Many of you may not be familiar with the term “dry fire” if you are not from a competitive shooting background, but the benefits of this exercise go far beyond the competitive shooter.  I have used dry fire exercises for many years to work on things like drawing, presenting, and reloading my pistol for competitive purposes, but also as a Law Enforcement Officer to keep my skills as sharp as possible.  Another application that comes to mind are those of you who have just entered gun season for hunting.

Dry fire is where you practice aiming and taking the shot without any live rounds in the gun.  To do this, UNLOAD YOUR GUN, point it in a safe direction and start working on the fundamentals fo the type of shooting you will be doing.  I like to post a 3×5 card or something similar on the wall to have an aiming point.   If you are a hunter, you should try to replicate the firing stance you will have.  For instance, if you will be in a tree stand, sit in a chair, or if you will be stalking, shoot from standing or prone positions.

The results you will see will surprise you.  While it’s not the same as firing live rounds, it does work on the fundamentals.  Things like grip, breaking the shot, and reloading will all become fluid to you after dry fire practice.  So don’t wait to go to the range to get better, start getting better at home with dry fire practice.

Note:  One tool used in dry fire by many people are dummy rounds.  You can purchase these at many places, but here is a link to Brownell’s website.  Dummy rounds allow you to load and eject rounds without worrying about playing with real ammo, which is an absolute NO NO in dry fire practice.  Never load or have any ammo near you when you are dry firing.  That is an accident waiting to happen.  Only load up at the range or when you are in the woods ready to hunt.