Dry Fire Training

[HenryAKirk]

I just wanted to know what "dry fire" routines others do When they train.

[Jumping Frog]

I see it is your first post, so WELCOME!

I like to use snap caps when I dry fire.

A few of the things I'll do include:

Both hands
-Draw from holster to target and fire.
-Drop the mag, load a new mag, rack and fire.

Strong hand only
-Draw from holster to target and fire.
-Drop the mag, load a new mag, rack and fire.

Weak hand only
-Draw from holster to target and fire.
-Drop the mag, load a new mag, rack and fire.

Trigger control: Balance an empty case on the front sight and fire without the case falling off.


One point I emphasize -- actually, I would use the term "overemphasize" -- is I unload my carry gun in a different room, leave all ammo in the other room, and then come into wherever I am practicing. I'll load the snap caps and practice in a room that contains no live ammunition. I want to maintain a BRIGHT CLEAR DISTINCT LINE between my normal, everyday carry and a dry fire practice session.

I've known people who had a dry fire session where they were sitting on their couch watching television. Periodically, they would practice their flash sight picture skills by aiming from low ready to a face on their television and dry firing. Then they would reload from the ammo sitting nearby and continue watching TV. Without thinking, they aimed and fired again, shooting their television.

That is why I have turned it into a ritual. Unloading in the other room make an official "start" to the practice session. While I am practicing, I am doing nothing else except practice, maintaining my mental focus. When the practice session is completed, I go in the other room and reload. Mentally, I am no longer in a practice session, I am in everyday firearms safety mode, and the four rules apply.

[Skiprr]

One point I emphasize -- actually, I would use the term "overemphasize" -- is I unload my carry gun in a different room, leave all ammo in the other room, and then come into wherever I am practicing. I'll load the snap caps and practice in a room that contains no live ammunition. I want to maintain a BRIGHT CLEAR DISTINCT LINE between my normal, everyday carry and a dry fire practice session.

This. And again.

For me, one of the significant of advantages of dry-fire practice is that you aren't restricted to the rules of the square range. You can practice at close-contact distances, and in 360-degree scenarios: two very important factors in potential real-world situations that are typically not possible on the live-fire range. Both are soapbox issues for me.

A third factor is the interior of your own home. Learning the best way to clear a structure in a shoot-house at a commercial training facility is immensely valuable. Planning and practicing the best way to secure your family and mitigate a threat in your own home: irreplaceable.

When you consider the number of firearm "accidents," administrative activity--loading (is it really loaded?), unloading (is it really unloaded?), press-checks, clearing malfunctions--account for the vast majority of incidents.

Unfortunately, a lot of people take administrative actions for granted. I know some who think they're simply too experienced to worry about practicing these things.

Guess what? Nobody is too experienced to ignore basic administrative practice. And practice frequently.

The best way to do that is dry-fire with SnapCaps.

[South Texas RGV]

I've found a month-long "wall drill" routine very helpful, as set out here: http://pistol-training.com/archives/5185.

I have to credit John Daub, one of the instructors at KR Training, out of Bryan, for mentioning the routine in his blog.

http://blog.hsoi.com/2012/08/11/a-month ... -a-review/

Snap Caps are a great aid, and I'd echo the excellent advice about maintaining a clear mental and practical emphasis on the transition between dry fire time and returning to live ammunition, even to the point of performing dry fire exercises in a room that's a "no zone" for anything other than snap caps.

[HenryAKirk]

[quote="South Texas RGV"]I've found a month-long "wall drill" routine very helpful, as set out here: http://pistol-training.com/archives/5185.]

Thanks this sounds awesome I'm going to start this routine on Monday and get the Mrs. on it too.

[jbirds1210]

I am also a big fan of dry fire. Light switches are a great target and can be found just about anywhere you go. If you can routinely get your front sight on top of a light switch from 7-10 yards, you will see great improvements in your shooting.

[newTexan]

That month of dry fire may just be what the doctor ordered to knock off some rust and make some improvements in my fundamentals. I tend to jerk the trigger, though not as much as I used to, and dry fire is often cited as the cure for that. Thanks for the info!

[ffemt300]

Good Stuff. I think I'll go through that month long drill. Just curious, what are the snap caps for? I know what they are but what is their purpose?

[clarionite]

Good stuff. Thanks for posting.

[Ark03]

Good Stuff. I think I'll go through that month long drill. Just curious, what are the snap caps for? I know what they are but what is their purpose?

Someone else can give a better answer, but until then ...
Snap caps cushion the firing pin (as a live round would) when the gun is fired. The firing pin is made to meet resistance when it hits the primer. When the chamber is empty, the firing pin can over travel into the breach face or into the end of the firing pin channel (things the firing pin is not necessarily designed to hit) - do that a dozen times with a CZ and you'll have a broken firing pin - other guns may not sustain damage at all.

A general rule of thumb is that modern centerfire firearms can probably be dry-fired without major damage, with a few exceptions (like the CZ). Do not dry fire older revolvers or rimfires.

However, even if your firearm won't sustain damage from dry firing, I think it's still a good practice to use a snap cap. With me, it promotes safety because I'm consciously switching from "practice mode" by removing live ammo from the vicinity and using a snap cap, then when done, I consciously remove the snap cap and reload live ammo. The transition helps my mind go from practice back to "live round" mode.

[HenryAKirk]

I like "dummy rounds" they add weight as well as give the firing pin something to hit. My S&W SW9VE weighs less than half as much when it is unloaded and it feels "off" when the weight changes between snap-caps or empty and fully loaded with 16 rounds. Seems like it might affect muscle memory too. I like the ones you can get at http://www.stactionpro.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The bullet is neon orange and (almost) impossible to confuse for real live ammo and they come in every size for handgun and long gun.
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[GWE Chally]

Good Stuff. I think I'll go through that month long drill. Just curious, what are the snap caps for? I know what they are but what is their purpose?

Someone else can give a better answer, but until then ...
Snap caps cushion the firing pin (as a live round would) when the gun is fired. The firing pin is made to meet resistance when it hits the primer. When the chamber is empty, the firing pin can over travel into the breach face or into the end of the firing pin channel (things the firing pin is not necessarily designed to hit) - do that a dozen times with a CZ and you'll have a broken firing pin - other guns may not sustain damage at all.

A general rule of thumb is that modern centerfire firearms can probably be dry-fired without major damage, with a few exceptions (like the CZ). Do not dry fire older revolvers or rimfires.

However, even if your firearm won't sustain damage from dry firing, I think it's still a good practice to use a snap cap. With me, it promotes safety because I'm consciously switching from "practice mode" by removing live ammo from the vicinity and using a snap cap, then when done, I consciously remove the snap cap and reload live ammo. The transition helps my mind go from practice back to "live round" mode.

That sums it up pretty well!

SnapCaps also give you a little extra weight for dropping your mag if you are practicing speed reloads. They also give you tactile feedback when you are practicing your administrative functions as mentioned above.
I use SnapCaps anytime I do dry fire practice, draw from holster practice, or speed reloading practice. (Ring's makes some blue practice magazines for certain guns that are great for practicing reloading mags.)

[Jumping Frog]

Good Stuff. I think I'll go through that month long drill. Just curious, what are the snap caps for? I know what they are but what is their purpose?

Most guns can be dry fired without damaging them, although there are exceptions.

I use snap caps two ways.

First, it lets me practice reloads while dry firing. I'll dry fire, drop the mag, insert a new mag with snap cap, rack and fire again.

Second, I use snap caps at the range as well. I'll insert a snap cap at random in a magazine full of live rounds. When I hit the "dud" round, it let's me practice quickly reacting to the need for "Tap, Rack, Bang". Another benefit of as snap cap at the range is serving as a diagnostic tool for trigger control and anticipating recoil. If you pull the trigger on a dead round and your front sight stays steady, then you are shooting correctly. However, if you pull the trigger on a dead round and your front sight nosedives, then you are flinching or anticipating recoil.

[TEX]

Jumping Frog, or anyone else for that matter. I wrote something up on this subject for some students a long, long time ago in a MS Word format. Send me a message to my email at tridogkaty@peoplepc.com and I will reply with a copy attached. Just make the email title "Dry Fire Information". It is too long for here and has some pictures I am not sure how to post here. However if someone knows how to attach it to this web site I don't mind sharing it. None of the content is original - its a compliation of things learned from many classes and many readings put into a format I thought got the ideas across in an intertaining way.

[Skiprr]

First, it lets me practice reloads while dry firing. I'll dry fire, drop the mag, insert a new mag with snap cap, rack and fire again.

Second, I use snap caps at the range as well. I'll insert a snap cap at random in a magazine full of live rounds. When I hit the "dud" round, it let's me practice quickly reacting to the need for "Tap, Rack, Bang". Another benefit of as snap cap at the range is serving as a diagnostic tool for trigger control and anticipating recoil.

You can also use the SnapCaps at home to simulate failures (e.g., stovepipes, double-feeds) and practice clearing them without live ammo. To learn and practice one-handed clearing techniques, that's definitely the way I'd recommend: until you know what works for you and your particular firearm(s) one-handed--and have put a lot of reps into practice--it is not a good idea to use live ammo.

And, yep, I always have SnapCaps in the mag when practicing reloads. Any tactical or emergency reload means getting the gun back into the fight, and that includes drilling the motor functions of seating the mag, racking or releasing the slide, and reestablishing a strong grip as smoothly and quickly as possible. Most pistols are gonna stay in slide-lock if you insert an empty magazine and try to release the slide. Ain't gonna work.

Speaking of "most" pistols, it's worth mentioning some trigger differences. With dry fire, you get one one pull of the trigger to release the hammer or striker. If you want the feel of that trigger break again, you have to reset the hammer or striker. But some guns will let you practice multiple-shot dry-fire drills better than others.

A good 1911 trigger will move about the same, short distance whether the hammer is cocked or not. The trigger break is so close to the end of the full motion that you can successfully practice multiple trigger presses in the same "string" even though you will have only one actual trigger break.

XDs are similar, although the trigger throw is much longer. On my stock XDs, I can actually feel where reset would occur. A few function checks will probably let you feel that same spot so that you can work on multiple "shots" without letting the trigger swing all the way to position zero.

Glocks are entirely different. You release the striker, and the Glock trigger becomes essentially pinned to the rear until you reset the striker. In that regard, Gaston Glock didn't help us out for dry-fire practice.

I first used a laser boresighter around four years ago to help a student in a basic pistol class recognize the difference in the sight picture she was obtaining, and the resultant actual point-of-impact. LaserLyte has turned that notion into dry-fire training tools: http://www.laserlyte.com/collections/lts. You can get bore inserts or caliber-specific laser cartridges that briefly activate a red laser when the firing pin falls. Bingo. In most light conditions, you can instantly see where your round would have hit. Combine that with their laser-activated training target, and you can "fire" off a few, then go display your hits on target before clearing its memory for another string. Pretty nifty. And they offer a discount to NRA certified instructors.

Another tool I think almost indispensable is a shot timer...and not just for those who shoot IDPA or IPSC. You need to set par times for yourself for basic techniques in order to understand if you can accomplish them, reliably, quickly enough. And in order to make them quicker, you need to be able to challenge yourself with accurate measurements in very small increments. Enter the shot timer.

Say you want to make sure you can move off the "X," draw your handgun from concealment, and get off an aimed shot at a baseline of 2 seconds. A friend standing there with a stopwatch can't be accurate enough to help. Set your shot timer for a par of 2 seconds, then set it for a variable start delay--say two to five seconds--so you don't know when the first beep is coming. Get to where you can consistently achieve it within the 2-second window, then move it to 1.9 seconds. You can even start these drills with a blue gun so you don't risk going too quickly and flinging your $2,000 Wilson 1911 across the room.

Working on the notion that slow is smooth and smooth is fast, you can gradually increase your speed in a controlled, measurable way...just like you would in the gym doing step-loading to add to, in a programmatic fashion, the amount of weight you lift.

I bought a little CED7000 several years ago for not much over $100, and it's still going strong. Has more features than I'll ever use. One I do use, though, is the ability to set multiple par times. The CED allows up to five par preset beeps following a single "Start" press. This is ideal for things like move-draw-two-rounds (par 1); then move again and two more rounds (par 2). Or draw and fire (par 1); move and fire (par 2); move and tap-rack drill and fire (par 3). You can get imaginative.

And, of course, if you have access to a range that allows drawing and rapid fire, you now have a shot timer that will precisely measure your split times and overall performance.

Last thought for the day: look around the Web and you'll find some videos that are suitable for dry-fire practice. Another strong reason to make certain you have a STERILE dry-fire environment: do not shoot that 60-inch LED TV you just bought! These two, for example, are a couple that can be burned to DVD and played on your bigscreen:

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