What dry fire drills do you do?

[GunClasses.Net]

Such a wide-open question; lots of potential for good follow up, like...:

How do you practice your draw?

If you carry CONCEALED... are you making sure any time you change what type of clothing you wear, that you practice drawing from those clothes?

How often do you practice your draw?

Do you practice alone or with someone to give you feedback on your movement and presentation?

How do you measure your progress and quantify it? ...Do you use a timer like the PACT II or similar? Or, just guess?

Assuming you dry fire; how often?

Do you use a laser target to track your accuracy? Or, just guess?​

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[MatieA]

I don't dry-fire practice; I am lucky enough to be allowed to shoot in a privately-owned gravel pit just down from my house. I practice live, with a bouncing target, so that it is always in a different place after shooting it.

 

[SR40c]

I just do the penny drill. It helped me quite a bit at first.

 

[truetopath]

I'll practice my draws from my carry holster with a snap cap loaded. Then I'll pull the trigger and practice clearing the "malfunction" and then reload with the mag on my weak side. Then I clear the "malfunction" and reholster. I do this probably 20-30 times a day, takes about a half hour and hopefully helps build muscle memory.

 

[Wyldekard]

I just do the penny drill. It helped me quite a bit at first.

Could you explain how to do the drill please?

 

[gunslngr]

I second that. Please explain the penny drill.

 

[GunClasses.Net]

I was taught to put a penny on the barrel if it's rounded and practice holding the aim and pulling the trigger, dryfire.

And, if it's like a Glock or Springfield Armory or some revolvers with a flat top, use an empty shell casing instead of a penny.

If what you put on the tip of the gun doesn't fall, you're steady; in theory.

Others know of anything different?

 

[MamaLiberty]

Here are my "dry fire" routine guidelines from the book I wrote to supplement my handgun and self defense classes.

General guidelines for dry fire exercises:

What is "dry fire?" This simply means that you use an unloaded gun, dummy ammunition or gun simulation for practice and drills to learn new skills and practice them to a desired level of competence before you shoot live ammunition at the range. [Make sure your gun would not be damaged by dry fire (empty). You may need to use a dummy round or “snap caps.“ Check with manufacturer.]

Why dry fire? Believe it or not, dry fire is far more important for building good skills than live fire. You don’t have the recoil to deal with, and it doesn’t cost anything. The only way to build “muscle memory” is with many repetitions of a PERFECT action, so taking the time to learn things and practice them CORRECTLY from the start will save you countless hours. It takes about 300 repetitions to learn a habit, but at least 10,000 to UNLEARN one. Therefore, if you are not confident that you fully understand the operations called for in an exercise, wait to consult your instructor before you proceed. You’ll save lots of time and money in the long run.

Make specific plans for place and time to practice. If you make and stick to a schedule, you will benefit the most and create safe habits. In the ideal world, you would practice at least 10 to 15 minutes every day. Most people who are serious about self defense manage this about three times a week - at least in the beginning. Your choice.

Choose one place in your home, garage, patio or other for your dry fire exercise. Do not engage in this activity anywhere else except on the gun range. This helps form good habits and reduces risk of accidents. Evaluate the area for hazards such as appliances, fire sources and anything that would make the actual discharge of a gun a danger to you or anyone else. Eliminate those where possible. Choose a "safe direction" for your dry fire and keep your gun pointed in that direction as much as possible, depending on the drill.

Unless the drill calls for it, do not allow anyone else to be in the room. Do not use anything but simulated guns if others are present. Never point ANY gun at another person unless you are being attacked. Use an actual target.

Remove ALL live ammunition from your dry fire area. Check to make sure the gun is unloaded before entering the dry fire area and before EACH exercise. This may seem excessive or redundant, but it is a vital safety habit. The first thing said in most negligent (accidental) discharges is, “I thought the gun was unloaded."

Maintain the three absolute rules each and every time you handle a gun. Muzzle and trigger control, along with frequent - even obsessive - checking for an empty chamber will go a long way towards guaranteeing that nobody will ever get hurt unless they attack you.

Eliminate distractions as much as you can. Turn off TV or radios, unplug the phone and lock the doors.

******* When you come to the end of your dry fire session, review what you have done and consciously END your session before you leave the area. Be very aware of what you are doing before you reload and store or holster the gun. This is the point were many unintended discharges occur. Do not reload in your dry fire area under any circumstances.

 

[Stan45]

Gunclasses has it right.
I heard this many years ago form an old Bullseye shooter.
If your moving the pistol when pressing the trigger the penny will fall.
Shows you have something to work on.

 

[Stan45]

Believe it or not, dry fire is far more important for building good skills than live fire.

Well stated.
If you look at Olympic shooter, they dry fire more that shoot live ammo.
If you see a smooth (smooth is fast) draw or speed reload, it was perfected not on the range, but at home with an empty gun.
Dry firing while aiming at a white wall will give you a good contrast with the front sight, and you are not distracted with a target. It makes it easier to focus on the front sight. This is a skill that needs to be learned. If you see the sight moving while pressing the trigger, that means you have something else to work on. If you do not have a white wall, have up a white copy paper.

 

[Tucker's Mom]

I also do the penny drill practice on all my guns, but only when I have nothing else to do or I am just concentrating on my brain matters in between work while I sit down in front of my computer. I have all my guns on the side of my desk for the practice each with an extra magazine for each so i do not have to load and reload or have any accidents with a live bullet. I dry practice at least once a week down the basement with my draw...alone. After my current project I'll have more range time and more time to take classes.

 

[SR40c]

Could you explain how to do the drill please?

I second that. Please explain the penny drill.

Ok, here goes...

Empty the magazine and chamber. Stow all your live ammo. Load a snap cap if required.

Hang a target at the end of a hallway. You can just use a picture of your mother-inlaw if you like...

Get in your firing stance. Grab a penny, lay it flat and balance it on your front sight.

Take aim and practice your dry fire until you can do it without the penny falling off your sight.

You may want to put some clear tape on both sides of the penny or you might wear off some of the bluing on the sight. It also makes it a little more challenging.

It really helped me smooth out my trigger pull and find the sweet spot on the finger. I have to use my LCP because the front sight on SR series pistols are pointed. That's ok too because the trigger pull on the LCP is much more challenging.

Hope this helps.

 

[Tucker's Mom]

Please don't tell me you use your mother-in-laws picture to smooth your trigger pull. :biggrin:

 

[SR40c]

No, I don't. Just a pistol target. leasantry: