The range is not a place everyone can go to every day. Sometimes it is too busy, and we can’t get in, or we have prior arrangements that keep us away from time to practice. What would you say if you could do this at home? Welcome to the world of dry fire practice. In the past, this meant aiming at targets you set up and working on reloads. An issue with the old way of dry firing was to reset the trigger, you had to rack the slide, creating muscle memory. With technology today, there are a lot of new products that allow you to dry fire at home and make it a better experience.
Coolfire Trainer
The most advanced tool we can use and an item we are giving away is the Coolfire Trainer. This product replaces your barrel with a CO2-filled barrel that will recoil as if your gun was firing with live ammunition. You can also pair this with a laser to use with other products that will pick up where you are aiming and record split times. It is one of the more costly options, but you are saving money on ammunition.
LaserLyte Training Targets
This next product is more of an accessory for other dry-fire products but is valuable nonetheless. LaserLyte Training targets activate by lasers that you can attach to your firearm. If you have a setup like the Coolfire trainer that shoots a laser after every trigger pull, then it will work with this product.
Dryfire Mag
One of the cheaper product options is the DryFire Mag. The only issue with this product is that it is only available for Glock or Smith and Wesson M&P. This product allows you to reset the trigger without having to rack the slide. With the DryFireMag, when you activate the trigger, you get the feel and sound of the firing pin release, and the trigger reset. If you have either of those firearms, this would be a cheap tool to add to your dry-fire training.
Snap Caps/Dummy Rounds
Snap Caps or Dummy Rounds have been around for a long time. These have several benefits, first being that it simulates the weight of a full magazine. You can also load the dummy round and pull the trigger to get the trigger reset feeling. If you are dry firing a rimfire or revolver, you have the chance of hurting the firing pin.
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2018/12/28/is-it-safe-to-dry-fire-your-gun/
Adding these to your dry fire training can add a level of protection for the internals of your gun. Centerfire modern pistols are good for dry fire and don’t need a dummy round to protect the firing pin.
Ben Stoeger Dry Fire Targets
Ben Stoeger has a pro shop that carries scaled cardboard targets that simulate distance to that target. These are nice to add to your dry firing training so that the targets simulate the correct range when aiming at them. They come in 1/3rd and 1/6th scale targets. These cardboard targets come in a variety of styles to match the targets you are shooting in competition. These are inexpensive and can be used with drills of reloading, moving, transitioning, and having something to aim at.
Looks like it is time to make some more investments!
Printed targets work pretty well!