 2. Aside from Steve Andersons book; is there any other drills that would benifit from me? 3. Would CED reduced targets be good for dry fire? If not, what targets are good for dry fire?

[dcarter]

I wouldn't buy snap caps if you don't have to. Snap caps are not necessary. What you need is to get the weight of the mags correct. Just remember you will only have one or two rounds left in a mag in most cases before a reload. If you have a press or someone who does. Have some bullets put into some cases without primers or powder. Mark them so you know they are dummies. If you have the extra mags you could just keep a few mags loaded with those for practice only mags.

As far as the targets I made up my own. Somewhere on this forum are pictures of 1/3 scale targets (someone who knows computers better than I can help you find them.). Print them out and get some lamination sheets from an office supply store and cover front and back. Cut them out and they will last forever. Hang them on a wall with tape and you can set them up anywhere.

Both of Steve's books should keep you busy for a long time to come. His drills cover most any skill you need to work on. The trick is to do it on a regular basis. Make a plan before you start as to what you will be working on in a given session with the available time.

[boz1911]

I just made one target 1/2 size (dimensions are in the rulebook) and used it as a template to make additional ones as needed. Good way to recycle cardboard.

[dcarter]

I would like to make some 1/2 size targets so I could simulate some depth. The largest room I have available is my living room and it is not all that big. I also need to make some of those "Turtle" targets. I have plates, Pepper poppers and US poppers also. I keep them all in a little plastic bin so I can take them to work or anywhere else I want to go.

[Bongo Boy]

I too have many questions regarding dry fire.

I truly believe it has helped me tremendously. But only with a very few things. Like breaking the shot with the sights right. Other than that, not sure how much 'drill' is possible with dry fire, considering I shoot a DA/SA gun and nothing about dry fire is anything like actually shooting. It has been huge in getting me to look at the sights and break the shot...still struggling with the time between seeing the sights and getting the round to go off.

But, drills? I'm very curious about how dry fire can be used to go beyond a very small piece of the shooting problem.

[sperman]

I would like to make some 1/2 size targets so I could simulate some depth. The largest room I have available is my living room and it is not all that big. I also need to make some of those "Turtle" targets. I have plates, Pepper poppers and US poppers also. I keep them all in a little plastic bin so I can take them to work or anywhere else I want to go.

Small targets will help simulate the size of a standard target that is far away, but it does not change the focal distance.  I was dry firing with a 1/3rd scale target about 8 yards away because of the room available to me.  I found that I could focus on the target an the front sight was still almost in focus. I moved to another part of the house where the targets are about 15 yards out.  Now I have to focus on the front sight.

[jkatz44]

I would like to make some 1/2 size targets so I could simulate some depth. The largest room I have available is my living room and it is not all that big. I also need to make some of those "Turtle" targets. I have plates, Pepper poppers and US poppers also. I keep them all in a little plastic bin so I can take them to work or anywhere else I want to go.

Small targets will help simulate the size of a standard target that is far away, but it does not change the focal distance.  I was dry firing with a 1/3rd scale target about 8 yards away because of the room available to me.  I found that I could focus on the target an the front sight was still almost in focus. I moved to another part of the house where the targets are about 15 yards out.  Now I have to focus on the front sight.

sperman,

Aren't you supposed to focus on the front sight all the time?

[Jesse Tischauser]

I too have many questions regarding dry fire.

I truly believe it has helped me tremendously. But only with a very few things. Like breaking the shot with the sights right. Other than that, not sure how much 'drill' is possible with dry fire, considering I shoot a DA/SA gun and nothing about dry fire is anything like actually shooting. It has been huge in getting me to look at the sights and break the shot...still struggling with the time between seeing the sights and getting the round to go off.

But, drills? I'm very curious about how dry fire can be used to go beyond a very small piece of the shooting problem.

I have now read several of the great books Brian sells in his store and the thing I learned about dry fire is that it is more trainging for your eyes than for anything else. The faster you can pick up targets and an exceptable sight picture the faster you can pull the trigger. You can also work on your draws and movement through dry fire.

I would highly recommend the books Brain sells in his store. Refinement and Repetition, Dry Fire Drills for Dramatic Improvement by Steve Anderson and Perfect Practice by Saul Kirsch are great. They are both full of dry fire and live fire drills and provide a good explanation of why you should do each of the drills.

[Corey]

draws, movement, and reloads are what I am starting to work on with dry fire practice as well as my new found hobby of airsoft. whle you cant simulate the recoil of the gun, i am already seeing a little improvement in the time it takes for the previously listed actions. i figure if i can get my eyes trained to find the target faster and then get myself to a new shooting position or get a new mag to the gun quicker....then the dry firing practice has helped

[bierman]

Jason,

I know you are not supposed to "need" a snap cap to dry fire a modern, striker fired pistol, but, I broke the striker on my M&P by dryfiring empty. I know another shooter here locally who did the same thing. I like the Tipton Snap-Caps, FWIW. They don't cost much, and I have dryfired tens of thousands of times using them now with no problems.

Another good source for dry fire is www.benstoeger.com . He has a lot of great drills on his site.

[Corey]

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...c=96029&hl=

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...c=92937&hl=

check out those two threads, pair them with Steve's book....you'l never run out of dryfire ideas

[jkatz44]

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...c=96029&hl=

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...c=92937&hl=

check out those two threads, pair them with Steve's book....you'l never run out of dryfire ideas

Thanks everyone for their help! :cheers:

[FranDoc]

There are a number of threads with .pdf files of 1/3 size targets. Search using the terms "reduced targets" or "reduced size targets". Go under "Advanced Search" and use quotation marks around the terms.

For other ideas to make dry firing more interesting, see Pharaoh Bender's "How I dry fire, 2009 Edition". The drills from Ben Stoeger's website were translated onto the Forum by Pittbug a couple of months ago. I like doing those drills because it's a change from the stand-and-shoot static dry fire. Ben's, especially, use a lot of movement & reloads. You can practice target acquisition (time to first A-zone hit), reloads, movement, shooting on the move, transitions of various distances, and shooting position changes (kneeling, seated, squatting, prone), all with dry fire.

XRe has some video on his Forum Dealer site of setting up field courses in the house.

If your M&P has a trigger like a Glock - doesn't move after the first dry 'shot' - Pharaoh Bender has a couple of photos on the Forum of holding the breech open slightly with a piece of paper. Keeps the gun "out of battery" enough so that the trigger moves during dry fire. That eliminates the problem of the striker falling on an empty chamber (striker doesn't move at all with the paper trick).

I found that I needed to weight the magazines for better reload practice. Made up some dummy rounds with my regular bullets -- no primer, no powder. They're marked so they don't get mixed with live ammo. Snap caps don't adequately reproduce the weight of a .40 cal 200 grain bullet, much less doing a reload with 19 or 20 of them in the magazine.

You don't really have to use formal IPSC targets for practice all the time. Sometimes I stick up old colored business cards, they're about half the size of the upper A-zone. You can also aim at light switches, pictures on the wall, etc. That can save on set-up time if you have just a few minutes to practice, and your "course of fire" can be infinitely variable, depending upon where you stand.

I love my airsoft, but there are concerns with both propane & green gas in an enclosed basement. And some days I just don't feel like chasing stray pellets after practice.

[Jadeslade]

For no cost, you can go around dry firing at all the lampshades in the house, with the lights on. Gives good sight picture. Transition to pictures on wall and stuff, run up the stairs and do it. Move around to different rooms.

[jkatz44]

There are a number of threads with .pdf files of 1/3 size targets. Search using the terms "reduced targets" or "reduced size targets". Go under "Advanced Search" and use quotation marks around the terms.

For other ideas to make dry firing more interesting, see Pharaoh Bender's "How I dry fire, 2009 Edition". The drills from Ben Stoeger's website were translated onto the Forum by Pittbug a couple of months ago. I like doing those drills because it's a change from the stand-and-shoot static dry fire. Ben's, especially, use a lot of movement & reloads. You can practice target acquisition (time to first A-zone hit), reloads, movement, shooting on the move, transitions of various distances, and shooting position changes (kneeling, seated, squatting, prone), all with dry fire.

XRe has some video on his Forum Dealer site of setting up field courses in the house.

If your M&P has a trigger like a Glock - doesn't move after the first dry 'shot' - Pharaoh Bender has a couple of photos on the Forum of holding the breech open slightly with a piece of paper. Keeps the gun "out of battery" enough so that the trigger moves during dry fire. That eliminates the problem of the striker falling on an empty chamber (striker doesn't move at all with the paper trick).

I found that I needed to weight the magazines for better reload practice. Made up some dummy rounds with my regular bullets -- no primer, no powder. They're marked so they don't get mixed with live ammo. Snap caps don't adequately reproduce the weight of a .40 cal 200 grain bullet, much less doing a reload with 19 or 20 of them in the magazine.

You don't really have to use formal IPSC targets for practice all the time. Sometimes I stick up old colored business cards, they're about half the size of the upper A-zone. You can also aim at light switches, pictures on the wall, etc. That can save on set-up time if you have just a few minutes to practice, and your "course of fire" can be infinitely variable, depending upon where you stand.

I love my airsoft, but there are concerns with both propane & green gas in an enclosed basement. And some days I just don't feel like chasing stray pellets after practice.

MY M&P is not a like a Glock. I can continuously pull the trigger but it is not like a real pull. I wanted to use classic targets because for some reason, I have trouble getting good hits on this type of target.

P.S. I cannot Dave's video on his forum.

Edited January 9, 2010 by jkatz44

[FranDoc]

P.S. I cannot Dave's video on his forum.

DRPerformance on the Dealer's Forum -> Articles -> Practice Drills

There are also downloadable targets on Ron Avery's site: Practical Shooting Academy on the Dealer's Forum.

I know that there are vendors who sell reduced-size cardboard Classic targets (the "turtle"). I haven't done a search for that, but I'd bet that there's a link for those elsewhere on the Forum.

For snap caps, the ones with the brass bases (check Brownell's and some of the other Forum vendors) are sturdier than the all-plastic ones.

[Chris Keen]

For reduced size cardboard targets check out Chris Patty's website. I think he has them. www.CPWSA.com

[jkatz44]

For reduced size cardboard targets check out Chris Patty's website. I think he has them. www.CPWSA.com

I contacted Chris and he says that he no longer sells them.

[Paul Burtchell]

C&M Target Systems

PO Box 67913

Alburquerque, NM 87193-7913

(505) 899-1188 *** I do not know if this number is still active*****

They sell a reduced target "kit" .

Edited January 17, 2010 by baerburtchell

[1911Prof]

For what it is worth, I started using a mirror to increase the focal length between me and the targets in dry fire practice. My room is only about 8 meters long so I put a mirror on the wall in front of me and the targets on the wall behind me increasing the focal distance between me and the targets. This also has the benefit of having some targets that you can't see in the mirror without moving your feet. This way I get to practice some form of transition as well.

[Jesse Tischauser]

For reduced size cardboard targets check out Chris Patty's website. I think he has them. www.CPWSA.com

I contacted Chris and he says that he no longer sells them.

target barn has the reduced size targets as well.