Dry fire training is an important part of any gun owner and user’s safety training. With the correct precautions taken, it can help shooters familiarize themselves with their firearms in a way that practicing with dummy weapons can’t quite replicate.
First of all, I would like to mention that even though the guns will be empty during dry fire training, all precautions should be taken as if they are loaded. Gun safety requires that all guns be pointed downrange or in another safe direction, never ever at another person or anything you do not want to destroy. Depending on the rules of your range, you may also be required to remove your magazine while doing dry fire training.
Another safety precaution you may need to take, depending on your firearm, is the use of snap caps or dummy bullets in your chamber to prevent damage to your firearm. This is most commonly required for firearms that use a rim-fire ignition mechanism, as a pin can impact the side of the barrel when fired dry. However, for extended dry fire practice, it might be best to purchase one, as the other function of a snap cap is to prevent wear and stress over long-term dry firing.
Dry firing is most valuable when any person is holding a certain firearm for the first time, or for the first few times. For the beginner to shooting, dry firing is a good step in between familiarizing a newbie with the gun and actually shooting a live firearm. Here you can also resort to the shooting simulator. It allows a beginner to practice all the aiming mechanics that go into a firearm such as a stance and lining up with the sights. It’s valuable practice withholding a heavy firearm at a new angle, pulling a trigger that might be a heavy pull, and figure out how far they need to pull the trigger to trigger the firing pin. Since all of these are unfamiliar to a newbie, practicing in a way that minimizes danger during the initial exploration of the firearm is invaluable. In addition, many first-timers who may not be physically strong might have a hard time holding the gun steady, so it’s best to try out holding it the first few times without the possibility of a stray wobble pointing the gun in an unsafe direction.
For a more experienced shooter, dry firing is a good way to get familiar with an unfamiliar firearm, especially with the weight of the firearm in the hand and how long and how heavy the trigger pull is. It’s always imperative to know as much as possible about a firearm before loading it. Knowledge can prevent accidents, and there is no one too experienced to ignore gun safety.
The final benefit of dry firing is purely financial: ammo is expensive! Dry firing such as Strikeman Dry-Fire Laser Training is great for beginners because it means that they aren’t wasting ammo on the inevitable shakes and stretches that all beginner shooters have. It’s also valuable for experienced shooters who are using a new firearm as well for the same reason because even the best shooter in the world doesn’t always adapt to a new sight immediately.
All in all, dry fire training is great for safety, both for new shooters and shooters using unfamiliar guns, and also to save money while getting familiar with a weapon.
