Dry Practice Misconceptions - Updated 01-22-19

[Jay Cunningham]

I do not mean to undermine Jay

lol!

You are too gracious, sir.

Your own commentary in this very thread (and via some PMs) led me to a much better understanding of the strong hand and how it works. I had some pieces, but with some stuff Vogel said plus your own thoughts, I sorted out in my mind the interplay between the strong hand only grip and the strong hand combined with the support hand on the gun.

Your point you made above is quite interesting and simply something that hadn't crossed my mind. Your thoughts on dry practice misconceptions tend to be more nuanced than my own and reflect your deeper understanding of higher-performance shooting.

So I'm not going to change my answer

Definitely not C!!!

but I do think your answer is very much worth considering.

Once students make it through all of my various pistol class offerings I want to send them to you for finishing school.

Shit, I need that myself.

[Al T.]

Tagged, great thread, thanks folks!

[Gorris]

I'm rather new too shooting and was working on some dry fire practice and had a question about trigger pull. Should you take up the slack on the trigger? Or should I touch the trigger then pull slow and smooth to the rear? I feel like that when I try to pull faster it turns into a "jerk" and I end up low left. I'm just not sure because in a self defense situation (main focus), I will be pulling the trigger rather quick. Any feedback would be great!

[RJ]

I'm rather new too shooting and was working on some dry fire practice and had a question about trigger pull. Should you take up the slack on the trigger? Or should I touch the trigger then pull slow and smooth to the rear? I feel like that when I try to pull faster it turns into a "jerk" and I end up low left. I'm just not sure because in a self defense situation (main focus), I will be pulling the trigger rather quick. Any feedback would be great!

I've settled on 'you need to practice them all'.

In a competition environment, targets vary from literally at your feet to 25 yards. The press you use for close-in is going to be different than those far-off shots.

So, for me, my dry practice regimen includes trigger presses from index on the slide, from trigger guard, and 'just' at the break.

I'm no expert, so I will be interested in what answers you get from those that are.

[Jay Cunningham]

I'm rather new too shooting and was working on some dry fire practice and had a question about trigger pull. Should you take up the slack on the trigger? Or should I touch the trigger then pull slow and smooth to the rear? I feel like that when I try to pull faster it turns into a "jerk" and I end up low left. I'm just not sure because in a self defense situation (main focus), I will be pulling the trigger rather quick. Any feedback would be great!

The advice I'm about to give you is based on your statement that you're a relative novice.


My suggestion is to perform your dry practice starting with your finger on the trigger and with no slack out. I also suggest skipping the "slow and smooth" part and attempting to operate the trigger as quickly and aggressively as possible.

But I don't want you to consider this a trigger control exercise. I want you instead to consider this a grip check. Strive towards having a grip which will allow you to decisively operate the trigger with minimal sight movement.

If your front sight moves unacceptably, set it up again and check your grip. Repeat... However I'd advise against spending more than 10 minutes per day on this grip check, because it will fatigue your hands and forearms and you could induce a repetitive stress injury if you overdo it.


You need to worry about this first, before worrying about "do everything" - that can come later.

[Jay Cunningham]

Updated 12-04-16, mostly dealing with foundational grip.

[LOKNLOD]

appreciable front sight movement

Jay,
I think I'm tracking (a sight pun, sorry) with you but for the sake of clarity amongst all skill levels, where would you define the point of "appreciable" sight movement?

[Jay Cunningham]

Jay,
I think I'm tracking (a sight pun, sorry) with you but for the sake of clarity amongst all skill levels, where would you define the point of "appreciable" sight movement?

Good question.

A shove, yank, dip, or jerk which really stands out during something like a Wall Drill.

A little wobble or wiggle is okay. It doesn't need to be "balance a spent case on the front sight" perfectly still.

[LOKNLOD]

Good question.

A shove, yank, dip, or jerk which really stands out during something like a Wall Drill.

A little wobble or wiggle is okay. It doesn't need to be "balance a spent case on the front sight" perfectly still.

Makes sense, I figured as much.

With a few caveats*, I think this is an area where having access to something like a SIRT or laser attachment (even if it's a cheap one only used for practice purposes) can really be a benefit.

*It's pretty easy to pick up some visual bad habits with a laser if not applied carefully, or is simply over-used.

[Jay Cunningham]

It was never my intention to have anything other than "don't shortchange your grip" regarding grip. However a majority of the conversation in the thread has been about grip and there are still many questions about it, so I added a section with supplemental info.