IndyGunSafety
Master
After a while you should be able to call your shot. It is nice to have verification of your instinct. iMarksman makes an infrared light system for the SIRT pistol. No lasers to be distracted by. This works really well with their full simulator. So you can get some target feedback AFTER the fact, without distraction initially. But there is the cost...
Another point is just a habit pattern. When dry firing, have a specific target you use. Even if it's a blank sheet of paper to avoid the distractions of having a "target", so you can really focus on the front sight. Get this "target" (or you could call it a background) out and hang it up when it's time to dry fire. Put it away when you are done. Add this mindset habit to the safety checks mentioned by the OP and you should never have a bullet hole in your wall or expensive TV! Try different color pieces of paper and varying light conditions so you get in the habit of adjusting to different light contrast situations quickly.
I think dry fire is very useful. Very similar to a practice swing in golf or baseball, but much more beneficial. And it's cheap! One of the great advantages to it is after you get the hang of aiming, you can really concentrate on your trigger finger and grip, and add ALL of the fundamentals until they become instinct and muscle memory. One of the biggest problems I see with students is how quickly a flinch or incorrect technique comes back after non practice. You can easily spend a a whole session getting rid of a flinch and then it's time to go home from the range. Then it's two weeks or more before you get back to the range AND THE FLINCH IS BACK! It's another whole session before you can get rid of it. Dry firing is an inexpensive way to prevent this from happening, or at lease mitigate the effects of not going to the range. It's no substitute for the real thing, but it IS another useful tool for development of muscle memory and habit patterns.
Thanks for posting this. Maybe it isn't as fun as doing the real thing. But it's what you make of it.
P.S. DON'T DRY FIRE AT YOUR TV, and maintain all of the safety rules even with a SIRT or "cleared" handgun. (Says the fun-sucking safety guy!)
Another point is just a habit pattern. When dry firing, have a specific target you use. Even if it's a blank sheet of paper to avoid the distractions of having a "target", so you can really focus on the front sight. Get this "target" (or you could call it a background) out and hang it up when it's time to dry fire. Put it away when you are done. Add this mindset habit to the safety checks mentioned by the OP and you should never have a bullet hole in your wall or expensive TV! Try different color pieces of paper and varying light conditions so you get in the habit of adjusting to different light contrast situations quickly.
I think dry fire is very useful. Very similar to a practice swing in golf or baseball, but much more beneficial. And it's cheap! One of the great advantages to it is after you get the hang of aiming, you can really concentrate on your trigger finger and grip, and add ALL of the fundamentals until they become instinct and muscle memory. One of the biggest problems I see with students is how quickly a flinch or incorrect technique comes back after non practice. You can easily spend a a whole session getting rid of a flinch and then it's time to go home from the range. Then it's two weeks or more before you get back to the range AND THE FLINCH IS BACK! It's another whole session before you can get rid of it. Dry firing is an inexpensive way to prevent this from happening, or at lease mitigate the effects of not going to the range. It's no substitute for the real thing, but it IS another useful tool for development of muscle memory and habit patterns.
Thanks for posting this. Maybe it isn't as fun as doing the real thing. But it's what you make of it.
P.S. DON'T DRY FIRE AT YOUR TV, and maintain all of the safety rules even with a SIRT or "cleared" handgun. (Says the fun-sucking safety guy!)