Dry Fire Training — Misconceptions vs. Reality

[Jester560]

If you have a dot on your weapon, it will tell you more than any laser

 

[hajoc]

I'll chime in with @SimonRL - I've used the Mantis X10 for a long time and can absolutely see a downturn in my live fire performance when I don't put in the Mantis reps. As (I hope) most will agree, shooting is a perishable skill and whether it's live or dry fire, if you don't do something, your accuracy will suffer. I have the Mantis Laser Academy as well but haven't worked with it as much. The X10 works for both dry and live fire. One of my favorite features are the built-in courses you get with the X10 app; I've finished five of them so far. With increasing levels of difficulty (and gradually shorter time windows) they incorporate drawing from the holster, mag changes, malfunction clearing and, of course, clean trigger pulls - all under time constraints. They include both strong- and off-hand-only drills, shoot/no shoot scenarios, and more.

I've done some private training (1-on-1 with a trainer at the local range) and the mechanical improvements I made with Mantis translate to better performance in live fire training/drills as well.

As with anything, if I get lazy during live fire, no amount of dry fire training will help. No matter how good I think I am, I have to remember (and employ) solid fundamentals. But again, that's another area the Mantis X10 excels - the feedback it provides through the sensor and app do a decent job of telling me where I'm failing when my mechanics start to break down.

Everyone's mileage may vary as with all things. My personal experience with the Mantis solutions and the laser dry fire app has been very positive.

On an unrelated note, I feel like I'm cheating - just picked up a Walther PDP F-Series and they gifted me a free direct-mount optic. I've only shot it once so far (without the optic - which I just got yesterday), but the hype around Walther doesn't seem to be misplaced. Is it possible to love both Springfield and Walther?

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Hello. I’m interested in improving my shooting skills and have been reading about dry fire training. I understand it involves practicing trigger control, sight alignment, and drawing without live ammunition. I’m curious about how to structure a consistent dry fire routine that actually translates to live-fire accuracy. What are the most effective exercises or tools (like laser training cartridges or target setups) for beginners and intermediate shooters? How often should dry fire sessions be done, and what common mistakes should be avoided to ensure proper technique and safety?

 

[Muzzlestuffer]

I would dry fire every night about 30 minutes if not for accuracy alone but just muscle memory and strength. If your using a red dot it will help with not having to search for the dot that's all the advice I can give.

 

[Biggfoot44]

IMO drawing, presenting, reholstering, and mag changes can all be mastered in the home with dry type repetitive practice. Accuracy on the other hand can only truly be improved by live fire. A trigger press should be able to be mastered in a dozen or so repetitions but doing it with recoil and noise takes mental discipline and repeated exposure to live fire. I don’t waste my time or the wear and tear on my guns messing with dry fire.

I understand what you're saying, but l take the flipped viewpoint .

Trigger control , and sight alignment absolutely can be , and usually are mastered thru dry fire .

[ Annecdote - Back in the day , a friend of mine a few years younger than me , both from around the neighborhood , and multi generational member of my gun club at the time . Out of HS , he was accepted into AMU . He would tell me that commonly his daily duty assignment was 8hr of dry firing, from a particular position . ( This was before AMU dabbled into practical pistol , and main focus was Rifle ) . ]

You can 99% learn presentation , sight acquisition, sight alignment , trigger control , presentation , and reloading all dry . Insert stories of thousands of reps with dummy rounds to speedload revolvers behind my back , with my eyes closed .

All that's left is managing recoil. And in an era when 9mm and / or compensated pistols are dominate , us dinosaurs laugh and say " what recoil ? " .

If you are are at the level of top 1% of professional competition shooters , then yeah , thousands of rounds per week of live fire helps shave that last 0.01 seconds per stage . For for real life real world , practical , field , or defensive shooting , 99% can be mastered dry .

The Late , Great Bill Jordan had multiple times been quoted as doing 100 times in dry fire for each live round .

Of course , most of the younger generation will say " Bill Who ? " , or that various world records , national championships , and prevailing in ( quantities he declined to publicly discuss ) gunfights in the South Pacific , and along the Border , don't mean anything , because he didn't use this weeks trendy techniques .