Dry Fire Training?

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JCooperfan1911

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Well Merry Christmas all!

E61-FA37-A-99-DD-4-A77-B289-A6087267-D678.jpg

Hope your festivities are going great. As some of you may know, Santa ordered me a Ruger GP100 fixed sight .38 special recently.

A38-B6-FA2-2-E3-F-4-B31-96-DA-5654-FEA02-F99.jpg

As we all know, ammos prices are really jacked up right now and don’t appear to be coming down. .38 special was hit especially hard and prices are running $25 on up for a box of 50 decent quality (non steel case, non remanufactured) ammo according to ammoseek.com. I’m currently investigating a simple reloading setup but even then components are tough to find, too.

This situation leads me to ask how effective is dry fire training (using snap caps) with revolvers?

It seems the double-action pull is conducive to this and while recoil cannot be simulated, the 4” full-lug barrel and .38 only chambering should be quite mild so no magnum-level recoil control is needed. Additionally, I have several speedloaders (with carrier) and dummy rounds to practice quick reloads when at home.

What would you revolver guys consider enough ammunition expenditure per month to maintain effectiveness for the purposes of home defense with a .38 GP100?

Thanks!
 
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Merry Christmas!

If you're adept with handguns, once you get comfortable with it, a couple cylinder fulls a month would be enough. Provided you put a couple boxes through it to start and dry fire some to retain familiarity.

Practicing reloads and stance and grip and sighting and follow through are major helps.

Carrying it build a relationship that makes it easier to shoot with, in my experience.
 
getting that trigger finger in shape to pull through that eleven pound pull and keeping it in shape is critical to shooting a double-action revolver. dry fire is the way to go. don't go hog wild the first few times as to not injure or strain the trigger finger.

also, the sights don't have to be aligned until the hammer falls. don't worry if the sight picture wobbles a bit during the trigger pull. just make sure the sights are aligned at the end of the pull. you will also have to grip much harder to mitigate the eleven pound rearward pull of the trigger. so dry-fire is the way to go here, too.

luck,

murf
 
Snap caps are both cheap insurance and will allow you to practice reloads and ejections.

Dryfire in general, in my experience, pay huge dividends far beyond it having any right to. This, of course, assumes you already have the understanding of the basic fundamentals. Handing somebody a pistol who’s never shot a gun and telling them to dryfire isn’t likely to help them at all.

I would say get enough ammo of the type you will shoot to make sure all is reliable and to give you the recoil feel and then dryfire / live fire like 80/20 or more, I think you will be surprised how effective it can be.
 
murf said:
also, the sights don't have to be aligned until the hammer falls. don't worry if the sight picture wobbles a bit during the trigger pull.
Click to expand...

I have found that “staging” the trigger helps. For me, the majority of the trigger pulled is done between the draw of the holster and basic alignment with the target. The last occurs as the sights align…easier to do, than to describe….
 
Snap caps add a level of safety, as well as let you practice reloads. They cant hurt as far as wear to the gun goes, just make sure they are in good shape, and discard them when they start looking like they are done. This is more of an issue with the autos, but applies to all off them. I had an issue with one of my SIG's when a piece of the rim tore off and somehow got into the slide rails and tied things up pretty nasty. Took some work and fiddling to get it out.

Just like live fire, dry fire is an absolute necessity as far as Im concerned, and an very important part of regular practice. Its way more than just trigger squeeze and sights.

Forgetting that Ruger has a single action notch will be the best thing you ever do too, and not for or with just your revolver shooting. ;)
 
I read that the older Colt actions with the v-spring were better for staging, the S&Ws better for a straight pull.
Snap caps, yes. Can use them to practice speed loading. Having started as a Bullseye shooter I practice both DA and SA.
 
Master Blaster said:
Really??? So you remove the Hammer and pound out the rivet that holds the firing pin in and then dryfire after replacing the hammer.. Then you re- rivet the hammer nose firing pin before you are going to shoot or carry it.

Sounds like a lot of work
Click to expand...
You don't have to pull the hammer out to remove the firing pin.
 
rabid wombat said:
I have found that “staging” the trigger helps. For me, the majority of the trigger pulled is done between the draw of the holster and basic alignment with the target. The last occurs as the sights align…easier to do, than to describe….
Click to expand...
i don't stage the trigger during the da pull. i dry-fire and watch the front sight dip down in the rear sight opening then come back up to level as the sear breaks. the trigger moves in an arc when pulled and i would expect the front sight to move in an arc at the same time. i just make sure the front sight is pointed at the target when the gun goes off.

i pull in one smooth motion from start to finish.

luck,

murf
 
I believe dry fire is an enormously effective training tool. Search for "IPSC dry fire", for example, and you will find quite a few tools and drills used by even top competitors. With a revolver, you also may find that training with wax bullets - assuming you can find primers! - can be very useful as well. It may even be worth looking into one of the laser systems now available.
 
Sounds like something is wrong with your Model 10. :)

I have a number of Model 10's and dry fire an old 2" 10-7 on a daily basis. I also have a couple of 2" 10-5's that dont seem to mind it either, and they get dry-fired pretty regularly too.
 
Dry fire away OP, as the guys above said it’s great practice and helps smooth out the action of your brand new GP. :thumbup:

Let us know how it shoots for you when you get a chance to take it out.:)

Stay safe.
 
.38 Special said:
I believe dry fire is an enormously effective training tool. Search for "IPSC dry fire", for example, and you will find quite a few tools and drills used by even top competitors. With a revolver, you also may find that training with wax bullets - assuming you can find primers! - can be very useful as well. It may even be worth looking into one of the laser systems now available.
Click to expand...

Thank you :)
 
trackskippy said:
Sounds like something is wrong with your Model 10. :)

I have a number of Model 10's and dry fire an old 2" 10-7 on a daily basis. I also have a couple of 2" 10-5's that dont seem to mind it either, and they get dry-fired pretty regularly too.
Click to expand...
My grandad replaced the firing pin and didn't fit it ,so there's frame damage. I just have to go in with a file and shape the channel. Besides, I think it's an extra layer of safety.
 
I sort of knew where this thread would go lol.

Mods, please close this when you find the chance. Enough has already been said on what the topic has become.
 
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