Dry Fire Practice Systems

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HiredHand

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A couple things...

Safety is still a #1 priority when dry firing and all the same rules of gun safety and gun handling should be followed. Having a dedicated place to practice dry firing in your home is a good idea. It should be some place that is free of ammunition and with a backstop that could contain an accidental discharge. Also, when you’re done dry firing, you should take a break and do something else before reloading your gun if you’re using a primary firearm for training.
 
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LittleLoggie

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SoonerP226

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Last year I was seeing pre-roll ads on YouTube for a laser-based dry-fire system, but I haven't seen them in quite some time. Wish I could remember what the name of it was, as I'd intended to look into it myself. I do remember that it featured a nicely-attired, attractive lady, and it showed her racking the slide after each trigger pull.
 

HiredHand

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I think the KISS concept is applicable when it comes to dry fire training. I think a lot of good can be had from just practicing bringing the gun up to the eye-target line and learning to call your first shot. Here’s a cheap low-tech way to dry fire that allows you to have multiple trigger presses if you’re into that as well.
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SoonerP226

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If you can find a gun with the right weight and operation, then airsoft is a great dry fire training system. SIG Sauer has an airsoft line designed for this--they have airsoft models of the M17, M18 and P229.
https://www.sigsauer.com/airsoft/airsoft-pistols.html
I’ll have to dig it out one of these days, but I picked up an airsoft 1911 a few years ago that had realistic heft and even some recoil. The slide even reciprocated some. IIRC, the CO2 canister went in the detachable magazine, so even the mag had some heft to it.
 

Mad Professor

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Last week I had the opportunity to train and practice on a simulator to prepare for a GSSF outdoor match. My primary focus was dot acquisition and target transitions. While I have been running a red dot in the indoor competitions with great success, the indoor matches are more of a bullseye match with a fairly generous par time. In the outdoor matches where they use time + penalty scoring, time is a really big deal.
I ran through several drills and analyzed first shot time, target transitions, and splits. The software was pretty cool as I could identify each of the two hits on the target. Was I releasing the round too early in the transition? Was I touching off the round as I was prepping the trigger in recoil instead of letting the fit settle? Was I waiting until the shot breaks before my eyes lead to the next target? It’s pretty easy to start seeing patterns and adjusting accordingly. On the first shots, I was able to push it to see where the wheels started falling off and accuracy suffered. I got to the point where my eyes was recognizing the sight picture and I was firing the round without mentally saying ok, pull now. And with great accuracy.
On the virtual plate rack, I could see what taking .3 of a second off the total time was doing to the accuracy. A most and going back to pick it up adds almost a second to the total time. You have to balance the risk and rewards.


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There is actually more info as each shot is displayed.

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Did it help? Absolutely!!

My two optic division times dropped about 6 second in this match compared to my best previous match. That’s about a 10% cut off the previous times. That is pretty substantial. Getting another 10% will be exponentially more difficult at this level.

I fired about 1000 virtual “shots” in this session. Honestly, too many. 300-400 is likely where I need to be stopping at. I took a few brief breaks to look at data and determine goals, but the progress started slowing down and actually regressing toward the end. I knew it was happening but I really wanted to try a few more things before threading off to the match.


There is no doubt the proper use of simulation systems can be a great benefit to live fire. And a great substitution for some of the lime live fire practice sessions.

I look forward to seeing what other gains I can make with it through the year.
 

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