Dry Firing

What Is Dry Firing?

Dry Firing involves going through the necessary motions to “shoot” a firearm without ammunition being present in the firearm.  This can be accomplished with an unloaded firearm or an inert training tool that simulates a firearm.  Therefore, Dry Firing (“shooting” an unloaded gun) is the opposite of Live Firing (shooting a loaded gun).

Why Is Dry Firing Important?

Dry Firing allows you to practice all the fundamentals of shooting a firearm without the distraction of recoil, loud noises, and the adverse reactions and anxiety that can accompany those distractions.  Because those distractions aren’t present, you will be able to effectively practice the fundamentals of shooting more precisely than you could with Live Firing alone.  This helps you develop specific “muscle memory” which will aid you in shooting precisely without having to think about it.  That is the goal, being able to shoot accurately through unconscious competence, which frees your mind to concentrate on more important tasks, like making the decision to shoot or not shoot.

What Are Other Benefits Of Dry Firing?

1. Dry Firing can significantly reduce the cost of practicing the fundamentals of shooting.  Costs associated with Live Firing would include: Range Fees, Ammunition, Targets, and Cleaning Products.  In contrast, your initial investment for Dry Firing your gun can be as little as NOTHING or as much as the cost of 5 range trips, depending on the equipment you opt to purchase.

2. Dry Firing is infinitely safer (if done correctly) than Live Firing.  Therefore, we can practice new techniques, with new equipment, or with speed, under safe conditions.

3. Dry Firing allows us to practice wherever and whenever we want.  No need to go to the range.  Which means you can practice on your schedule: before work, after work, weekdays, weekends. Literally, whenever you have 5 minutes to spare.

How Do You Safely Dry Fire?

1. Determine whether your gun is capable of Dry Firing.  Specific firearms can be damaged by Dry Firing, so it is important to check your Owner’s Manual to verify your firearm’s ability to Dry Fire.  If you can’t find the answer in the Manual, then contact the Manufacturer of your firearm. If your firearm is incapable of Dry Firing, then you may need to make an investment in Dummy Rounds (otherwise called Snap Caps) or an inert Training Pistol (We’ll discuss these products in a minute).

2. Designate an area to Dry Fire.  Pick an area with a good backstop that will stop a bullet should we make a mistake.  Good backstops would include brick or block walls, bookcases full of books (the books are what will stop bullets), or dirt (whether in a pile or straight into the ground).  Bad backstops would include interior walls, exterior walls on wood framed houses, and interior or exterior doors.

3. Unload the Gun!!!  Make sure to unload your firearm (double check that the chamber is empty) and install your Chamber Plug if you have one.  Once you’ve unloaded the firearm and any magazines you’ll practice with, remove all ammunition from your designated practice area.  No exceptions!  This is what separates Dry Fire from Live Fire and is the most important step to avoid a Negligent Discharge.

4. After Dry Firing, you need to put your gun away for at least 30 minutes.  That’s whether you Dry Fired your firearm or a Training Pistol.  Once the 30 minutes have elapsed, you can load the firearm and place it on your person if you desire.  The reason for this rule is simple.  If you immediately place your loaded firearm back in its holster and on your belt, you run the risk of trying to “Dry Fire” the gun in a condition that will produce a Negligent Discharge (I’ve personally witnessed this mistake twice).  So, it’s best to take that short break to reset your mind and avoid this potential accident.

What Equipment Will Aid My Dry Firing?

Equipment that will Compliment your Firearm.

1. Dummy Rounds.  Dummy Rounds, Drill Rounds, or Snap Caps all refer to a completely inert round.  They contain no propellant or primer, therefore, are incapable of firing.  They may be made of plastic, metal, or a combination of the two. They are used in firearms that cannot be Dry Fired, or are used to practice malfunction drills, magazine loading, etc. Make sure to buy Dummy Rounds that are easily distinguishable from Live Rounds.  Orange is the best color for Dummy Rounds, in my opinion, as it will be easy to identify for Dry Fire and help you find them on the ground if they are dropped.

.22 LR Dummy Rounds
.380 ACP Dummy Rounds
.40 S&W Dummy Rounds
9mm Dummy Rounds
.45 ACP Dummy Rounds

2. Laser Cartridges.  Laser Cartridges will enable your firearm to “fire” a laser beam when you actuate the trigger.  This can help in verifying that your aim and trigger control are up to par by giving you a visual reference when you press the trigger. The down side is two fold: if you are using a semi-auto with a single-action trigger, you will need to manually reset the trigger after every shot by racking the slide, and the laser may distract you from focusing on the front sight.

9mm – Laser Cartridge
.40 S&W – Laser Cartridge
.45 ACP – Laser Cartridge

3. Chamber Plugs.  Chamber Plugs prevent the loading of Rounds (whether Live or Dummy) into the chamber of the gun.  As you might imagine, this increases the safety aspect of Dry Firing considerably.  With a Chamber Plug installed, it is physically impossible to load the gun, making it impossible to shoot.

4. Resetting Triggers. There are products that will allow the triggers of specific firearms to reset after each trigger pull. These products do not interact with the firing pins, therefore, they will not work with Laser Cartridges.  They will, however, allow you to actuate the trigger without racking the slide after each shot.  The one that I find the most cost effective and simple is the DryFireMag.  Simply rack the slide to reset the trigger, insert the DryFireMag, and begin Dry Firing.

Glock DRYFIREMAG
S&W M&P DRYFIREMAG

5. MantisX.  This is a pretty cool two part system.  The unit attaches to your firearm, and that unit is connected to your phone through an app.  This system gives you feedback of both your Dry Fire and Live Fire performance. If you are going to be practicing from a holster, buy the mag base plate adapter so you don’t have to have a special holster to fit around the unit.

Mantis X3

Training Pistols that will Replace your Firearm.

1. Laserlyte Pistols.  Laserlyte offers three different models: full size semi-auto, compact semi-auto, and a J-frame revolver.  They are advertised as having a similar size and shape of a Glock 19, Glock 43, and S&W J-frame revolver respectively.  The pistols feature a resetting double-action trigger, fixed sights, and laser with adjustment screws (and adjustment tool).  I personally use the full size version in my classes all the time and it works very well.  My only complaint would be the resetting trigger doesn’t accurately simulate a single-action trigger, but it still offers good feedback which will improve your trigger control in general.

Pistol and Target Combo
Full Size Pistol
Compact Pistol
J Frame Revolver

2. SIRT Pistols. SIRT (Sight Indicating Resetting Trigger) offers several models that accurately simulate the size and shape of the Glock 17, S&W M&P, Sig P320 Full Size and Compact, and one model that generally simulates several single stack compact pistols.  Each pistol features a resetting single-action trigger, fixed sights, a removable weighted magazine, and a laser with adjustment screws (and adjustment tool).  I don’t own any of these yet, but I do use them on a regular basis.  They are excellent, if you have the extra money, these are worth it. You’ll make your money back in no time. 

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SIRT Pistols

 3. Reactive Targets.  Shoot these Targets with a Laser Cartridge, or Training Pistol and watch them record hits, time your shots, make sounds or movement.  These are always a fun addition to Dry Firing and can help you quantify your shooting skills.

Quick Tyme Target
Popper Tyme

What Dry Fire Programs Are There?
One of the best ways to make sure you get your practice in is to get on a program.  Having clear instruction and a clear goal in mind helps tremendously in improving our skills. With that in mind, there is one program in particular that I have gone through that I really liked.  It’s called the 21 Day Alpha Shooter.  As the name suggests, it is a 21 day program that is done in very small, bite sized lessons. 10 to 15 minutes tops each day and you’ll greatly improve your skills.  I’ve gone through it once myself and now I’m working on it a second time with my wife.  It’s a top notch program.

21 Day Alpha Shooter 

Well, there it is.  Have fun practicing your shooting fundamentals on a dime. 

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