Dry-fire practice is an essential part of your training. Training and practice with your firearm should be priority number one as a firearms owner. We practice being safe, accurate, and knowledgeable with these tools we use as a means of self-defense and to enjoy recreationally. When done correctly, dry-fire practice reinforces safe gun handling habits as well as a convenient and inexpensive way to build your skills using repetition without having to be at the range.
Dry-Fire Practice
Dryfiring is the practice of “firing” a firearm without live ammunition present, while practicing the manipulation of a firearm with an inert training platform such as a SIRT training firearm or other tools that measure performance like the MantisX. It does not only mean pulling the trigger, it can also be used for practicing drawing from the holster, loading/reloading, sight picture and many other skills. A lot can be accomplished with dry fire practice, it is a valuable part of training that often gets missed!
Benefits of Dry-Fire
Dry-Fire practice will develop shooting-related motor skills and help you be in “auto pilot” mode when using your firearm. Dryfire does require time and dedication to train your muscles in proper shooting techniques using repetition, just like when exercising at the gym. You do not need to spend a long period of time in a dry fire session, it can be as short as five minutes three times a week working specific skills each day. It can also be a longer session as a warm up before live fire, working all five steps of marksmanship, learning how to move and be efficient at target transitions, or getting comfortable with your every day carry set up. Dryfire practice is excellent at identifying and fixing bad habits such as flinching, eye blinking, and lack of follow-through.
Here are 6 benefits from our friend Mike Ox at Dryfire Cards and why he says dry fire practice is so important for you:
- Learn how to grip your gun so that the sights AUTOMATICALLY come into alignment—without conscious thought—every time you draw.
- With the right grip, your sights will automatically come back into perfect alignment after each shot so you can shoot fast, accurate follow-up shots.
- Vision drills and tips that will allow you to aim faster and easier, even if you are cross-eye dominant or have trouble seeing your front sight clearly.
- Learn a single technique that will allow you to confidently hit targets from 10 feet to 100 yards (or more).
- You’ll learn how to train SMARTER so that you can improve 10x as much using 1/10th the time and money as shooters who only do “traditional” training.
- You’ll learn specific ways to practice so that your skill level won’t fall off a cliff under high stress.
It is possible to shoot 2x faster and 2x tighter groups in only 21 days using techniques that cost less than a single trip to the range!
