Dryfire Drills

Firearms drills are critical to helping you sharpen your skills, give you a challenge, and can change the way you think about shooting and self-defense. They can also be an eye-opener and a means to evaluate your skills to identify areas needing improvement.

They can also be a lot of fun!

Dry Fire Drills - Before you Begin

First, always observe the four rules of gun safety.

Treat all guns as if they are always loaded.
Never let the muzzle point at anything that you are not willing to kill or destroy.
Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have made the decision to shoot.
Be sure of your target and what is behind it.

Second, if you're going to engage in dry fire practice, make sure to clear any and all ammunition from the firearm. Double and triple-check that it's unloaded. Unless impossible to avoid, don't practice in a room that has any ammunition in it.

Do NOT rely on a mechanical safety for trigger or sight practice with a loaded firearm. Just use common sense, and stay safe..

The Wall Drill

This drill was invented by George Harris, a former Sig Academy instructor. The point of the drill isn’t about the speed of draw or target acquisition, but rather developing trigger control, leading to muzzle control and thus greater accuracy.

For this dry firing exercise, start with an unloaded firearm and a blank, ideally lightly colored wall. Bring the firearm up and align the front and rear sights, with the muzzle an inch or two away from the wall. Don't focus on a target, but rather on the front sight through the rear sight.

Once aligned, operate the trigger. What should happen is the gun will "click" and the front sight should not move. If the front sight moves, your trigger pull is causing the pistol to move, which it shouldn't. Harder trigger pulls tend to move the other fingers with the motion, so you want to adjust, attenuate and refine your grip and trigger pull until the front sight (and therefore the muzzle) doesn't move with the trigger pull. The benefit of this dry fire drill is that If the muzzle doesn't move when you actuate the trigger, your accuracy while live firing should improve considerably.

Dry Fire Balance Drill

The most common version is balancing a penny or empty brass shell on the top of the barrel directly behind or on the front sight, which is why a lot of people call this the "Penny Drill."

Balance the empty cartridge, a penny, another coin, or a washer on the barrel, then aim and dry fire. If you do it right, the penny won't move.

Just like the wall drill, the goal is to refine grip and trigger motion so that your sights don't move when you pull the trigger. Refine your grip and trigger motion until the penny is stationary when the trigger is actuated.

Simple Sight Aquisition Drill

One very easy dry fire exercise is a simple sight and fire drill. Holding your pistol at rest - say in your strong hand at your side - simply raise the pistol to firing position, acquire a target in the sights and dry fire. You don't even need to necessarily dry fire the pistol; practicing sight acquisition in and of itself is very valuable. Start slowly; if you practice slowly but correctly, you will eventually be able to acquire a target quickly and correctly. It's better to learn good shooting habits from the start than to correct bad ones later.

Dry Fire Drills While Drawing

Before practicing a dry fire draw, first verify your firearm is clear of any ammunition, then double-check. Triple check, just to be safe. Select a target. Holster the firearm.

To practice, draw, and acquire the target with the sights and dry fire. There are a few variations on this drill. Ten repetitions of drawing and sighting before pulling the trigger to practice the proper firearm drawing motion. Start practicing this drill slowly and smoothly. As with any other learned skill, practicing slowly and smoothly eventually leads to speed. It's about "Muscle Memory". Timers for shooting drills are available if you want to eventually time yourself.