Dry Fire Drills? How Often?

[d90king]

Was reading an article recently about Todd Jarrett about dry fire and dry fire drills and how sometimes as we become more experienced that we often start to overlook this import form of practice.

Do you use it as part of your training? If so how often? When do you do it? If you are a Glock etc (striker fire) shooter what is your routine?

I know years ago I dedicated between 8-10 hours a week to this training. The article reminded me that I am only dedicating about 2 hours a month these days. It was a great reminder that I need to get back on my game...

What says you?

[arrrrgh15]

I routinely dry fire my lr precision rifles from various shooting positions as practice for matches. It is good training.

I actually loaded dummy ammo for my LR bolt gun to practice reloading quickly for matches as well and it is worth it's weight in gold and has gotten me out of some jams. litterally. It's the only way I can compete against other shooters with DBM equiped rifles.

Unfortunately I don't have 8-10 hours a week or even 2 to dedicate to it. Wish I did. And if I did, I'd probably spend some of that time firing live ammo.

[LittleRedToyota]

i dry fire for at least 15 minutes most nights.

er, well, i did until about a month ago when i developed tendinitis in my elbow...prolly from too much dry firing. (not actually pressing the trigger, but i got on a kick where i was doing several hundred draw strokes per night. somewhere between that, lifting, and typing for a living, my elbow apparently decided it had had enough. still working on getting it better...)

anyway, imho, the value of dry fire cannot be overstated (as long as you don't give yourself tendinitis).

my routine is to start off just with trigger presses. first a bunch of reps from having the finger indexed along the frame.

then i do a bunch of reps where i hold the trigger back, rack the slide, reacquire my grip and then practice just letting the trigger out to the reset point and "firing" the next shot.

then i do a bunch from low ready (bringing the gun on target and pressing the trigger).

then from target to target.

then i work on drawing. some just stationary, some while moving, some while turning, etc. i start out doing draw stroke step-by-step by the numbers. then i put it all together slowly. then gradually pick up the speed. then finish with a few slow, by the numbers reps.

i also throw in variations like working with only one hand, drawing to retention, etc. i also work on trying to hold the sights steady on a target while moving.

[TonyF]

It's definitely worth doing.

About 20 minutes 2X / week. If I don't have anything to do maybe longer and add some speed and tac reloads and some IAD's and presentations, etc.

[d90king]

Originally Posted by arrrrgh15

I routinely dry fire my lr precision rifles from various shooting positions as practice for matches. It is good training.

I actually loaded dummy ammo for my LR bolt gun to practice reloading quickly for matches as well and it is worth it's weight in gold and has gotten me out of some jams. litterally. It's the only way I can compete against other shooters with DBM equiped rifles.

Unfortunately I don't have 8-10 hours a week or even 2 to dedicate to it. Wish I did. And if I did, I'd probably spend some of that time firing live ammo.

Excellent point. Funny, I don't think about dry fire practice with my rifles in the same manner because it is not my primary weapon. But it is an excellent reminder that it is also very effective with rifles...

[Shawn.L]

I usually spend around 20 minutes /twice a week or more practicing my presentation.

Sometimes I finish the presentation with aquireing a target and making a shot, sometimes not. I like to practice coming out of the holster from a variety of positions with and without movement and pausing at the engagement point.

If we (my family and I) are going anywhere I like to do a few presentations before we leave the house in whatever I am wearing.

I dont spend a lot of time on front sight - press. But I usually work some in at least once a week.

before I shoot a CMP match I usually do some practice from positions the day before. A small sticker on the wall works as a practice target.

[Rosco the Iroc]

Dry firing or "snapping in" is corner stone of my firearms practice.

funny thing is that Crapper than dirt is trying to sell me dry fire ammo for $30bx.

[d90king]

Originally Posted by LittleRedToyota

i dry fire for at least 15 minutes most nights.

er, well, i did until about a month ago when i developed tendinitis in my elbow...prolly from too much dry firing. (not actually pressing the trigger, but i got on a kick where i was doing several hundred draw strokes per night. somewhere between that, lifting, and typing for a living, my elbow apparently decided it had had enough. still working on getting it better...)

anyway, imho, the value of dry fire cannot be overstated (as long as you don't give yourself tendinitis).

my routine is to start off just with trigger presses. first a bunch of reps from having the finger indexed along the frame.

then i do a bunch of reps where i hold the trigger back, rack the slide, reacquire my grip and then practice just letting the trigger out to the reset point and "firing" the next shot.

then i do a bunch from low ready (bringing the gun on target and pressing the trigger).

then from target to target.

then i work on drawing. some just stationary, some while moving, some while turning, etc. i start out doing draw stroke step-by-step by the numbers. then i put it all together slowly. then gradually pick up the speed. then finish with a few slow, by the numbers reps.

i also throw in variations like working with only one hand, drawing to retention, etc. i also work on trying to hold the sights steady on a target while moving.

Interesting, I have always worked on reset drills with a partner and had not thought about being able to work on that solo. Good idea, I like it considering it allows you more time to work on it.

With my primary 1911's I have their break and reset fairly well ingrained but the extra practice can do nothing but increase that "feel"...

[LittleRedToyota]

Originally Posted by d90king

Interesting, I have always worked on reset drills with a partner and had not thought about being able to work on that solo. Good idea, I like it considering it allows you more time to work on it.

it's certainly not ideal, but it's not bad...you can get into a pretty good rhythm.

and it's also good practice for reacquiring your grip after HOTing the slide after clearing a malfunction or, if you happen to be, say dgg9, reloading from slide lock.

[d90king]

Originally Posted by Shawn.L

I usually spend around 20 minutes /twice a week or more practicing my presentation.

Sometimes I finish the presentation with aquireing a target and making a shot, sometimes not. I like to practice coming out of the holster from a variety of positions with and without movement and pausing at the engagement point.

If we (my family and I) are going anywhere I like to do a few presentations before we leave the house in whatever I am wearing.

I dont spend a lot of time on front sight - press. But I usually work some in at least once a week.

before I shoot a CMP match I usually do some practice from positions the day before. A small sticker on the wall works as a practice target.

1)When you say positions, are you varying stance after the draw or are you drawing from your knees, back and side? What type of holster do you carry in (IWB) (OWB)?

2)Great thoughts on being prepared for the clothing and setup used each day...