Dry Fire

	Believe it or not, you can learn a lot more about shooting without even firing a shot. Now what we are going to do today is called dry fire and dry fire means no live ammunition, so make sure you have none in the area with you. So lets go ahead and set up a target.
	When dry firing, it is a good idea to create an area in your room that is simulated as down range. You will want to make sure you follow the basic rules of firearm safety to get in the habit of handling your handgun properly. Now if you don’t have a target like this one, you can easily simulate it by drawing on a piece of paper with a marker. Place this up on the wall and you will be ready to create a simulated range environment.
	Now one of the basic things you’ll need to work on is your stance, I like to stand with my feet at least shoulder width apart and if you are a right handed shooter go ahead and take your right foot and move it slightly back.      Bend forward at the waist and extend your arms as if you are ready to shoot.            You’ll want to make sure you keep your elbows nice and loose and your knees as well. This will help your body act as a shock absorber to help you control recoil.
	Now you are ready for your firearm. Make sure that there is no ammunition in the room with you and your gun is absolutely clear. We’ll be working on grip next. With your strong hand grab nice and high along the back of the firearm. This will help you control recoil when the slide comes back. With your support hand, cant your wrist a little bit and wrap these fingers around the front. You want to make sure you eliminate any space available where your hands meet. This will help control recoil as well. You’ll want to hold the gun firmly and tightly in your hand, but not too tight. Now you are ready to bring the gun up to the target. This is where you are going to focus on a good sight picture. The goal here is to center the front sight within the rear sight notch. There should be equal amounts of light on both sides of the front sight and the top of the front sight and the rear sight should create a straight line across.
	Now it’s important to remember your eye can only focus on one thing at a time and that should be your front sight. The target and the rear sight should remain blurry, go ahead and practice bringing the gun up to your eye to acquire a good sight picture each time
	Once you understand what you need to see, you are ready to pull the trigger, this is called trigger control. Go ahead and get in your good stance, have a good firm grip and bring the gun to the target. Slowly pull the trigger straight back to the rear, straight to your face, like you are dragging your finger through peanut butter. You shouldn’t see the sights move at any time. This will help you have good trigger control each time you make a shot.
	If you are using a pistol, you will need to rack the slide and repeat the process.  The more you dry fire the easier it will be to find your sight and practice good trigger control. Dry fire is an excellent way to reinforce good shooting habits. Now you are ready to head to the range.  Click for printer-friendly version.