Tom,
As you know, I have a pretty good source at S&W, but I will check again, just to be sure. I imagine that the FAQ's were not written by the gunsmith's but who knows.
Tom,
As you know, I have a pretty good source at S&W, but I will check again, just to be sure. I imagine that the FAQ's were not written by the gunsmith's but who knows.
When I dryfire practice, I have a set of rounds made up with no primer and no powder, and I paint them a garish green color to make them exceedingly obvious. I then fill the mags I'm using up with them, and put a couple of snap-caps at the top of the mag. The mags are then similar in weight to loaded mags.
Dryfire practice with these as opposed to empty mags really is important I think. From draw/presentation to reloading drills, the weight makes for a serious difference in how it feels.
I second the comments regarding Anderson's dryfire practice books. While they are indeed competition oriented, they really work the basics of getting the gun out, on target, and working as quickly as possible. IF you have the discipline to actually practice and be honest with yourself as to whether or not you had a good sight picture and decent trigger control, it can really make a difference to your shooting.
I ended up deciding that the SIRT pistol wasn't for me (great tool, just not for my applications), but I absolutely fell in love with their practice magazines, and I ordered a couple of them for dryfire practice.Originally Posted by jthhapkido
What I like about them is that they have a similar form factor to standard Glock magazines, and they have adjustable weights so you can tailor them to your purposes. I adjusted the weight so that my practice magazine feels almost identical to a Glock 34 magazine loaded with ten rounds. It's a great practice tool, it doesn't jack up my magazine opening, and it's "safer" because it's a dummy magazine. I can't recommend them enough - I just wish they would make them in a color other than black so they would be more easily distinguishable as an inert magazine.
Thanks in advance, and I'll appreciate hearing about the double-check as well. I have a 617, which I dry-fire with spent 22 casings. That makes it a real pain, since I spend a few minutes triple-checking that only spent 22 casings are in the cylinder before I start pulling the trigger...
That said, I find that my 6" 617 is awesome for the Wall Drill. That 8" sight radius really exaggerates any motion, and giving great feedback. The trigger is generically perfect, near as I can tell. I'll probably spend more and more of my dry-fire time on my SD gun, especially once I get a SIRT, but it seems to me that strict marksmanship can always benefit from a Wall Drill session with the 617 every so often. Is that wrong-headed?
Maybe it just because I'm a noob, but dry-fire is certainly not boring for me. It's a real challenge to try to keep that sight picture perfectly still during the Wall Drill. The Balanced Case drill is a little like a game, as well, where I'm always trying to beat my previous performance by keeping that case on there for more/faster trigger pulls. And the results at the range are very motivating, as well. I've been shooting with some friends fairly regularly, and I've improved faster than them - something I attribute 100% to the fact that I dry-fire twice a day, and they don't.
Again, maybe it's just that I'm a noob, and still wagging my tail about "getting better." But the benefits are clear. I can treat much of it like a game. In many ways, it feels a lot like a range session, without the bang. What's not to love? In the end, I have to watch the clock, not because I can't wait for the session to end, but so that I don't go too long, get tired, and ingrain bad habits - and so my wife doesn't scold me for spending my precious "at home" time locked up with my gun!
I have not yet been able to reach "my man in the 'smithy", so THE WORD is still out. However, a discussion with another industry friend revealed what may be the disconnect here. Sig will tell you that their guns are perfectly safe to dry fire. They don't consider the guy who is practicing 30 minutes a day. THAT guy will peen his firing pin, if he doesn't use a snap cap.
A gunsmith at S&W may have said that dry firing their .22's was perfectly safe - thinking I meant one trigger pull, every now and then, possibly to relax the firing pin for storage. I don't yet know if that's what he meant, but I hope to find out pretty soon.
With the price of a set of good snap caps probably being the cheapest thing we ever buy firearms related my question would be why not? I use them in my Glocks just because.
Because it's easier to verify a gun as unloaded when the chamber is completely empty.
This. I have a fairly elaborate pre-dry fire ritual, and in the presence of anything cartridge-like I still feel a little nervous pulling the trigger. This is why I want the SIRT. Lately, since I've been using a 22lr revolver for most of my dry-fire, that revolver is more or less a dedicated dry-fire pistol (except for when I take it to the range.) This makes me much more comfortable, to separate the fighting guns from the dry-fire guns/tools.
From a safety standpoint I agree. When I first started doing df I had to come up with a plan to deal with the uncomfortable feeling of pulling the trigger with a "round" in the chamber in my house. The ones I use are red in color and I have a dedicated mag just for df that is painted orange. This along with a strict unloading reloading ritual insures safety. I think the SIRT is probably the best solution (even though I have never used one). But for firearm protection against possible even if improbable damage I think it is a good idea. YMMV.
Reply With Quote