Explain Dry Firing To Me Please?

[Cypher]

I don't dry fire.

I have heard that I should since I first started taking any kind of training but all I was told was "you should dry fire".

So how do I dry fire? What am I trying to accomplish? How do I know I'm doing it right? (Besides the obvious my shooting improves) what about using a laser cartridge?

Thank you for answering my constant pain in the ass questions

[Peally]

No laser cartridges needed, and in fact defeats a lot of the point. Dry firing is setting up targets at home and practicing everything about shooting except the actual act of recoil management so you aren't unnecessarily blowing rounds at the range.

Basically it's how you git gud without being a millionaire or ammunition manufacturer CEO. Body builders go to the gym, shooters dry fire (and confirm their training in live fire). Dry fire a crap-ton, go shoot drills with real ammo, see what you screw up and need to change in your training, rinse and repeat.

ETA: because I can't recommend his books enough on the subject and they'll basically answer any questions and set you on the path (you still need to supply the will to practice regularly though): https://www.amazon.com/DryFire-Reloa...+fire+reloaded

[critter]

The main thing to *look for* while dry firing is to make sure that the front sight doesn't budge as you hear the click (well, rear sight too, but if the rear sight is jumping around, there are some major issues at play). It's rock solid stationary on every squeeze. If it dances around, or shifts, that would have been a less than stellar live round shot.

[PNWTO]

http://pistol-training.com/drills/wall-drill

http://pistol-training.com/archives/5185

So how do I dry fire? What am I trying to accomplish? How do I know I'm doing it right? (Besides the obvious my shooting improves) what about using a laser cartridge?

Check out the above plus the trigger and sight control posts in the reference section. That is a good start. I don't think a laser is 100% necessary and may even be distracting for the novice by taking attention away from the sights.

[RJ]

Page 2 of the Rangemaster Dec 15 Newsletter explains Dry Practice pretty well.

http://rangemaster.com/wp-content/up...Newsletter.pdf

Rangemaster is owned by Tom Givens, a SME here on Pistol Forum. If you haven't seen the newsletters, they are a literal gold mine of useful information.

[octagon]

I would say you are doing it right if you never hear a bang but you ask a serious question and deserve a serious answer. I am no means an expert but recently took up a more serious dry fire program so I will describe what i do and has been working in improving my skills.

First and foremost everytime you should set aside dedicated time and place to safely dry fire.

A dedicated dry fire gun if you have an extra is also a good idea but never skip the safety. Double and triple check visually and physically the gun is empty and no live ammo is in the room you will dry fire in.

That said you work on the skills you want to improve on and those you are bad at.

Practice drawing and engaging a target
Dry fire at a target to practice the trigger press,grip and sight alignment
Look up wall drill and do the same without a target to focus more on trigger press without the target but watching for sight movement.
Practice getting into various positions and dry firing from those positions while you watch your sights for movement.
Practice reloads using empty magazines or with dummy rounds, weighted magazine trainers or magazine blocking adapter that prevents the slide locking open when empty.
Print up some 1/3 or 1/6 scale IDPA targets to place around your dry fire room and practice a stage where 1 foot is equal to 1 yard in how the target appears.

All these can be done with a laser cartridge (except the dummy round use) and that adds an element of indicating where a round would hit with the trigger press. However as the o rings wear the laser hit can change and be off from the last position. There is also the possibility of inducing the issue of looking for the laser dot hit and not following through on focusing on the front sight. I believe this is called eye racing. I have caught myself doing it and I switch to regular dry fire for awhile to stop it.

You can also get laser indicating targets from multiple sources like Laserlyte where I got my laser cartridge but others make some also. These indicate a hit,where,and or reaction time or sound,vibrate or fall when hit depending on the target.

In addition there are other tools and equipment that allow a camera and laser cartridge to allow you to set up a range of targets in the camera view that when hit by the laser sound and locate the hit when viewed on the computer screen

The sky is the limit for adding things to make the practice more fun or interesting but nothing is needed to benefit from dry fire practice with just a safe place to practice and a double checked empty gun. The benefit comes from reps done properly not the add ons.

I'm sure others will go into using a shot timer or shot timer app with par times for practicing skills under a specified time or adding a video camera to look for inefficiencies.

ETA See while I was busy typing stuff others were answering your question

[octagon]

Here are some links for dry fire accessories. They aren't required to get results but can add some fun and make it interesting.

https://www.laserlyte.com/ Laser cartridges and targets as well as dedicated laser training guns.

https://nextleveltraining.com/shop/ Dedicated training guns and equipment related to dry fire

https://jet.com/product/detail/d5bb1...a:2&code=PLA15

I like and use the above style metal case dummy rounds as they work well and don't wear out with gouges on the rim so quickly as full plastic dummy rounds.

http://www.dryfiremag.com/ I haven't used this but it is supposed to work in a regular Glock to make it work like a SIRT gun.

http://lasrapp.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwiI...ZIsaAitM8P8HAQ

The above link is for an app that allows dry fire and laser to set up a home range with camera and laser cartridge.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 These allow you to do reloads and slide racking without the slide being locked open.

[RJ]

I use a AAA headlight when I dry practice to help me see the front sight:

Petzl - TIKKINA Headlamp 80 Lumens, Black (FFP)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YZ3UWQK..._bsa5ybGDTTYBV


I also put on a pair of full lens 1.5 safety glasses as well:

Pyramex Safety SG7910D15 Emerge Grey Frame with Clear +1.5 Lens

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E5NXH6M..._tta5ybJ2R9KBT

[Jay Cunningham]

The main thing to *look for* while dry firing is to make sure that the front sight doesn't budge as you hear the click (well, rear sight too, but if the rear sight is jumping around, there are some major issues at play). It's rock solid stationary on every squeeze. If it dances around, or shifts, that would have been a less than stellar live round shot.

I disagree with you if the main focus is practical pistol shooting.

Attempting to keep a front sight absolutely still during a dry trigger manipulation will lead to all kinds of compromise in order to achieve that goal.

Should that be the goal, or should something else be the goal?

[Duces Tecum]

What am I trying to accomplish?

A dry fire session may (if you wish) simulate a gun fight. There are many moments in a fight, and each contains a different objective. What you are trying to accomplish is to flow through the sequential objectives like corn through a goose.

So how do I dry fire?

It's possible that the event may occur at close range, perhaps within two arm lengths. These are high probability shots where the target is (relatively) big but the widow of opportunity is small. I stand five feet from the dressing room mirror and draw/shoot at my reflection as fast as I can, aiming at the triangle formed by the outside corners of the eyes and the bottom of the nose. immediately following striker fall I check sight alignment. If I'm off the triangle, the shot doesn't count and I slow down. Alternatively, if I'm making too small a "group", I speed up. I shoot two-handed, five left and five right. Someone (perhaps on this board) recently described the "flash sight picture" under 10 yards as point shooting ending with sight verification. That is an actionable visualization.

It's also possible that a distance shot might be required, and these should be practiced as well. I have a 1/3rd scale IPSC target at 11 yards, giving a 33 yard (adjusted) shot. I aim (carefully, but in a non-tardy way) for the target's clavicle notch, and I hold after the shot to verify the sights haven't moved. Each session is devoted to one or two lagging areas: (examples) the presentation, sight alignment, rolling trigger break, sight picture during / after striker fall. I perform 10 reps two-hand (right) and 10 reps one-hand (right), then the same program with the left hand.

How do I know I'm doing it right?

Scott Adams, the author of the Dilbert comics, wrote a book not long ago ("How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big"). In the book he mentions the need for a "system". A system is a series of actions that cumulatively result in better than a 50% chance of success. That's what intelligent dry fire practice is. And you know you're doing it right when your live fire improves. Not "is perfect", just "improves". Dry fire is accretive. When you notice improvement, you know you're doing it right.