Most people find dry fire incredibly boring – me included. I think it’s a mistake to set a time limit (i.e. dry fire for 20 minutes) because this kind of tedium winds up with you watching the clock.
I recommend giving yourself a set number and break it into small bites. I try to dry fire 200 times each day, broken into bites of 25. I like to start with 25 strong hand supported, 25 weak hand supported, 25 strong hand only, then 25 weak hand only. I usually stand very close to a bare wall for these, and allow myself to consciously reset the trigger.
For the next 100 I like to practice dry one-shot draws… if I’m feeling frisky I’ll incorporate weak hand draws. Generally I pick out an aim point for this series instead of the bare wall. Dry fire is great because it don’t cost nuthin’ and you can focus on perfect presentation and trigger press, allowing you to work on increasing your speed with live fire at the range.
Don’t be afraid to use your J-frame or LCR (especially laser equipped) for dry fire! The heavier trigger and visual feedback from the laser will translate positively to your service pistol. Not having to reset the trigger with the slide makes it go faster as well! I don’t particularly recommend dry-firing your carbine… you’ll get more benefit out of sticking with your handguns. Believe me, the trigger manipulation *will* translate over.
lethal dose
May 20th, 2010
Righteous site! Do I get a shirt or something for commenting first? Seriously, though. Thanks for your expertise and input. Will be checking back frequently.
The_Katar
May 20th, 2010
Thanks for the kind words!
Seriously though – thanks. You are in fact the first of the Study Group crew to post – hope to hear from more of you.
ToddG
May 20th, 2010
Katarzan — Excellent advice on how to structure dry fire practice. You’re right, when it becomes a chore it stops being effective. Thanks!
The_Katar
May 20th, 2010
Todd – thanks for posting, it’s an honor to see you here!
My wife has a pet term for when I’m dry firing… she calls it “clicking.” “Can you close the door – I can hear you clicking in there!”
Brad Kidd
May 20th, 2010
Just picked up my first handgun and I appreciate the tips. Looking forward to more posts
Chris Rhines
May 21st, 2010
Very good advice. I look forward to seeing more of your stuff.
-C
The_Katar
May 21st, 2010
Great to see you here Chris!
Thanks for the kind words – coming from a shooter as skilled as yourself it means a lot.
Dirk Kiesewetter
May 21st, 2010
Thanks for the helpful tips, Katar. I’ll be sure to check back regularly.
The_Katar
May 21st, 2010
Hope to see you around!
TampaM4
May 21st, 2010
Migrated over here from M4C (Same screen name). Like what I see so far! This will most definitely become one of the few sites I visit with high frequency! Sound advice you have so far, look forward to the rest
The_Katar
May 22nd, 2010
Thanks for the kind words!
HowardCohodas
May 23rd, 2010
Not watching the clock is great advice. Something else worth considering is to add performance measurement to your practice so that you can use goal setting and achievement as motivators. One method of doing this that has worked for me and my students is to make targets with bulls eyes that vary in size with the objective of keeping the laser dot on the bulls eye during the entire trigger pull. Once you can consistently keep the dot on the bulls eye, we go to a smaller one. Physiology provides a lower limit, but it is a good way to see progress and see whether you are maintaining or deteriorating in the perishable skill of smooth trigger pull. This also gives a good method of measuring how often the practice is necessary. Some need to practice daily to improve and maintain the skill. Others need only practice once or twice a week. This gives them a method of determining their specific needs.
Another thing we did to help students is to standardize the bulls eye size in terms of MOA so that the bulls eye can be sized based on the distance to target available in their home dry fire practice area.
Adding a journal and a goal for different shooting modes gives both variety and goals to students that we have found takes some of the boredom out of practice.
We recommend five modes for practice. I had not included weak hand supported, but your post is causing me to reconsider. The modes we add are two point shooting modes. Each mode has it’s own current level of MOA proficiency so we make targets specific to each.
Hand drawing the targets is such a pain, I finally developed a web service for my students so that they can create bulls eyes given the distance to target and current MOA goal online and print them when needed.
Now every time Todd comes out with a new target and associated drill, the first thing I do is label it in terms of MOA so that I can adjust it to the target distances I have available whether dry firing or live firing.
I’d appreciate feedback on my methods from other instructors to help me continuously improve them. Thanks.
SafetyHit
May 28th, 2010
This made me realize how much I have forsaken the value of regular dry firing. Used to do it all the time, but hardly ever so these days.
Decided I’m getting back into it, but the right way this time. You just sold a few sets of snap caps for someone. Never owned any before but I think it’s long overdue.
The_Katar
May 28th, 2010
Good to see you here!
SeriousStudent
May 30th, 2010
I just found your website, linked off Mr. Green’s.
That’s a very good tip about focusing on repetitions, rather than time. I had never thought of it, but it makes perfect sense. Just like lifting in the gym, you want to do a perfect set, not a set in a perfect time.
I’ve been incorporating the Crimson Trace laser on my G-17 on some ball and dummy drills, It has really made a difference for me, I think. I ignore the case, and watch the dot. Practicing on a tile floor gives me the auditory feedback, if the empty case falls off the slide.
Thanks for the info!
The_Katar
May 31st, 2010
Good to see you here. Giving myself “20 minutes” or whatever never seemed to work. When I broke it into chunks of 25 suddenly things became a lot less tedious and dry fire didn’t seem like such a chore.