Best Way to Stay Proficient During the Winter – Dry Fire

It’s that time of year when we all start to bundle up, even more so here in Florida, and we may not be able to get to the range as often as we would during the summer.

Wintertime is a beautiful season, but…

Wintertime is a beautiful season, but it can bring its own challenges to women learning to shoot or who want to work on marksmanship skills.  First, it gets darker earlier and unfortunately at most outdoor ranges here, we can’t shoot after dark. And if you work, getting to the range before closing is a challenge.  The second challenge during this season, is the cold weather.  The weather has been dropping and it’s too cold to be outside long.  This can cause safety issues if we’re unable to have full dexterity of our hands.  Some of us may deal with arthritis when the cold weather hits and we may not move as fast as we normally would.  

So what’s a good solution to keep your training moving forward during the winter months if you can’t get to the range and want to stay at home nice and warm?  Dry Fire!

Dry Fire Practice

Dry Fire is a great way to increase your firearm fundamental skills in the safety of your home.  It’s an effective exercise that helps with muscle memory and it helps reinforce what you’ve learned on the range.  There are many tools that can enhance your learning at home, but before we delve into that, it’s extremely important to remind you to follow all safety rules, in addition to some other rules, when dry firing at home.    

Dry Fire Safety

Before you begin a dry fire session, make sure there is no LIVE ammunition anywhere in the area you are working.  Double and triple check your firearm to make sure the gun is cleared of any live rounds.  When you are in your training session, follow all firearm safety rules at all times.  Treat your firearm as if you are doing a live fire session, which means we are not pointing the gun at anything we are not willing to shoot (keep the gun pointed in a safe direction at all times); keep your finger off the trigger until you are actively working on trigger fundamentals or other skillset (keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you’ve made a conscience decision to shoot); and when you have completed your dry fire session, mentally say “I am ending my dryfire session”  and clear your firearm and your area before restoring your firearm to its previous condition.  This may entail clearing the firearm and storing it back in the safe, or by reloading live ammo for your carry protection.

Dry Fire with Mantis

There are many tools on the market from different manufacturers that will help you become a more accurate shooter, and Mantis, a SLG2 sponsor, has one of the best tools on the market.  The MantisX attaches to your own firearm and with their smartphone app and smart targets, will evaluate your performance, notes your areas of improvement, and gives immediate feedback to help you improve.  (You can also leave the adapter attached to your firearm when you return to the range for live fire, which allows you to see how well you are doing using the app).

Training guns with built in lasers (like the Sirt) and laser cartridges that fit your firearm are other helpful tools that are available.   If you don’t know where to begin, there are many drills online that you can download and practice.  The drills you find will recommend any other equipment that may be helpful, like shot timers or dummy rounds (Snap Caps).  

Dry Fire Practice

Dry fire allows you the ability to practice drills you may not be allowed to do or have the ability to do on the range.  Drawing from the holster, engaging in targets in different areas/locations, around barriers, and shooting and moving around your own home, to name a few. You can place targets in your working area and work on the different fundamentals (grip, sight alignment/picture, stance, trigger, breath control and follow through).  The goal is to “just do it” and have a practice plan with preselected drills to begin.  

Dry fire can be fun, but it’s also a time to have uninterrupted time to work on skills with a focused mind.   When you can’t get to the range for live fire, bring the range to you with a dry fire session.  Be safe; start small; follow safety rules; and see how far you can soar.

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