Learning to crawl with the 3x5 drill and dummy rounds

[Cycrops]

Hi All,

I've been shooting handguns since January of this year. My first purchase was a Beretta 92A1 and to be honest, I've never shot it particularly well, despite practicing with it at least a couple of times each month. I've decided to get a little more serious my training by shooting for a couple of hours each week, and that means focusing on learning to shoot the Beretta accurately, since it's my bedside table gun. I went through a phase where I was thinking about selling the Beretta and replacing it with a P30L LEM. I was blaming the Beretta for being DA/SA, for having a crappy trigger, for having a big, uncomfortable grip, and just about anything else I could think of. I knew that my skills/habits were the problem, but it's amazing how tempting it can be to try to buy your way out of doing something difficult.

Anyway, I'm a lefty and 90% of my shots with the Beretta were low-right, which indicates that I'm flinching and pulling my shots. This morning I tried the 3X5 card drill and I mixed in 2 snap caps with each of my 6-round magazines.

I started the 3X5 drill using my Hammerli Trailside (.22) and within 100 rounds I was at the 15-yard line and putting 5 out of 6 shots on the index cards.

When I switched to the Beretta, I decided that

A) Even though I hate the DA trigger pull, I would follow the drill instructions and alternate DA shots and SA shots consistently
B) I would not move past the 3-yard mark until I had 6 bullet holes touching each other on an index card
and
C) Every time I caught myself flinching on a dummy round I would dry fire 10X before moving on

Well, I attempted the 3 yard drill 18 times and every damn time I was flinching on my dummy rounds and pulling shots. I was humbled, I was frustrated, and I was determined to keep going. I brought 115 rounds of 9mm to the range with me, so after the 18 sets of 6, I had 7 rounds left, and I loaded them all up. You can see the results in the picture below. Not exactly one ragged hole, but MUCH better than the start of the morning. You can see that most of the shots are still low right, which means I have work to do, but I'm so glad I tried this drill as it's helping me to address a fundamental problem.



I still like the idea of picking up a P30L and perhaps other 9mm pistols in the future, but my goal now is to be an accurate shot with the Beretta before I even consider additional handgun purchases.

One thing that I'm wondering about is how the ball and dummy method cures flinching (assuming it actually does that). Does having the potential for a dummy round allow your mind to trick itself into ignoring the flinch impulse? Does it simply force you to concentrate on a proper trigger pull where you're surprised by the break, rather than anticipating the break and giving an extra squeeze/jerk at the end?

Anyway, thanks so much for creating a site/forum focused on shooting well.

[MDS]

One thing that I'm wondering about is how the ball and dummy method cures flinching (assuming it actually does that). Does having the potential for a dummy round allow your mind to trick itself into ignoring the flinch impulse? Does it simply force you to concentrate on a proper trigger pull where you're surprised by the break, rather than anticipating the break and giving an extra squeeze/jerk at the end?

First of all, that's good work! With this attitude, I expect you'll meet and exceed your goals in a surprisingly short time.

As for ball and dummy vs. flinching, I can only give you my impressions. I feel like standard ball and dummy is more for diagnosing a flinch, than for curing it. I feel like I've gotten pretty good at knowing when I flinch, even during a live shot... but I still go through a mag of ball and dummy every few range trips, just to be sure. What helped me cure my flinch (to the extent that it's cured...) is lots of dry-fire, lots of dummy-and-ball, and occasional mag dumps. Dummy and ball is like ball and dummy, but with lots more dummies than balls. I'd go through 10 mags with 9 dummies and a live round in there somewhere. After a month or two of doing that every week, I went through a couple more months where I'd start every session with my cold drill (The Test, at the time) and then do a mag of 14 dummies and 1 live, 5 dummies and 5 live, and 1 dummy and 5 live rounds - the three mags would be random so I wouldn't know which mag I had (it would be obvious after a few shots, but...) And a mag dump now and then would help get me past the BOOM so that I could focus on the trigger pull.

Did I mention dry-fire? Lots of Wall Drill. Lots. =)

[Sheep Have Wool]

+1 to MDS.

Dry fire, double plugging earpro, and 70/30 dummy & ball have helped me.

[Cycrops]

Dry fire, double plugging earpro, and 70/30 dummy & ball have helped me.

Good advice, thanks!

I do double up my ear protection. I shoot at a 25-yd indoor range that allows rifles. Having the guy in the next lane doing AK mag dumps is no fun with just muffs on.

I've been skeptical about the value of dry fire on its own. Once I know that the gun is not going to fire when I pull the trigger, there is no hint of flinch. I guess it's still necessary to go through the motions hundreds of times anyway. I'm going to continue my dummy & ball, I'll probably start mixing 3 dummies in with every 6 shots. I'm also going to make some dummy rounds that mimic my reloads (just no powder or primer) to ensure that their placement is random.

BTW, my range is poorly marked (read: not at all marked) in terms of distances. Does anybody make an inexpensive range-finder that I could use to dial in my target distances? It seems like $100 is the minimum entry fee for one based on some amazon shopping.

Here's my Trailside with a typical 7-yd group. Even though I shoot it OK, I'm really questioning the value of a .22 for target practice in terms of translating into skill with centerfire pistols.

[Sheep Have Wool]

I've been skeptical about the value of dry fire on its own. Once I know that the gun is not going to fire when I pull the trigger, there is no hint of flinch. I guess it's still necessary to go through the motions hundreds of times anyway.

It's boring, but it helps. It's helping to ingrain the muscle memory of what a good trigger press feels like, rather than one that has a jerk at the end. I saw the biggest gains in fixing my flinch after doing dry fire every day for 2 weeks for 15 minutes.

One other thing that has helped me is starting to shoot more 25 yard stuff. You might not hit much - I know I certainly don't, yet - but consciously thinking "The trigger moves, the gun does not" while staring hard at the front sight has helped.

This post is filled with valuable advice as well.

[Dave J]

Good advice, thanks!
BTW, my range is poorly marked (read: not at all marked) in terms of distances. Does anybody make an inexpensive range-finder that I could use to dial in my target distances? It seems like $100 is the minimum entry fee for one based on some amazon shopping.

Hmmm...how about a piece of string with a knot tied in it every yard, and an alligator clip on the end to hold it to the target backer?

That, and politely recommend to the management that they find someone qualified to operate a tape measure and a paintbrush. (maybe not using those exact words though)

[taadski]

"I'm really questioning the value of a .22 for target practice in terms of translating into skill with centerfire pistols."


I think the issue you may be experiencing is that the similarity of the rimfire platform to the centerfire one is exceedingly important. Years ago I bought a Ruger 22/45 with the hopes that using it as a trainer would yield great results shooting my duty pistols (SA/DA Sigs). The fact of the matter is that it just didn't. The trigger, in particular, was just too different. Years later, I bought a S&W model 617 (4" .22) with the same hopes. That was way more helpful at building trigger control skill (especially DA) than the SA Ruger, but still not ideal b/c of the obvious ergonomic differences, etc. As it stands now, my first choice for a rimfire training pistol is a conversion kit or .22 version of my centerfire pistols. They may not, in some cases, be the most reliable units out there (my Sig 226 kit has some issues) but the fact of the matter is that I'm able to practice with a .22 version that's identical to my carry firearms.

All that said, as it sounds like you've already figured out, a dedicated dryfire routine is the single most productive tool you can use to gain/maintain skill. I once heard a quote that I oft repeat: "Dryfire is the venue where new [trigger control] skill is built and learning happens; live fire simply serves to confirm what you've learned".

T

[ghettomedic]

Does anybody make an inexpensive range-finder that I could use to dial in my target distances? It seems like $100 is the minimum entry fee for one based on some amazon shopping.

[Cycrops]

Lol at the measuring tape.

I've been continuing to practice and my flinch has gotten better but is still an issue. I'm fairly certain that my dry fire negligence is holding me back. I'm going to try 10-20 min of dry fire each day to see if that helps next week. It's perhaps worth mentioning that I'm now much more consistent with my double action shots than with my single action ones. Not sure why that is, but I can definitely feel myself go puuuullll...JERK with live rounds (never happens during dry fire) in single action, but I have an easier time doing a consistent smooth pull with double action. Go figure.

[Wendell]

Here's my Trailside with a typical 7-yd group. Even though I shoot it OK, I'm really questioning the value of a .22 for target practice in terms of translating into skill with centerfire pistols.

With practice, you can do much better than that. Start practicing strong-hand only and weak-hand only, shooting for group every time, and work your way out to the maximum distances permitted by your range.

The value in doing so is in learning trigger control.