BehindBlueI's
Grandmaster
- Oct 3, 2012
- 25,895
- 113
Dry fire sucks. I get it. It's boring, it's repetitive, it doesn't make any noise, there's no hole in anything when you do it (if you did it right, anyway), and what can you really learn from it anyway? So why bother?
Well, the same reason boxers don't practice boxing against a real opponent 100% of the time. Working a bag that just stands there and swings a little is a poor substitute for a real person...except it isn't. It's a great way to practice the fundamentals (and conditioning, but staying on topic...).
Dry fire lets you practice your draw, getting a consistent grip and presentation. A consistent grip is key to consistent shooting, it's the foundation the whole house is built on. You don't need to shoot to verify your indexing is correct and that your presentation is smooth. You don't need to shoot to verify your support hand is mating up correctly, and that your grip is complete before your sights are on target. You don't need to shoot to verify you are pulling the trigger without disturbing the sights.
If you aren't dry firing, try this drill for a week and see if it doesn't improve your results between live fires.
Empty your gun. No magazines, no cartridge in the chamber/cylinder/etc. Check twice. One more time. Good.
Do not use a target. Use a blank wall, a turned off television, something with no points of reference. I want you to concentrate on the sights and the sights alone. You are going to work backwards from a presentation to the holster.
For two minutes: Point the gun at an imaginary target. Pull the trigger without disturbing the sights. Relax a bit. Repeat.
For two minutes: Bring the gun in toward your chest as though you've completed 75% of your draw stroke. Push out to full presentation and pull the trigger without disturbing your sights.
For two minutes: Bring the gun toward your waist line as though you've drawn and just mated your support hand to your strong hand. Complete your draw stroke and pull the trigger without disturbing your sights.
For two minutes: Work from the holster doing your complete draw stroke and pulling the trigger without disturbing the sights.
That's it. 8 minutes of your day. Start off sloooow. No faster than you can do everything perfectly and consistently. On day 2, speed up a tiny fraction. On day 3, a tiny bit more. Do this until you're no longer consistent, then back it down and start over. You now know how fast you can go and know where the ragged edge is to improve upon. At that point, do a minute of slow and a minute of fast for each of the blocks.
You will see improvements in consistency and speed, and do so at no cost other than a few minutes of your time. Remember doing it right means paying attention to the sights, not disturbing the sight picture, and if you do disturb it figuring out why and correcting that issue.
Well, the same reason boxers don't practice boxing against a real opponent 100% of the time. Working a bag that just stands there and swings a little is a poor substitute for a real person...except it isn't. It's a great way to practice the fundamentals (and conditioning, but staying on topic...).
Dry fire lets you practice your draw, getting a consistent grip and presentation. A consistent grip is key to consistent shooting, it's the foundation the whole house is built on. You don't need to shoot to verify your indexing is correct and that your presentation is smooth. You don't need to shoot to verify your support hand is mating up correctly, and that your grip is complete before your sights are on target. You don't need to shoot to verify you are pulling the trigger without disturbing the sights.
If you aren't dry firing, try this drill for a week and see if it doesn't improve your results between live fires.
Empty your gun. No magazines, no cartridge in the chamber/cylinder/etc. Check twice. One more time. Good.
Do not use a target. Use a blank wall, a turned off television, something with no points of reference. I want you to concentrate on the sights and the sights alone. You are going to work backwards from a presentation to the holster.
For two minutes: Point the gun at an imaginary target. Pull the trigger without disturbing the sights. Relax a bit. Repeat.
For two minutes: Bring the gun in toward your chest as though you've completed 75% of your draw stroke. Push out to full presentation and pull the trigger without disturbing your sights.
For two minutes: Bring the gun toward your waist line as though you've drawn and just mated your support hand to your strong hand. Complete your draw stroke and pull the trigger without disturbing your sights.
For two minutes: Work from the holster doing your complete draw stroke and pulling the trigger without disturbing the sights.
That's it. 8 minutes of your day. Start off sloooow. No faster than you can do everything perfectly and consistently. On day 2, speed up a tiny fraction. On day 3, a tiny bit more. Do this until you're no longer consistent, then back it down and start over. You now know how fast you can go and know where the ragged edge is to improve upon. At that point, do a minute of slow and a minute of fast for each of the blocks.
You will see improvements in consistency and speed, and do so at no cost other than a few minutes of your time. Remember doing it right means paying attention to the sights, not disturbing the sight picture, and if you do disturb it figuring out why and correcting that issue.
. Good advice, it breeds familiarity with the weapon and a comfort in its handling.
