FIRE AWAY!

Before we get started it is important to state that the following information applies to individuals who have taken a lesson or two from a qualified experience instructor.  If you haven't, than that should be your first step and this post is not for you!

As a firearm trainer/instructor I am often asked by my students this question, "How and what do I need to do to become a better and more advanced shooter?"  The question should be More Efficient and Effective shooter!  My answer is always the same, PRACTICE!  Now let me explain what I mean by PRACTICE.  Practice does not make perfect.  Practice makes habit.  Only perfect practice makes perfect!  In essence what I am talking about is this, just doing something over and over does not perfect the skill that you are trying to develop.  If you are not doing it the right way you are perfecting training scares that will become very difficult to correct.  When you are trying to perfect a skill you need to practice it over and over, doing it the correct way so as to eventually make it what is called a, unconsciously competent movement.  This only happens by doing an enormous amount of repetitions.  By doing these repetitions you are conditioning your mind and body to function as one unit.  I call this a marriage between you physiological and your neurological systems.  You probably have heard it called or referred to as muscle memory.  It is not just enough to do and practice the skill that you are trying to develop you must also have an understanding of why it needs to be done that way.  Understanding the Nuts and Bolts and how and why they apply to the skill.  You see being proficient with a firearm is 90% mental and 10% physical.  Ok, I could go on with this conversations for a few more hours, but I won't!  The purpose for this post is about practicing, Dry Fire Practice and the benefits of it!  I just needed to lay down some facts first.  Remember the key is to do it slow and deliberate (ROBTICLY SLOW) so as to make sure that you are going through each step and not missing anything that applies to the skill or technique, ie, a b c & d not a b & d .  Once the skill/technique has properly been programed into your subconscious you should start increasing the time that it takes to do it.  A shot timer is a very effective tool to help you increase your efficiency  during your D F Practice.  

As most of you know the shooting sports have really gotten expensive.  Ammunition prices are high and have really skyrocketed and so has shooting club memberships and range fees.  One of the ranges that I shoot at has doubled their membership price.  Hum, may not be shooting there any longer! These cost factors have contributed to most people not being able to afford to practice and when they do practice shortens and limits the amount of time they can spend on live fire drills .  Unless you reload your own ammunition, and that has gotten more expensive also, or you have deep pockets, you know what I am talking about.  So how do you maintain and keep you skill level constant so that you don't start to lose it and more importantly your confidences in being able to efficiently and accurately hit your target. Because, after all isn't that the reason you are practicing!

So, let's get started.  First make sure that you have a good understanding of the "Four Cardinal Rules" of firearm safety and that you follow them to the tee.   Second, make sure that there is absolutely NO LIVE AMMUNITION in the room or area that you are conducting the Dry Fire Practice.  Three, make sure that you have cleared the firearm and that you have checked it at least two times, checking the chamber and the magazine well.  Fourth, make sure that the area, (TARGET) that you are aiming at can sustain and capture the bullet should you have a brain fart and get a BANG when you should have gotten a CLICK.  Fifth, if you can not devote 100% of your attention to this 15 minute practice session than hold off until you can.  If for any reason you are interrupted during your practice sessions end it immediately and resume it at another time.   

The three most important objectives and this applies to new and inexperienced shooters as well as to experienced shooters are, Grip, Sight Alignment/Sight Picture and the most important aspect proper Trigger manipulation.  The purpose of Dry Fire practice is to supplement your live fire practice.  With Dry fire practice you can focus on exactly what you will need to do when firing a live firearm.  But, you will not have that conscience concern of the gun going BANG!  That conscience concern is what causes you to anticipate.  Which is a big problem in being able to hit your target accurately.

What you are trying to achieve is Consistency through Repetitions so that you become more Efficient which will make your actions more Effective.  Remember your final goal is to hit what you are shooting at. 

If you are a Glock or a S&W, M&P shooter I would suggest that you look at and invest in one of the Next Level Training SIRT PISTOL (Shot Indicating Re-setting Trigger).  They are a little expensive but you will benefit from the investment.  The biggest advantage with these types of training tools is that you know that when you are conducting your DRY FIRE exercises that there is no possible way you are going to have a ND. 

                                                              

More to follow on this topic in the next post.