dry practice

[jacob]

So I finally realized dry practice is cheaper (albeit not a replacement) than shooting live rounds. I recently acquired a laserlyte electronic target and a training laser for my G19. I figured this will help me practice trigger control and drawing/firing on a daily basis along with other drills like tap/racking and shooting off hand... Just curious if any of you guys do these things and what other drills you run to help you build speed & confidence?

[A.J. Holst]

I practice drawing, starting out slow and smooth and gradually increasing my speed. At the end of the draw stroke, I then employ my dry-fire practice.

 

I figure I need as much "muscle memory" when presenting my weapon as I do pulling the trigger - I carry it for self defense so if I every have to draw, I can't be fumbling around, having it get caught on my cover garmet, etc.

[jacob]

I agree on that concept of drawing from the holster as part of practice and that is also one of my intentions with this target...more to test my accuracy after pushing out from the draw... I have found myself fumbling somewhat trying to get the cover garment up high enough and tight to the body and still be fast and smooth...I know practice will cure this with time...

[chances R]

One can also practice malfunction drills and reloads.  Use dummy, inert ammo and a par timer with a buzzer.  Also remember you need perfect practice.  Practicing sloppy technique will only make you perfect at being sloppy.  Slow is smooth.....smooth is fast.

[173rdABN]

Takes about 3,000 reps to make it muscle memory on average.

Better get to work :)

In all seriousness, dry firing, and drawing with good technique are an amazing way to get much, much better.

[TMF]

Drawing and sight acquisition. At least once every few weeks when I have 10-15 minutes. I use 3 inch dots at about 7m. Not a lot of slack in a Glock trigger, so I don't bother with trigger pull. Getting your gun out and acquiring sights in a fluid and natural manner will breed faster first rounds on target. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Guest RustyF]

Great conversation. It's all about burning neurological pathways (also referred to as muscle memory). chances R made a great point about perfect practice. You're trying to get a specific set of neurons to fire in a specific order at specific times, if you don't practice correctly each time you create training scars. Training scars are bad habits developed by sloppy reps. The easiest way to explain it is like creating a worn path across grass; if you walk the same path across grass you will eventually develop a worn path that's easily traveled. If you veer off the path different grass is worn and the path you want begins to grow back. Further, the longer you go without practice, the more the grass grows back and the harder it is to find the path you had...

 I also have to agree with chances R on the mag reloads and immediate action drills. When your gun goes dry or malfunctions you have a $400 club, not recommended in a gun fight.

[peejman]

I also practice drawing and sight acquisition more than anything else but I'm sure I don't do that often enough. 

 

Surefire has a free shot timer app that I use.  It won't (or I can't get it to) recognize dry firing, but the random delay on the beeper works well enough. 

[jacob]

Maybe the sound of the trigger click isnt loud enough to register in the mic of the phone?? Glad you mentioned the app...I am taking a look now...

[CatsEye]

So I finally realized dry practice is cheaper (albeit not a replacement) than shooting live rounds.

IMO dry fire practice is as important if not more important that shooting live rounds. Everything about shooting except for the bang can be worked on in dry fire. The draw, sight picture, target transition, reloads, movement and other gun manipulations are practiced in dry fire and the results confirmed in live fire.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I practice while watching television. I make sure the gun is unloaded then I holster it with a shirt over it like I would normally be. Then I stand in front of the television and mentally pick a color. Then when someone in screen has a shirt that color I draw and fire. It helps because you don't know when or where they might come from. It is also random because you don't know when it will happen. Could be several minutes or instantly.

[miller_man]

Several nights a week, has been the biggest improvement factor in my shooting.