Questions about dry fire practice

[Hakshot]

I have made the jump from intermidate range 650 yards with a pbr rifle in 308 from FNH (nothing special) to a barrett MRAD and start working into LR. (It's just back story. I think it is a great rifle. and I wasn't ready to spead 7-8k pretax on an ai, surgeon or sako)

Here is my question, I know with pistols you can get laser cartidges for your gun and a target for practice and see if your finching, pulling, thumbing, etc. What is a good way to do dry fire practice without building bad habits?

I would hate to get to a range and learn that I created a habit that will take $$$$ of live fire practice to fix.

 

[pitfa1490]

Re: Questions about dry fire practice

good question I have an answer for you...
assume the normal firing position, prone or whatever you normally use. have a buddy balamce a coin on the barrel of the rifle.
when you pull the trigger if it drops off you're violating the trigger pull concept. that's what I call it others may call it something different.

I just looked and there's a guy that posted an article on the web (retired army shooter) that has that drill and quite a bit of info on trigger finger education (that's what he calls it). believe it or don't the technique is effective and only costs a quarter or a half dollar or a dime or even a penny. here's a link to his doc on line:

http://www.ultimatesniper.com/Docs/31.PDF

You might even want to print tje pdf file so you can have it laying beside you as a reference...

The drawback is you have to have someone help you balance the coin on the barrel. but for 25 cents or less, it's not a bad way to train.

 

[Hakshot]

Re: Questions about dry fire practice

Thanks,

I guess I was over thinking it. I practice with a spent case or quarter for pistol. I just thought it would be more involed

 

[kraigWY]

Re: Questions about dry fire practice

I built my grandson a hunting rifle, Rem 700 in 308. He had problems with trigger control so I got one of those toy laser lights, the kind you harass your cat with, and taped in on the barrel.

I then had him dry fire as we watched the red dot on the target. It works pretty good.

 

[Mo_Zam_Beek]

Re: Questions about dry fire practice

A few thoughts:

A) A mirror - if your optic will allow you to focus down to a very short distance, some of the best practice can be achieved by placing a mirror across the room. Assume the prone position (other positions later), focus the optic, find an object in the reflection of the mirror that is effectively the same size as the crosshairs, when you break the shot - if the crosshairs so much as wiggle, you know you have a mechanical issue that needs to be addressed.

B) Positon / Odd Position - assume a position, use your sling, pick an aim point at some distance that is again about the size of the crosshairs, when the shot breaks - by virtue of your ability to call the shot and your follow through, you should be able to determine if your are inducing a mechanical error (what happened to the crosshairs the exact moment the shot was broken?).

C) Get a decent .22lr rifle. Same deal if the crosshairs move at all - it is on you.

The biggest thing that can be learned, regardless of position, is a perfectly straight trigger pull. Prone in front of a mirror will also teach you about shoulder/spine/ hip alignment. Position and odd position, emphasise building a position, using skeltal structure, and large muscle groups to maintain NPA, stress proper breathing, and calling the shot. Something to consider, if you find yourself struggling to keep the crosshairs on POA and you can feel that you are using a lot of little muscle power - stop. Figure out what you have to do to build the position such that you don't have to rely on the little muscles to make NPA effectivly equal POA.

If you haven't, sign up for Lowlight's online training. It will flatten the curve on this and many other fine points.



Good luck


ETA - like all forms of dry fire - you'll get more out of working on your chops for 5 minutes a day, every day, for 12 months; than you will doing a random hour here and there, over the same 12 month period. Like so many things related to accuracy, it begins with consistency.

 

[SpenceDaddy]

Re: Questions about dry fire practice

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: pitfa1490</div><div class="ubbcode-body">good question I have an answer for you...
assume the normal firing position, prone or whatever you normally use. have a buddy balamce a coin on the barrel of the rifle.
when you pull the trigger if it drops off you're violating the trigger pull concept.

</div></div>

This is what we do in the Army... we use dimes and call it a Dime Drill. Once you master it at the end of the barrel, stick a cleaning rod out the end of your barrel and balance the dime on that and try it. It works really well.

 

[jcann]

Re: Questions about dry fire practice

Properly done, dry firing is very good way to develop good habits. We spent an entire week at Edson range doing nothing but dry firing from standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone positions. The part which is hard to replicate is “follow through.” The bullet will remain in your barrel approximately 24thousands of a second and your rifle can recoil as much as 3/8” prior to your bullet exiting. Having proper body position with a natural point of aim (NPOA), shoulder/cheek weld, elbows as flat as possible, rear bag perpendicular to the stock, bi-pod loaded, etc. play a big part. You want the rifle to recoil strait back and recover on NPOA. This is easier practiced on gas guns than bolt guns though. We removed the charging handle and tied a string around the carrier key and ran it out where the charging handle use to be and a second person would cycle the bolt carrier using the string after the trigger broke.