Optimize dry fire and get results
Improvements in your pistol and carbine skills won’t happen without training and consistent practice. Dry firing only once a week will give you relatively the same results you’d get from going to the gym once a week.
A better approach would be to start at a minimum of 15 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week. Then increase from there if you can. Everyone has 15 minutes—everyone.
Unless I’m working on something specific, I set a timer and break it into blocks of 3-5 isolated drills with 5-10 minutes focused on each one. This allows me to be hyper focused and work through a lot of reps during each block. This keeps frustration, fatigue, and diminished returns to a minimum.
By using this approach my overall performance for pistol and carbine on the range has improved dramatically. To give you one example, my concealed draw went from a respectable 1.25 seconds to sub second .90 numbers consistently. From a defensive standpoint, situational factors aside, this can translate to getting the gun out quicker and rounds on target sooner—which wins fights.
My presentation only concealed draw practice block focuses on these skills:
Acquiring and maintaining a small focal point to stay target focused throughout.
Clearing garments and drawing in a fast, efficient, consistent and repeatable manner.
Indexing consistently every time. No searching for the dot or overconfirming iron sights.
Strong proper grip structure and pressure maintained throughout. Pay attention here (weak dry fire grip is a major training scar that translates over to live fire).
No tension, good body mechanics and staying relaxed.
Download scaled B-8 targets for your dry fire practice from Resources.
While there are other more nuanced things I’m paying attention to, the five above are the key areas of focus for each draw. I’m not just going through the motions. Isolating certain parts and shifting areas of focus can also change. I throw in variations to increase complexity like varying strings of trigger presses, working with a timer, incorporating different hand positions and seasonal attire, working at various distances with scaled targets, and adding in 90°/180° turns. Then I move on to the next block of practice.
If you want to improve your performance, start by getting a baseline for how you perform key skills right now. Invest in a timer. This is one way that will allow you to measure your progress. Pick two or three areas to focus on and identify your goals.
Dedication and hard work is what makes you better, not “magic” triggers, comps, etc. You can have all the Gucci guns and tactics in the world but at the end of the day, you need to be able to run your gun. And there’s nowhere to buy that skill. It’s paid for in dry fire and on the range.
For ideas, head over to my Instagram page where I regularly post dry fire drills.
But remember, training is not practice and practice is not training. If your foundation is shaky and your fundamentals are not squared away then you’re simply repeating bad habits over and over again. Dry fire is where you put the reps in to strengthen weak points, improve on areas of proficiency and practice the new things you learned during a training class.
Prioritize your training.
Build on-demand performance through drills that develop and pressure test speed, accuracy, distance, and movement with your gun.