I need dry fire training tips!

Damn_Yankee

Damn_Yankee

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I have not taken any pistol training classes yet. That will change later this month when I attend the Spec Train pistol core class. I used to shoot action pistol bi-weekly at Denver Defense till they stopped hosting it. I did OK, not great. A friend has access to land where we shoot 2-3 times a month and I usually shoot 100 rounds a trip from my G19 at a static target from 7-10 yards. I do pretty well even when I speed things up. Yesterday I tried my hand at a target I printed from the Spec Train site called the "Cold Start". Man, do I suck!! I don't have a timer so I just shot it as fast as I could the first time. I should have taken pics of it. It wasn't pretty. I got better by my third one. I made myself slow down some and really see my sight. But I'm still sub-par, imo. Is there anything I can do at home with dry fire practice to supplement my somewhat limited live fire practice?

I was going to attach a pic of the target and happened to see this video of one of the trainers demonstrating it. I probably should have watched it before shooting the target my first time. I was trying to shoot it way faster than he is demonstrating in the video. I definitely need to throttle it back some, at least at first. Definitely still need some tips dry fire tips though.
 
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MochaJoe said:
Put a coin on the front sight.
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I did that.

But, now that I've finished the training, I can't figure out how to remove the Crazy Glue without damaging the bluing. :(
 
I'm too ADD for the vid. Looks like a variation on DOTs, less rounds, appears less distance, certainly more time per shot.
What's your issue? Accuracy at speed? Grip is very important to rapid shooting, more than a "perfect" sight picture under a certain yardage.

DF can help with things like gross errors in the trigger pull, but lack of feed back on the target limits it. To gain the most you must be very observant and brutally honest with yourself it is very easy and tempting to lie. As such I mostly use DF for the gun handling stuff, and watch for major "shooting" errors.

Anyone can press a trigger straight back slowly without disturbing the sights when they know there's no bang in fairly short order. I have to force myself to do it fast to learn anything. Get a timer app for your phone, put the start beep on random, line the sights up on a blank wall, pull the trigger as fast as you can at the beep, don't disturb the sights, with nothing but the sights to focus on any movement should be apparent.

If you want to use this target, or do a bill drill, the dots whatever with multi shot string, using a Glock or anything that doesn't "reset" I suggest just smashing the dead trigger into the frame and focusing still on not disturbing the sights. You can drop a rubber band on the breech face if you want to keep it a touch out of battery to allow the trigger to move, but I don't find that useful. When you shoot fast you will probably be smashing the trigger against its stop may as well practice controlling it.

Stoeger's book is pretty good.
 
Going to sound stupid, but actually do it. A lot of people start out with the best intentions then realize they can't shoehorn it into their schedule. I personally do 5 miles a day on an exercise bike and dryfire using a small lightswitch across the room as a target. It's not the best practice since I'm out of breath and not sitting perfectly still, but I do it every dang day and it has made a difference.
 
So would something like a dry fire mag or the I-target laser trainer be worth it?


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I've got the laserlyte train cartridge it can be a great tool. But long term you may catch yourself looking over the sights for the dot. If trigger control is your focus place a tiny paper Dixie cup full of water on the slide or a coin. The cup is easier to place and remove when having to rack the slide in my opinion. Have played with SIRT pistols and have one on my wishlist. Also with your first mag on the range chamber one round fire,(no focus on shot placement, only trigger control) reset trigger and dry fire. Do this 6-10 times. Will show if anticipation of recoil is a factor.


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Also. When using a laser trainer. Use some kind of software to track shots for you. Something like l.a.s.r. Or g-sight for iPad. Here's my dry fire door.
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Typically use end of that hall to "shoot" from. Approx 25' away.



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Jeppo said:
I did that.

But, now that I've finished the training, I can't figure out how to remove the Crazy Glue without damaging the bluing. :(
Click to expand...

You’re the perfect person for a Mantis X training tool. It analyzes your shooting and gives you feedback about what you should do (videos).

The key to shooting is a proper stance, proper grip and most importantly, trigger control. Before any of that can be achieved, you need a pistol that fits you and sights that work for your type of shooting.

Ben Stoeger and Brian Enos have great texts on technique, but if those don’t work, you need individualized instruction.


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IMO some of the benefit of dry fire is strengthening your fingers and grip. A lot of the best shooters I have seen have very strong hands. My Dad has a guy at his club that shoots amazingly well. Any gun, and distance. He does roofing and carpentry and has Popeye forearms and steriously strong hands. It likely helps.

And for the record I have jammed or dislocsted about every finger I own over the years and have trouble working snaps with my thumbs. Yeah, I shoot like crap. :(
 
You need a good timer first off.
I agree the Stoeger book and targets is where to start. It lays it all out for you and if you follow the book, and do what he says, your shooting will improve exponentially.
Because you will then be using live fire to test your dryfire practice, rather than just blowing through rounds at a close static target.

Dryfire is not sitting on the couch and seeing how slow you can pull a trigger. That is fondling your gun while sitting on a couch. That may be slightly better than nothing. Slow accurate shots are the easiest part of shooting. My girlfriend can do that and she doesn't own a gun and never shoots.

You need to have your rig on, have a timer, and be practicing practical shooting, and gripping the gun very hard. Then, testing your gains through live fire.

Really helps to shoot with people better than you, as they can also often diagnose things you can't see yourself doing. Matches and competition is going to show you everything you need to know about your shooting, so I think you should explore that. It is very humbling and will quickly show you what you need to work on, and it's super fun and you will meet awesome people.

Just my non-expert opinions.
 
You did say you were taking a pistol class right? This is what classes are for man. To teach you. Do your thing. Learn from the class. That's what you're paying them for. Don't stress. Don't worry. You'll be right as rain by the time it's over.
 
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Love my pocket pro 2, too.

But you must use it for par times as it won’t pick up hammers. That would be great tho!
I just hadn’t found a good enough phone timer to stick with one.
 
CED has a timer designed for air soft guns. Supposedly will pick up a hammer.

Thing is all you’ll be able to measure is your first shot with a timer. Unless it’s a DA/SA gun. You are much better setting par times and work to beat them while being honest with your sight picture.
 
Damn_Yankee said:
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It looks like their backstop is a public road, look at the beginning field edges, then while he's talking with vehicles driving behind the target.
Beef15 said:
I'm too ADD for the vid.
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^^^ That's why I noticed the cars driving past in the distance... Squirrel!
Metalliman27055 said:
One of the things I loved about the surefire iPad app
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Can you post a screenshot of what it looks like? I used to have a Surefire App, I can't find one on my phone.
Is there another y'all suggest?
 
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MochaJoe said:
Put a coin on the front sight.
Click to expand...
Jeppo said:
I did that. But, now that I've finished the training, I can't figure out how to remove the Crazy Glue without damaging the bluing. :(
Click to expand...

I actually did some live fire with a penny on the front sight of my P320 and my XDm Comp. Of course you can't keep the penny on the sight with recoil and live fire, but I shot way better this way. I wondered whether the penny gave me something more to concentrate on, so I thought about a way to attach one in a semi-permanent way.

Maybe we just invented the modern T-Sight for Pistols!
 
Pink_Vapor said:
Can you post a screenshot of what it looks like? I used to have a Surefire App, I can't find one on my phone.
Is there another y'all suggest?
Click to expand...

Hasn't been updated to new iOS. So won't find it in the App Store anymore.
I get this app needs to be updated to work properly alert now when I launch it but haven't updated the iOS on my iPad for that very reason lol
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Metalliman27055 said:
Hasn't been updated to new iOS. So won't find it in the App Store anymore.
I get this app needs to be updated to work properly alert now when I launch it but haven't updated the iOS on my iPad for that very reason lol
Click to expand...
You had me stoked they released a new version, I used to have it before my phone got updated. It worked well for outdoor shooting.
 
First time out with my new Walther PPS M2, second attempt at the same target as in the OP, and I had only 1 miss in box A. I stumbled a bit on the reload since I had the mag stuck in my shorts at the belt line. So that slowed me down some. I don't have a shot timer yet but I was shooing at about the same cadence as in the video in the OP. Maybe I just suck at shooting a G19, lol!
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