Posted by MDT on 2022 May 31st
MDT Mention - How to Become a Pro Shooter Without Ammunition
It will come as no surprise to anyone, but one of the best ways to improve your shooting performance is to shoot; continually practice and hone your craft. In recent years, with ammunition costs rising and the ability to source ammunition and cartridge components, we sometimes need to be more creative in sharpening our shooting skills. Also, with the brutal cold of winter and times of inclement weather, we need to look indoors to practice. This informative video discusses some dry fire drills you can do at home that incorporate targets and ancillary gear.
The elements around dry fire that are important when running a bolt gun are building your positions quickly and effectively, getting behind your gun correctly, and focusing on trigger pull, breathing, and overall manipulation. Building up these soft skills surrounding the actual shot is very important. During winter specifically, or after your traditional shooting season, you can reflect on the areas, stages, or moments you struggled with and make that your point of focus during off-season dry-fire training.
More: MDT 40 Second Drill
To simulate dry-firing at a distance, MDT has targets you can download and print off their website. If you can adjust your parallax to 25 yards or less (potential aiming distance in your home), that is perfect! If not, there are clip-on devices that can be added to the objective of your scope as well to replicate more real dry fire with your targets. The clip-on accessory Ryan McLean alludes to is inexpensive and can be found easily online.
TIPS FOR DRY FIRE PRACTICE
- Triple check your rifle to ensure it is not loaded and make sure there is no live ammunition in the room.
- Incorporate a shot timer so you can add some stress and measure improvement.
- If you don’t have a shot timer, use a kitchen timer to keep a sequence of dry-fire under 1 minute, 30 seconds, etc.
Even if ammunition is plentiful, dry fire is a great way to get some quick and perfect shooting repetitions. You can build or create various scenarios and test techniques and gear. Make it fun; make it habitual.
More: Make Your Training More Efficient, Tips from a US Marine Corp Scout Sniper