Dry Fire Best Practice?

fpuhan

fpuhan

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I apologize in advance if this is not the correct forum. Will the mods please move it if need be?

It's been one month since I got my first gun. I've been reading as much as I can, devouring forums, taking classes, and yes, practicing at the range.

As my goal is to obtain my CCW, I've been doing a lot of practice at home: wearing my pistols (M&P9 Pro / SIG P938) both IWB and OWB, practicing draw and re-holstering, and dry firing. I have snap caps, although I understand many people and manufacturers don't believe they are necessary.

I am fully aware that I have grip and trigger issues (the typical "low and left" evidence), so I am trying to find as many ways as I can to practice.

One article I read suggested hanging a paper target and then putting an eraser-tipped pencil into the barrel, holding the gun just a few inches from the target. Seeing where the pencil marks the paper can be a clue as to what I'm doing

Are there other "best practices" for home-based dry fire practice? Incidentally, I'm not yet ready to bring a loaded gun into my home, so even though I practice verifying an empty weapon, some of the advice I've read (like not dry-firing in the same room where one keeps their ammo) is not yet on my radar. I do keep it in the back of my head, though.

Thanks for any and all suggestions.
 
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Make sure your sighting with your dominant eye. Once I learned about the eye thing, it got me half the distance to point-of-aim.
 
In for the feedback. Not sure about how to dry fire a SA/DA tho? (938) I just bought a 360 revolver and I'm going to put some snap caps in it tomorrow, but the trigger on a J Frame is a different beast.

I'm a fan of the dry fire. Balance a snap cap on the barrel and see if you can keep it standing when you pull the trigger

PS: I compliment your taste in guns.
 
I just dry fire at a stationary target on the wall (light switch maybe) and watch the front sight as the trigger breaks. If it isn't keeping still try moving your trigger finger on the trigger until you find the best spot. For me, the pad of my finger (finger print section) works best on my FS M&P 40 but the crease of the first knuckle works best on my Shield. Not sure why, exactly. Probably hand size, etc. Try different positions for your trigger finger if you see the sights move when you dry fire.

Not sure about that pencil drill. I've heard you can place an eraser tipped pencil in the barrel, point the gun up and pull the trigger to make sure your firing pin is working properly. I don't think that the pencil hitting the target will give any indication of accuracy. At only a couple of inches the pencil will hit where you are aiming every time. At 20'-40' a very slight movement on the barrel will result in a bigger miss at the target.

Keep dry firing as this will teach trigger control but also help defeat flinching when shooting. Your body doesn't like the small explosion that happens when you shoot so training with dry firing is key to trying to control the expectation of recoil. Made a huge difference for me.

Good luck!
 
Although expensive, I use the Laserlyte training cartridge that allows you to see where your hitting when you pull the trigger. Awesome training tool if you want to pay the money.

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One aspect of marksmanship is the ability to call your shots. That means that you need to be able to tell where the shot will hit the target when the sear breaks. Using a spot of the wall or knot on a tree outside as a target, dry fire and concentrate on the sights, particularly the front one.

Try holding the gun differently and try different backstraps on the M&P. With enough practice, the front sight will not move. If it does, you should be able to tell where the shot would hit with live fire.
 
A while back I bought a laser target that makes dry fire practice a lot more like target practice, sort of pricy, but so is ammo and range fees.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QYY4CJG/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?qid=1450795823&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&keywords=laser+target&dpPl=1&dpID=51JtIfB%2BDKL&ref=plSrch[/ame]

It works with a laser snap cap that you can use to project a momentary dot an a wall, door, whatever to practice presentations and a first shot with some visual feedback.
 
HOW DO YOU GET TO CARNEGIE HALL?

IMO NOTHING will ever be "BEST" for all shooters. A big fan of dry firing here. I use it as part of hand rehab therapy, it's much more fun than an exersise ball and more affordable than live ammo. I'd suggest mixing it up with drills for speed, target acquisition on a moving target, use both hands/eyes, try it blindfolded & with ear plugs to block other senses & improve your ability to feel what you are doing. A good tip I got was to simply hold the gun more in line with your dominant eye, this makes keeping both eyes open feel more natural, this issue may be more of a problem for older shooters. As always SAFTEY SAFTEY SAFTEY! I'm on the look out for an old beater revolver, no longer able/good for shooting, to be a dedicated dry fire only piece. Slug the barrel & cylinders & paint it orange. I balance a coin on the barrel, a snap cap sounds even harder to do. It sounds like you are off to a great start. Nothing worse than having to un learn bad habits.
 
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I do a lot of dry fire and draw stroke practice and it really helps between trips to the range. One thing that helped me the most was learning to relax my strong hand and use the support hand for gripping the gun. Doing this you are much less likely to move the gun around during the trigger pull.
 
don't dry fire too much without first determining optimal trigger finger position and proper trigger press. If you don't fix your low and left problem, only thing dry firing will do is commit to muscle memory bad habits.
play around at the range with live ammo on different finger locations and once you determine the optimal location, then dry fire the hell out of it.
 
The pencil "trick" has been used by bullseye shooters for years. Helped me- would want the pencil an inch or less from paper. Of course, this was using a tuned 45Auto with a "glass" trigger.

An alternative - I am trying to learn to shoot my M&P using co2 air pistols. Triggers are general worse than my Apex, but helps me to learn the long trigger pull. They are similar in looks etc. to my M&P. Always shot one handed (std Bullseye) but with the M&P I am learning to do a fairly two hand steady hold.
 
I practice with dry firing every week. I do many trigger pulls up against the wall (1 inch or less) where I am "aiming" at a visible spot. Being this close I can see muzzle movement. Then I take an empty casing and balance on front site. I'll go until I can get ten or twenty in a row without the case (or coin) dropping. Tougher to do that alone but doable. Trigger control is so important, and in my opinion, responsible for most problems in new shooters. I also practice taking up the pre travel as I'm coming back down on target. This helps make for less movement when your sights are back on target. I would argue that everyone, even "good" shooters can benefit from dry firing.
 
The biggest mistake people make with practice is not knowing how to do it correctly in the first place. I see that you've been reading and even taken a few classes. This is a very good thing. Remember what you learn and practice that.

Practice doesn't make perfect. Practicing with a bad habit only re-enforces that bad habit. Only perfect practice makes perfect.

With that in mind, invest in a video camera. The one on your smart phone will work. Video your practice and critique yourself. Be severe in your critique. This will dramatically help your improvement because you can't always see mistakes while doing it yourself. Reviewing the video will show you issues you never knew you had.
 
Dry fire is excellent as long as your are focusing completely on the front sight.
A book titled Shoot Like A Navy Seal has helped me. The author says to aim the pistol at a target and focus for 30 seconds giving 100% attention to the front sight and then squeezing the trigger.
That has helped me immensely.
 
aboyle55 said:
Dry fire is excellent as long as your are focusing completely on the front sight.
A book titled Shoot Like A Navy Seal has helped me. The author says to aim the pistol at a target and focus for 30 seconds giving 100% attention to the front sight and then squeezing the trigger.
That has helped me immensely.
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This sounds like good advice, and I'm going to try it today at the range (providing, of course, that I can get off work in time).

One of the issues I've been having is not so much with the trigger, but with my eyesight. I just got new glasses, but I still find it hard to focus between my dominant eye and weak eye.

Interestingly enough, when I'm home practicing with my Sig, its night sights are a real boon; I can line up the front sight between the rear with ease. At the range, it all gets fuzzy.
 
I thought I'd report back on the results of today's range work. First, I'd like to thank everyone for their comments and advice. I did as aboyle55 suggested, and slowed things w.a.y. down, taking time to focus on the sight before pulling the trigger.

I printed out a number of 8" circular targets (available as PDFs from Midway USA) and wrote notes on each that I used. The short form:

I fired 100 rounds (124gr FMJ brass). Only three hit outside the outer ring, but were still on paper! While I still found a tendency to hit low and to the left, I also had shots high over the bullseye, both left and right, as well as to the center. I was in the black (a 2" diameter) a number of times, and once dead center. I shot from 3 yards to 5 yards, with much the same results (the groupings were larger the farther I got, but I expected as much).

In any event, 97% "in the circle" after one month of shooting I consider to be a roaring success! Now to keep doing it so it becomes routine.
 
Dry fire practice definitely helps my groups between range visits. I usually use snap caps, though it's probably not necessary with my centerfire guns. Allows one to practice all of the fundamentals sans projectiles. Fully endorse it–most/all of the techniques already mentioned. Incorporate your breathing practice, too (stopping the outbreath). Army Marksmanship Pistol Manual is my bible.
 
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