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Old January 12, 2021, 09:36 PM   #1
Mainah
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Training Without Shooting

Can anyone recommend training exercises that don't involve shooting? I've decided to save the ammo I have until I can afford to invest in a reloading system.
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Old January 12, 2021, 10:05 PM   #2
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Old January 12, 2021, 10:10 PM   #3
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There are a TON of dry fire drills and ideas out there. Here are a few I have bookmarked, but just search "dry fire drills" and you'll find a ton, many with poorly-produced but somewhat informative videos.

http://pistol-training.com/archives/5185

https://swiftsilentdeadly.com/dry-pr...raw/#more-3093

https://www.shooting-performance.com...secret-weapon/



I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.
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Old January 12, 2021, 11:20 PM   #4
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Yes, take your finger gun, point it at the TV and say pew, pu, pu, pew then hold your finger to your lips and blow.

More seriously, you should get a pellet gun. CO2 pellet pistols can be very accurate inside a garage and will help with sight alignment and trigger control. The Crossman revolver series is actually pretty good. Not a huge fan of the ones with the small clips but the break open guns that load a 10 shot clip are pretty good with decent single action triggers.
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Old January 13, 2021, 09:19 AM   #5
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Ben Stoeger dry fire manual
https://www.amazon.com/DryFire-Reloa...dp/1542880246/

also although these are designed for competition, these are great reduced sized targets to aim at. Competition shooters dry fire far more than live fire.
https://benstoegerproshop.com/dryfir...caled-targets/

https://benstoegerproshop.com/scaled...pers-and-dots/
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Old January 13, 2021, 12:20 PM   #6
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If you conceal carry, just practicing drawing from concealment, extending out and pressing the trigger would not be a waste of time at all.

(with an empty gun of course!)


It doesn't matter how accurate you are if you can't get the gun out in time to be helpful.
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Old January 13, 2021, 06:02 PM   #7
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Training Without Shooting

Quote:
Originally Posted by DMK View Post
If you conceal carry, just practicing drawing from concealment, extending out and pressing the trigger would not be a waste of time at all.

(with an empty gun of course!)


It doesn't matter how accurate you are if you can't get the gun out in time to be helpful.

If you have a shot timer you can set par times so that when you draw you have an idea of the time even without shots.


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Old January 13, 2021, 09:02 PM   #8
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I would say drawing from a holster, and magazine changes. Dry fire is always good too.

I know things are getting scarce, but I still intend to shoot abut 50-100rnds a month for now. I found this drill a while back. Good fundamentals based around a 50rnd box of ammo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8MvKIiXC2M
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Old January 13, 2021, 11:24 PM   #9
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Want to not suck, or be good? Dry fire 30 minutes a day every day. Bill drill, transitions, movement, targets at different distances, 20-50 mag changes, etc.
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Old January 14, 2021, 03:52 PM   #10
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They make some decent Airsoft replicas that are good for training. Now, all things considered it isn't the same thing, but does at least provide SOME form of trigger control training. You can also fairly cheaply by a trap to shoot them into as they are reusable BBs, it does save some money. I got one that is a replica Glock and everything functions the same, it was still a good $40+ purchase, but has allowed me to work on drawing for the initial shot out of my holster, but it's only a single shot spring air...
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Old January 14, 2021, 06:54 PM   #11
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Thanks for all of the fantastic advice.
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Old January 14, 2021, 07:23 PM   #12
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Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire. Manipulate the trigger making certain that the sight picture is not upset in the least bit. Then dry fire some more.
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Old January 15, 2021, 11:18 AM   #13
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Choices

I have one of these set-ups that I bought at a discount. I use it for our classes and refresher for me when I can't go to the range. The pretty blue color is not as intimidating as some others. It is a good training aid. Also, out hunter Ed district acquired a set of long guns that cast a laser beam. I believe they are made by Daisey. I don't have that. Now then. a bit more dangerous but you can take a pellet pistol and load a short section of Q-tip and shoot it into a carboard box but yo will have to so come homework on this one. ......


https://www.amazon.com/LaserLyte-tra...ef_=ast_sto_dp

Be Safe !!!
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Old January 16, 2021, 09:30 AM   #14
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I have a heavy metal BB gun with trigger pull and grip emulating a double stack 9 mm.
I leave it on my workbench that is next to the garage door which is almost always open when I’m home.
Once or twice a day I will pick it up and dry fire it at items in my back and side yard.
I was very pleasantly surprised my last trip to my friends range and how much it improved my target acquisition and accuracy on steel targets with my Sig M11 A1 and P220.
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Old January 16, 2021, 06:44 PM   #15
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I inherited a kit-built .45 flintlock pistol years ago and I've been using it for dry fire practice randomly during the day in my home office. I've never actually fired it, and it's a safe and quick choice because I don't have any blackpowder loading components.

Obviously it doesn't prep me completely for a modern gun. However I feel like holding all that extra weight while working on trigger pull and sight alignment has helped. But I could be wrong, thoughts?
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Old January 16, 2021, 11:28 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mainah
I inherited a kit-built .45 flintlock pistol years ago and I've been using it for dry fire practice randomly during the day in my home office. I've never actually fired it, and it's a safe and quick choice because I don't have any blackpowder loading components.

Obviously it doesn't prep me completely for a modern gun. However I feel like holding all that extra weight while working on trigger pull and sight alignment has helped. But I could be wrong, thoughts?
"Muscle memory"

The utility of dry firing, in my opinion and in my experience, is to train your muscles to properly align the sights and manipulate the trigger. If you dry fire with some firearm so radically different in size, shape, and weight from your actual self-defense pistol, I respectfully submit that you are training yourself to miss with the "real" gun.

History: The original M1911 had a "straight" mainspring housing running up the back of the frame. Feedback from soldiers (who were, at that time, accustomed to revolvers) was that it didn't point "right." They were generally hitting lower than where they thought they were aiming. So, when the M1911A1 modifications came along in the late 1920s, one of the changes was the arched mainspring housing. Its purpose was to better replicate the natural point of aim for soldiers transitioning from revolvers.

Personally, I prefer the straight MSH and I swap out any arched MSHs that come into my possession. I know of other people who do the opposite.

I have a friend, also a 1911 shooter, who used to keep an airsoft 1911 in his garage workshop. Any time he walked past the bench where the pistol resides, he would grab it and take a snap shot at some target in the shop. His goal was to improve his target acquisition and muscle memory.

I just don't see how dry firing an 18th century dueling pistol could be of any help in training to use a Glock, 1911, Sig, or whatever.
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Last edited by Aguila Blanca; January 17, 2021 at 03:30 PM. Reason: typo
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Old January 17, 2021, 03:29 PM   #17
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Ouch !!!

Quote:
I inherited a kit-built .45 flintlock pistol years ago and I've been using it for dry fire practice randomly during the day in my home office.
Ouch !!!

Do the still make Cap-Guns or even air-soft guns ???

Be Safe !!!
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Old January 17, 2021, 05:37 PM   #18
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Isn't dry firing bad?
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Old January 17, 2021, 08:55 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by reubenray
Isn't dry firing bad?
In general, no. Only for some .22s, and a few old firearms with delicate firing pins.
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Old January 17, 2021, 10:27 PM   #20
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I am not real sure what the OP is trying to accomplish if he is dry firing a flint lock. Unless he is planning to carry a flint lock, you may as well be pointing a banana.

I have a very simply philosophy. Get some training and if you feel the need to be a better shooter, seek more training and shoot more. I have never sat around dry firing a weapon and probably never will.

I have always felt that dry firing quickly gets to a point of diminished returns. I think that alot of this dry fire practice is simply doing "something" for the sake of doing it. I also feel that many people do it because they want to and they probably like how it makes them feel (Industrious).

Can dry fire be of a benefit? Sure, but so can sitting in your driveway for three hours practicing putting the key in the ignition of your car. In a very short time you are likely going to need scientific instruments to measure the gains( if any)

Pulling the trigger on a handgun is not rocket science and probably should not be treated as such. A person can easily learn their trigger( it doesnt take long) and a person can very easily pay attention to the particular nuances of their gun when training with live fire.

To me.. pulling the trigger does not need to be "muscle memory", its needs to be a very deliberate and thoughtful action which is precipitated in the moment as a result of a very specific set of conditions.

There are plenty of things which may make all the difference in a self defense action. That said, I doubt that the expected gains from dry fire is going to be one of those things. Could it be.. I guess it could.

Can dry fire be of benefit? Yes, I believe it can.
Is that benefit worth the time and effort? Not to me
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Old January 17, 2021, 11:03 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FireForged
To me.. pulling the trigger does not need to be "muscle memory", its needs to be a very deliberate and thoughtful action which is precipitated in the moment as a result of a very specific set of conditions.
Muscle memory affects all the muscles in the body, not just the muscles in the trigger finger. The muscles "learn" and remember the weight of the firearm, their position relative to one another (fingers, hand, wrist, arm(s), shoulder(s), etc.) This is why the military changed to the arched mainspring housing -- because soldiers who were accustomed (muscle memory) to shooting revolvers found that the M1911 "didn't point right" for them.

I occasionally test guns -- generally 1911s, from various manufacturers. I set all my own 1911s for a trigger pull weight of between 4-1/2 and 4-3/4 pounds. When I get a test pistol with a trigger around 6 pounds, accuracy goes down because the gun doesn't go off when the muscles expect it to. Likewise, I've had test pistols with 3-1/2-pound triggers. It takes awhile before I can get any accuracy out of those, too, because at first they go off "before they're supposed to."
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Old January 17, 2021, 11:52 PM   #22
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IIRC the British Army issued wooden "flints" for their soldiers to drill with.
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Old January 17, 2021, 11:58 PM   #23
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I am sure most people in this forum are familiar with trained habit action, habituation, procedural memory, motor memory, embodied implicit memory and all that jazz. I doubt that anyone is lost on the concept.

There are people who are dry fire zealots, some are rather anti-dry fire and others find themselves somewhere in-between. I am not telling you to refrain. I have done my best to explain my position, its all I can do.

I am not much of a dry fire proponent beyond a very very limited introductory sense. Others may disagree and that is fine, I offered my thoughts on it in the hopes that my words may help someone.
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Old January 18, 2021, 10:43 AM   #24
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A gun is just a tool. Have you trained your hand strength? Cardiovascular system? Muscles?

A general regime of cardio and weights will put anyone at an advantaged position in close combat.

Specific additional work on grip strength is specific for handgun shooters. Be aware that grip strength will improve significantly in the first few months and can easily affect point of impact. Strong hands and forearms will also reduce perceived recoil and improve time for shot strings.

Sorry but it’s hard work and not real sexy stuff.
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Old January 19, 2021, 10:37 AM   #25
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I just don't see how dry firing an 18th century dueling pistol could be of any help in training to use a Glock, 1911, Sig, or whatever.
Fair enough. Although if I end up in a 18th century naval conflict I'm set.
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