Dry firing/laser test

JD45

New member
Have been doing a bad job at the range, so I started dry fire practice.

To test the steadiness of my aim I did the normal penny/spent case on front site and that works ok. Finally it hit me to try my pocket laser pointer. I used a small piece of bicycle inner tube to hold the laser on the barrel/slide and adjusted the laser to match the point of aim.

I was able to see any movement of the spot from point of aim much better. This also allowed me to note movement up through followthough.

Last night was my first test. What are your thoughts and suggestions?
 
JD45 - That sounds like a great idea. Any flerking (flinch + jerk) you do will be greatly magnified. Often the object-on-the-slide method doesn't show any subtle movements you are making which can throw off the shot just as much as jerking the trigger. Besides, just because the object fell off doesn't give you many clues as to why it fell of.

I just had a thought (a rare occurrence these days.) How about setting up a video camera to tape both your gun/stance/triggering and the screen that you are "shooting" at the same time. You will be able to connect the jerks of the laser beam with a particular action you are taking and review it later.
 
Mal H, that sounds like a good idea (even if it is rare).

My wife thought I was crazy last night when she walked into the garage and saw what I was doing, tonight she will probably commit me.

Have the video, tripod, etc. and will set up tonight. As they say, pictures don't lie.

Thanks for the idea.
 
That's the precise reason I bought the lasermax for my P226. In a REAL situation, I doubt that I'd remember to turn it on, asnd since it runs on batteries, I don't want to learn to become dependent on it instead of the front site, but for training, it's invaluable. Whether it's dry firing to practice trigger control or live fire to look for flinching or anticipation of recoil, it's outstanding - worth every penny. The laser drill, and the snap cap drill (having someone else load your mags and substitute a snap cap or two for a round in random order) has done the most for me and made a bigger improvement in my shooting than ANY other drill or training I have tried. I am a little curious about the video camera suggestion mentioned above, and I might give that a try - never thought about it before. Anyway, excellent idea, and much cheaper than a lasermax or Crimson trace (although you'd have a hard time using it for live fire).
-John
 
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