Dry fire choice?

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westportian

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Hi folks. I'm not a very experienced shooter and have read that frequent dry fire is the secret to getting better at shooting a pitol. My question for you all is what kind of gun should I get for dry fire? Something in a small caliber?
 
Dry-fire is primarily a tool to get more comfortable with the gun you chose for actual use. I don't think there is a lot of value to choosing a gun just for dry-fire.

Basic dry-fire primer:
http://corneredcat.com/Practice/dryfire.aspx
Why dry-fire is a valuable tool:
http://corneredcat.com/basics/flinch.aspx

Whatever gun you pick, a set of snap-caps can't hurt. Putting something bright red or purple in the chamber that is NOT live ammo is an extra layer of safety, and for some guns it can preserve the firing pin or other parts* by simulating the cushioning action of a real round's primer.


*(most modern guns are not harmed by occasional dry-fire, extended sessions may or may not harm the gun, but a snap-cap can't hurt and will teach you to operate more than the bang switch)
 
IMO, you should buy a gun to shoot. Don't buy a gun to dry fire.

Dry fire the gun you bought to shoot.
 
Dry fire isn't something you buy a gun to practice. Its a practice done with the gun you're going to be using, as a tool for becoming more familiar with it. Buying a gun to familiarize yourself with it, then using a different gun for actual use, defeats the entire idea of using dry fire to become familiar with YOUR firearm.
 
Dry firing is a cheap way to to become familiar with your gun and learn how to squeeze the trigger. This way you can do it at home without the costs of ammo or range fees. As said previously snap caps can save internal parts from wear and tear on a center fire gun. However, you should never dry fire a rim fire gun without snap caps because you will break something.

Remember though even if a gun is not loaded with live ammo that you should still always use the the four golden rules of firearms. Many people have died from an unloaded gun.
 
I'm a strong believer in dry firing. I'd not buy a special gun, but just use the gun I planned to use. Just make sure it is adviseable to dry fire the gun you have chosen. Most will not be hurt at all, but it is not a good idea with some models. Check first.

Some guys seem to think dry firing will hurt a gun. It won't hurt most of them any more than live firing, but remember this. You may have a gun with only a few hundred rounds through it, but it may have been dry fired 20,000 times or more. Your gun really has the net effect of having 20,000+ rounds through it and it has more wear on it than you may realize.

Not that that is a bad thing. Those 20,000 dry firings have made you a MUCH better shot. You may well wear out the gun by now, but how much would 20,000 rounds of ammo cost. Much more than the gun.
 
getting better at shooting a pitol
Click to expand...

I've never shot one of those. Is that a game animal in your part of the world?

Re dry firing, I'm old school and don't believe in it. If I want to practice trigger control I go to the range.

But if I were going to do it, I'd stay away from any handgun where parts might be hard to come by. A pinned and recessed Smith or a Colt Python, for example.

I'd probably go with a modern production Ruger SP101 or GP100.
 
You will get the same wear on the trigger parts from dry firing that you will from live fire, so depending on how much you do it may pay to track this for maintenance purposes of springs and such. Of course you will not get the same amount of wear on the slide, barrel, frame, etc that you will from live fire.

I've been dry firing a good bit for about the last six months. I like snap caps for reload practice when you need to seat a mag and then drop the slide. However I don't use them for other drills because they wear fast, and are somewhat expensive. I was also expecting them to be weighted to simulate an actual round in the magazine. Not so, at least with the A-zooms I have. So I loaded up some dummy rounds (minus powder/primer) for magazine weighting purposes. When I do dry practice now I fill the magazine with X number of dummy rounds (depending on how "full" I want the magazine for the exercise in question) and top it off with a couple snap caps.
 
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