Dry Fire Practice Systems

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Turner

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
9,362
Reaction score
13,538
Location
Oklahoma City
This evening, a fellow asked me about laser based dry fire shooting systems. I’m probably not calling them by the correct name. This friend saw an ad this week and was asking if I knew anything about them. I don’t even know what to properly call them, or where you might see one.

Anyone here have any experience with something similar and can give us a review?
 

Turner

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
9,362
Reaction score
13,538
Location
Oklahoma City
This is one that the real operators use. A bit much IMO.

https://coolfiretrainer.com/

That sounds like the one he had seen. I have used @druryj nickel drill over the years. Our conversation this evening made me ant to learn some more about these new ideas. I have seen a couple of ads in recent months, but I have not heard from anyone that truly has experimented with them.
 

surjimmy

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
7,497
Reaction score
4,996
Location
oklahoma city
We called in snapping in, in the 'Old Corps'. Just about every night, I pick a pistol out. I leave the ammo in the other room, and while I watch tv, I practice dry firing. Sometimes I use a nickle, but most times not.
 

Mad Professor

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
3,088
Reaction score
2,789
Location
Moore, OK
I’ve spent a bit of time with some. I own a product from Next level training called LASR. One I have also used is called Smokeless Range. Smokeless range is leaps and bounds above LASR or most other products I have seen without getting into a 20-25K plus system.

A few things I have found:
Visible laser systems.... well.... suck. You have to use the sights on your gun a shot indicating visible laser causes your focus to shift.

You need to simulate recoil. You need the interruption of the sights. Otherwise it is not much better than dry firing a single shot.

The “gun” being used has to reset.

Smokeless range uses infrared lasers/cameras and a variety of ways to use them including barrel assemblies and rail mounted devices. In combination with a quality Airsoft pistol things work pretty well.

Coolfire makes a Co2 drop in barrel recoil kit for many firearms with optional visible or infrared laser adapters. I own a couple of coolfire barrel kits and they do not work as well as my two UMEREX Airsoft (full slide action models) guns. Although they fit into a real firearm, the shot impulse is sluggish and degraded very quickly with a few fast shots. The green gas air soft works much better and CO2 seems to have a slight edge producing more recoil and more shots.

MantisX has one they are releasing. While I love my Mantisx X10 and see a very valid use of it with the dry, simulation, and live fire, I was not impressed with the information I’ve seen released for it so far.

While the simulation systems are fun, they are much more than a game or toy and have real world uses.

A complete laser training simulation system with real benefits is an expensive undertaking. Pretty much a $3-5K expenditure most people will not do. Some of the cheap options can build training scars instead of providing helpful training/practice. Also there is a difference between training and practice that many people have a problem grasping. It depends on the level a person is at and how they are able to apply these tools.


There is a system being installed and configured in the OKC metro area. I’m not sure in what ways it will be available, but it is pretty exciting to me. It should create some unique training opportunities at a fraction of the ammo cost for similar live fire training. In my opinion, simulation cannot 100% replace live fire, but it is a very viable option to augment and substitute quite a bit a live fire. I’ll let someone more appropriate comment on the specifics in this.
 

Mad Professor

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
3,088
Reaction score
2,789
Location
Moore, OK
Here are some of my practice tools.


2 Umarex G17 G4 CO2 full blowback Airsoft. (#2276318) They have more recoil than the green gas versions. Way more than the cheaper Gen 3 partial blowback guns.
I use Airsoft ammo on occasion against real targets. But mostly use with CO2 only with no projectiles.

Mantis X10 great for keeping you in check. You don’t want to develop sloppy grip and trigger pull.

SIRT M&P with red take up laser and green shot laser. Now mainly used to assist others with grip/trigger pull issues.

Glock 22P G3 non firing with exact manipulation control use. This is treated as a firearm and must be transferred on a 4473.

Glock 17R G4. This is similar to above but has a self resetting trigger. EXTREMELY difficult to obtain.

CoolFire barrel and CO2 bottle. Rarely used since I went with Airsoft.


Yes, that is a real Holosun 507C mounted on an an Airsoft. I’m doing my best to simulate the real fire arms I use. The other Airsoft is equipped with the same Ameriglo sights as my GSSF competition guns as is the SIRT.

IMG_6583.jpg
 

Mad Professor

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
3,088
Reaction score
2,789
Location
Moore, OK
@Mad Professor how are the triggers on the Umarex G17 compared to the real thing assuming you haven't done anything to a stock trigger?

Actually pretty compatible to a stock trigger. I mainly shoot GSSF so most of my competition guns are stock triggers.

Of course we know the Glock triggers are all over the place. It more closely resembles the Glock trigger than the SIRT or the 17R. And it is better that a real Glock using the DryFireMag. The 17R is the absolute worst of any of them. I actually bought it as a collector item but was disappointed in the function. Worse than a New York trigger.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom