I despise the SIRT, and I'm looking for an alternative.

[DMF13]

I hate the SIRT. I've tinkered with the darn thing for a long time. Now matter how I try to adjust the trigger it's impossible get it to feel anything like a real trigger. Plus the laser won't stay zeroed. Good idea, but poorly executed IMO. I know many will disagree, but I can't deal with it any more.

So I want a MUCH better dry fire option, as I'm really working to significantly improve my shooting.

Are there any good options other than just spending the money on getting a Glock 17R? I have a Gen4 Glock 19 that I can use for a dedicated training gun, if there is a legit way to convert it to a resetting dry fire trainer.

I'm getting ready to order the 17R, but thought I'd ask if there is anything out there, that I've missed, that will work as well.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

[Yung]

You're probably familiar with the CoolFire.

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?19847-CoolFire-(Like-a-SIRT-with-a-Reciprocating-Slide)

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?32105-REPORT-Trying-out-the-Cool-Fire-Trainer-for-the-Glock-34-for-Dry-Practice

I wonder how it might work when paired with a Mantis.

[HopetonBrown]

I bought the dryfiremag 4 years ago and really liked it, until it broke. Bob Vogel endorses it.

I have a SIRT and don't like it for dry fire either, except for reloads.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191011/8b33871eed4d92a5de6f1e31a784b45f.jpg

[Minnesota]

The 17r trigger is not exactly like a standard glock trigger. I have a dry fire mag and occasionally use it. The first one broke within the warranty period and the one I currently have has been working for about a year and a half. The downside to the dryfire mag is you can not practice reloads with it. I usually end up just simulating trigger pulls or using a piece of paper in between the breach. The dry fire mag is nice to see low shots start creeping in on longer strings. I would not bother with lasers in dry fire, call your shots and be honest about it.

[miller_man]

I'm pretty certain most folks who shoot the glock at high levels just train/ dry fire with an empty glock. There seems to be a reason for that.

Mr_White Probably has some of the best trigger drills for glock pistols and he attributes a LOT of skill gained using them.

I think a dedicated back up pistol that is your dry fire gun is the best move, that's what I did when shooting glocks and threw a blade tech dummy barrel in for easy identification and a pretty fool proof plan for safety.

[SAWBONES]

I hate the SIRT. I've tinkered with the darn thing for a long time. Now matter how I try to adjust the trigger it's impossible get it to feel anything like a real trigger. Plus the laser won't stay zeroed. Good idea, but poorly executed IMO.


Good to know.

Thanks for posting an honest experienced-but-negative opinion about an item I've thought of getting for some time.

It informs and helps to save others of us from sharing the same disappointment of obtaining a hyped product which doesn't live up to expectation.

[RevolverRob]

I wonder how it might work when paired with a Mantis.

Now that's an interesting idea.

Hmm...Looks like coolfire is ~300 bucks for a 1911, a basic MantisX is $150 + 30 for a Wilson 47D adapter. And then - I need a host....hmm.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I haven't had problems with my SIRT. Yes, the trigger is not the same as my real Glocks but I've lasered around the house and put up some drills on the wall and practiced on them. Wife has commented on that (ahem). Now, I'm not the world's fastest shooter (slow old man) but I can come in 5 points total down in an IPDA match shot with a Glock. So it works for me. This is not disparage folks who do not like them.

[Mr_White]

I'm pretty certain most folks who shoot the glock at high levels just train/ dry fire with an empty glock. There seems to be a reason for that.

Mr_White Probably has some of the best trigger drills for glock pistols and he attributes a LOT of skill gained using them.

I think a dedicated back up pistol that is your dry fire gun is the best move, that's what I did when shooting glocks and threw a blade tech dummy barrel in for easy identification and a pretty fool proof plan for safety.

It's true that I heavily concentrate my practice on using my real gun, whether it's dry or live. The issue I have with the alternatives is the same as the OP's - the trigger is just never the same. I think the SIRT, dry fire mags, G17R, rubber band in the ejection port, etc. are all perfectly fine ways to practice. What you get with all of those are continuity of grip and vision in the course of whatever drill/practice you're doing. That's something you don't have if you work the slide for each trigger press like with a regular Glock. But the downside to all those is that the trigger is never really the SAME as on the real gun. That's why I do my practice the way that I do. I also have zero doubt that those other methods can be done extremely productively. I think it's just a personal preference thing. FWIW, to the OP, I have never felt a 17R that had the same trigger as my real Glock either. It's a 'different different' from the SIRT trigger. I think it's still productive though; it's kind of like a less extreme version of practicing trigger control with a J-frame in order to get better trigger control for your Glock trigger. That the J-frame trigger is different from the Glock does not negate the value of the practice.

[Tom Duffy]

Buying a SIRT was the worst $400 I ever spent. Dry firing with a red dot is currently a good solution.

[Yung]

I think it is worth bringing up the idea, even if not for the first time, that while the SIRT is a mixed choice for dry practice of fundamentals, where it may really shine is practice from things in close contact and entangled positions.

[Mr_White]

I think it is worth bringing up the idea, even if not for the first time, that while the SIRT is a mixed choice for dry practice of fundamentals, where it may really shine is practice from things in close contact and entangled positions.

Yes. And for me, I'd add that it's good for practicing things that require a muzzle direction that is unacceptable to me with my real gun. The main example are fragments of USPSA stages at home, where I only have a pretty small actual safe direction.

[Bergeron]

I’m a happy CoolFire user.

It was expensive, but it’s my trigger, and it resets.

Regarding the Mantis, I’ve been wondering what it would be like to stick one on a dedicated 22.

[Jay Cunningham]

Do not buy a SIRT for dry practice.

It is an instructional tool. It can quite handily assist in explaining certain things to students.

[Gater]

I think there may have been a more recent thread on these, but worth a read if you haven't seen it before:

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?24104-SIRT-Pistol-vs-Laserlyte-cartridges

As I mentioned in thread, the laserlyte cartridge works well for me for draw to first shot practice. All dry fire rules apply, but because the laserlyte does not eject when the slide is cycled, it acts as a chamber block as well as a snap cap.

[DMF13]

FWIW, to the OP, I have never felt a 17R that had the same trigger as my real Glock either. It's a 'different different' from the SIRT trigger. I think it's still productive though . . . Thanks, I agree that it isn't exactly like the real Glock either. We have them at work, and I've had a little time with them helping other shooters when instructing. However, we only have a few, and I would feel guilty hogging one, when struggling shooters need them more than I do. So that's why I'm considering buying my own.

I haven't put them on a gauge, but to me the 17R feels like it's pull weight is about half way between the stock Glock, and a NY1 (I had one of those in a G27 I bought from a friend). I actually like the idea of dry firing with a slightly heavier trigger pull.

I'd really like to do better dry fire training, and the SIRT trigger simply doesn't feel right to me no matter how much I've tried to adjust it. To me it was so bad I felt it was causing me problems.

Have you used both the DryFireMag and the 17R? If the DryFireMag gives a feel as close to the real deal as the 17R I'd like to save the money, but if not I'll pony up for the real deal. I have a Glock 19 that I keep a Blade-Tech barrel in for dry fire, and drop in the live barrel when I go to a match so I have a backup in case I have a problem with my carry gun. So if the DryFireMag is as good as the 17R I could go that way. So if you've used both, do you think the 17R is better, and enough so to justify the cost?

Thanks.

[DMF13]

I think a dedicated back up pistol that is your dry fire gun is the best move, that's what I did when shooting glocks and threw a blade tech dummy barrel in for easy identification and a pretty fool proof plan for safety.That's what I'm doing now, but I'm well beyond getting improvement out of a single trigger pull and racking the slide to do it again.

[DMF13]

Do not buy a SIRT for dry practice.

It is an instructional tool. It can quite handily assist in explaining certain things to students.Well, I figured that out the hard way. :) I use the 17R at work when instructing, but use the SIRT when teaching friends outside of work.

[Mr_White]

Thanks, I agree that it isn't exactly like the real Glock either. We have them at work, and I've had a little time with them helping teach when instructing. However, we only have a few, and I would feel guilty hogging one, when struggling shooters need them more than I do. So that's why I'm considering buying my own.

I haven't put them on a gauge, but to me the 17R feels like it's pull weight is about half way between the stock Glock, and a NY1 (I had one of those in a G27 I bought from a friend). I actually like the idea of dry firing with a slightly heavier trigger pull.

I'd really like to do better dry fire training, and the SIRT trigger simply doesn't feel right to me no matter how much I've tried to adjust it.

Have you used both the DryFireMag and the 17R? If the DryFireMag gives a feel as close to the real deal as the 17R I'd like to save the money, but if not I'll pony up for the real deal. I have a Glock 19 that I keep a Blade-Tech barrel in for dry fire, and drop in the live barrel when I go to a match so I have a backup in case I have a problem with my carry gun. So if the DryFireMag is as good as the 17R I could go that way. So if you've used both, do you think the 17R is better, and enough so to justify the cost?

Thanks.

I've tried the dry fire mag on so few occasions that all I really remember is noting that it wasn't the same as my real Glock. I think the 17R is probably better by degree for safety because there is no possibility you screw up and load and fire the gun, whereas that's at least possible with a real gun intended to only contain the dry fire mag. I'm not saying that has to be the overriding consideration but it's in there.

[DMF13]

I've tried the dry fire mag on so few occasions that all I really remember is noting that it wasn't the same as my real Glock. I think the 17R is probably better by degree for safety because there is no possibility you screw up and load and fire the gun, whereas that's at least possible with a real gun intended to only contain the dry fire mag. I'm not saying that has to be the overriding consideration but it's in there.Thanks for the quick reply. Safety is a huge consideration for me, and that's why I've been using my "spare" with the Blade-Tech barrel. Despite the bright yellow barrel I triple check it before practice. When I lived in a house with a basement I was still OCD about it, but at least then a N-D would have gone into a concrete wall. Now I've got no backstop that would stop a live round when I'm doing dry fire.

[JR1572]

I use a 17R that I have set up exactly like my duty pistol including the TLR1 and oem Glock nightsights. I took the 17R reset spring and replaced it with the spring from the NY1 and it feels more like a regular Glock trigger.

[Clobbersaurus]

I think folks tend to get too hung up on replicating the trigger press of their duty/cary/competition gun in their training. I don’t see any top shooters using much else than full slide rack trigger presses, rubber band in the barrel hood, and for DA/SA folks -not letting out to full reset in their dry practice training.

I advocate in every dry fire session to do full speed wall drills and something I call speed draws to a low % targets, to ingrain proper trigger press. For everything else I just use a a small piece of plastic in the barrel hood in my Glock to simulate trigger reset.

The fact is that when you are firing at any speed, you are slapping the crap out of the trigger. Trigger press matters way less in that situation than recoil management. For all other shooting you are covered by the drills I mentioned above.

I do advocate using a training gun that has a heavier trigger than your competition gun, I think that has many positive benefits. I’m not so sure I would do that for a cary or duty gun though.

[wtturn]

Just use the real gun.

I think most of the dry fire gadgetry out there is an excuse to buy a new toy in the name of practice rather than just rolling up the sleeves and practicing.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

[RevolverRob]

FWIW - I have used for...I guess 4.5'ish years now, a spring powered air-soft 1911 for like...80-90% of my dryfire work. I don't have to rack the slide to get the hammer to fall. Though the trigger press is lighter than my actual 1911s, it is roughly the same length and the gun fits perfectly into my various 5" holsters. The thumb safety works and snaps on and off with authority after I don't even know how many manipulations; quite a few thousand. If it broke tomorrow, I might be kind of bummed, because it gave good service. But otherwise, I'd order a new one and drive on. The advantage of a single action gun, I suppose, is that I can simply recock the hammer with my off-hand thumb or even strong thumb when I do trigger work.

I do have a Laserlyte barrel insert that I use every once in awhile (once a month or so) to make sure that I'm not actually disrupting the sights when I drop the hammer. It's just a little check for me to confirm what is going on, not really something I get too hung up on. Your front sight usually tells just about everything you could want to know.

Still thinking the Coolfire + Mantis-X would be an interesting thing to try. Not ready to drop the coin on it, but if I remain behind enemy lines with respect to my employment or worse go some place worse - I may do it, in lieu of a rimfire trainer (which is what I was thinking of doing next).

[KeeFus]

Wall Drill.

Everything else is a gimmick.

[DMF13]

Wall Drill.

Everything else is a gimmick.
While the wall drill is extremely important, I think it's a bit ridiculous to say that everything else is worthless.

Ben Stoeger is no slouch when it comes to shooting, and he's written extensively about dry fire drills, beyond just doing the wall drill.