I started working dry-fire reps into my range trips early last year as a diagnostic tool and have been ramping them up the last few months out of necessity. To my surprise, my current practice sessions of under 200 rounds feel more productive than the 500+ round ones from a year ago. I'm doing more total reps, but the majority of them are either dry-fire ones or a mix of dry- and live-fire.
The gun going off in your hands can obscure details on visual focus, grip tension, and trigger-finger isolation. The first ah-ha moment on this came when my shots were landing left of center on a target after a wide transition. Was I aiming at the wrong spot? Tensing up my firing hand while pulling the trigger? Pushing sideways on the trigger while pulling it? Couldn't really tell with the gun going off. I unloaded my pistol, shot the drill dry, and felt the fingers of my firing hand tense up while pulling the trigger on that target and shift the sights to the left. Next step, stop doing that!
It can also be very helpful to mix live- and dry-fire trigger pulls in the same drill. JJ Racaza has been teaching this as deficiency training. The idea is that you only pull the trigger to the wall on some of your targets. Picking which targets to engage with live- or dry-fire shots depends on your training goals.
Short video comparing deficiency training and normal runs on a drill: link.
I started teaching dry-fire in my classes last year and will be ramping it up this year. It's not just a way to save ammo, but a means to make better use of your time at the range if your goal is to improve your shooting.
The gun going off in your hands can obscure details on visual focus, grip tension, and trigger-finger isolation. The first ah-ha moment on this came when my shots were landing left of center on a target after a wide transition. Was I aiming at the wrong spot? Tensing up my firing hand while pulling the trigger? Pushing sideways on the trigger while pulling it? Couldn't really tell with the gun going off. I unloaded my pistol, shot the drill dry, and felt the fingers of my firing hand tense up while pulling the trigger on that target and shift the sights to the left. Next step, stop doing that!
It can also be very helpful to mix live- and dry-fire trigger pulls in the same drill. JJ Racaza has been teaching this as deficiency training. The idea is that you only pull the trigger to the wall on some of your targets. Picking which targets to engage with live- or dry-fire shots depends on your training goals.
Short video comparing deficiency training and normal runs on a drill: link.
I started teaching dry-fire in my classes last year and will be ramping it up this year. It's not just a way to save ammo, but a means to make better use of your time at the range if your goal is to improve your shooting.
