Firearms practice in difficult times- part 2 of 3- dryfire practice

 

Hi gang—

 

SHORT Training drills to maximize skills when ammo is restricted or expensive.

 

Ok, we are all PAINFULLY aware of how expensive ammo is (when we can get it).

So how do we do some training when ammo is scarce or expensive?

The number one thing—DRY FIRE.

 But what? Dry fire is fine, if you know what you are trying to achieve.

What CAN we achieve? Primarily gun handling and to some extent, accuracy. So what should we do dry?

 

First – clear the gun.

Yeah, really, clear the gun.

Steps-  Remove the magazine FIRST.

Rack the slide or bolt and eject the round in the chamber. (you do keep the gun loaded, right?)

Put the round in your bucket of practice rounds. (I’ll do an article on that, why, and things you can do to work around that later)

Remove that bucket of practice rounds and the loaded magazine from the room.

Pick the gun back up, and rack the bolt/slide again, to be sure it is empty. Look in the chamber, and in the magazine well to make sure the magazine well is empty and the chamber is empty.

Put your finger in the chamber to FEEL that the chamber is empty.

Repeat the process every time you are distracted or put the gun down.

 

 

Drills-

Pistol

Draw and “fire” 1 shot, slowly. It should be  a 4 or 5 count move to clear your clothing (pull it WAY high- elbow above your ear for those of you who appendix carry, elbow ). This is not about speed, this is about smooth. Reholstering should be even slower. Clear that cover garment- raise your elbow very high- above your ear, and look the gun into the holster. Be careful not to sweep yourself. A common error is grabbing the holster to stabilize it. 5 times, or as many more as you can stand.  

Draw and “fire” 1 shot, moderate speed- about 75% of full speed.. This is not about speed, this is about smooth. Reholstering should be the same slowness as “slow” above. 5 times. Watch your safety protocols. You can go up to 10 times, but don’t push.  

Draw and “fire” 1 shot, mostly full speed- about 90% of full speed.. This is not about speed, this is about smooth. Reholstering should be the same slowness as “slow” above. 5 times. Watch your safety protocols.

Draw and “fire” 1 shot, full speed- about 99% of full speed.. This is about speed, but also smooth. Reholstering should be the same slowness as “slow” above. 5 times. Watch your safety protocols.

Low ready, “fire” 1 shot at a target, turn 30-40 degrees, and “fire” a shot at a second target. I like using 2 pictures on the wall.  This is a transition drill, transitioning from T1 to T2. You want them far enough apart that you are actually turning. You may want to do some that are closer, but do several wide ones. Go both left-right and right-left. DO NOT reset the trigger between targets. Just play it with the “dead” trigger.  You can also do “double taps” on each. Do this 5 times each direction.

Low ready, “fire” 2 shots at the body, and 1 at a smaller, upper target (simulating a head). This is a “failure to stop” drill.  5 times.

Rifle drills DRY FIRE (same procedure for clearing the gun)

Low ready, 1 “shot” on a small target. Slow, 50% speed or slower. This is about smooth, not speed.  5 times, or more, as much as you can stand. You are working on getting the gun up to you, not you down to the gun. Do not dip your head. Keep the muzzle in line on the floor with the target, so you are raising the rifle strait up, not a complex angle.

Low ready, 1 “shot” on a small target. Slow, 70-80% speed.  This is about smooth, not speed.  5 times, or more, as much as you can stand.

Low ready, 1 “shot” on a medium target. Full speed, 95-99% speed.  This is about speed with smoothness.  5-10 times, not more.

Low ready, 1 “shot” on left and right targets. Do some left-right and some right-left.

Repeat from high ready. 

 That’s all for tonight folks.

As usual, if you like this, feel free to share this.  

Jason

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