One Specific Element of Dry Fire Practice — Reloads: Practice & Results for Competition

[Brandon Breeze]

​

As many of you know, dry fire is one of the most effective ways to improve, not just for competition, but for shooting in general.

I've always done some amount of dry fire. The difference since getting into competition is the intent behind it.

Before competition, my dry fire was primarily about maintaining proficiency: draw the gun, change a magazine, get on target, etc.

Now, I'm still practicing those same skills, but I'm specifically trying to make them faster, more consistent, and repeatable under pressure.

That's where things have gotten really interesting.

Take reloads, for example. I started working specifically on getting my reloads under 0.4 seconds, and then began pushing toward 0.3 seconds.

0.4 Second Reload Practice & Results

0.3 Second Reload Practice

One of the biggest things I've learned is that you have to be willing to push yourself to failure.

If I only practice at a speed where I know I can succeed every time, I'm really just reinforcing the speed I already have. Going faster than I think I can go exposes exactly where the technique starts to break down, and that's where I can figure out what needs work.

When you're working within tenths of a second, you start noticing things you probably wouldn't notice otherwise. Grip, hand movement, mag presentation, insertion, getting the support hand back to the gun, visual processing... suddenly a tiny inefficiency matters.

And sometimes you discover that the thing you thought was limiting you isn't actually the limiting factor at all.

That's what I enjoy most about this type of practice. You're essentially experimenting to find the edge of your current ability, then figuring out how to move that edge.

And honestly, it's a lot of fun.

How do you define success when you're practicing a specific skill in dry fire?

Do you have a particular metric you're chasing, a par time, a percentage of successful repetitions, or something else you're working toward?

What specific element of your shooting are you currently trying to improve?

 

[Gawernator]

They modeled the COD reload animations after bro

 

[NorCALSpeed]

Damn you're quick. Putting intention into anything (working out, shooting, whatever) always levels up your game. I've also been practicing reloading on the move. There's so many places to shave time!

 

[Brandon Breeze]

Damn you're quick. Putting intention into anything (working out, shooting, whatever) always levels up your game. I've also been practicing reloading on the move. There's so many places to shave time!

It only takes hundreds or reps of practice, maybe even thousands, lol. I started noticing improvement very quickly once I began setting par times, then breaking down each element into smaller and smaller pieces.

Reloading on the move is good to practice as well. When doing the practice stage I have setup at home, I stage plan it as if I'm shooting L10, so 10 round mags. That way I force myself to reload on the move a LOT. Additionally, I actually do practice with my L10 pew (1911), which is much more difficult to reload than double stack pews. This makes it much easier when switching to a double stack.

I'm not nearly as fast as these 20 somethings out on the stages, so I gotta find everywhere else I can shave time since I can no longer run like the wind.

Now, if I could just remember to shoot all the targets on all the stages, that'd be great

 

[jag9953]

It only takes hundreds or reps of practice, maybe even thousands, lol. I started noticing improvement very quickly once I began setting par times, then breaking down each element into smaller and smaller pieces.

Reloading on the move is good to oractice as well. When doing the practice stage I have setup at home, I stage plan it as if I'm shooting L10, so 10 round mags. That way I force myself to reload on the move a LOT. Additionally, I actually do practice with my L10 pew (1911), which is much more difficult to reload than double stack pews. This makes it much easier when switching to a double stack.

I'm not nearly as fast as these 20 somethings out on the stages, so I gotta find everywhere else I can shave time since I can no longer run like the wind.

Now, if I could just remember to shoot all the targets on all the stages, that'd be great

Same dude lol

 

[jag9953]

For me, my dry fire is trying to be perfect on every rep.

I just tried to make the basics as simple and as perfect as possible. I want my draw to be flawless each and every time and to pick up my dot and target each rep instantly. I used to really struggle with fishing for the dot. I have met not to do that anymore. The biggest obstacle I have is transitions, especially on the move. Most of my current dry fire is perfecting that. Great post. Thanks for sharing

 

[john_marsten_1873]

I’m around .3 right now (with A zone hit after) in terms of speed but I’m currently working on consistency. Took a training with Tactical Performance Center recently and got some pointers that have helped with that:
1. Maintain wrist straightness and stiffness for both hands. Don’t change the wrist angles
2. Bringing elbows to my torso.

It’s basically to further reduce the amount of movement with the reload and kind create index points on the body. I’m seeing immediate improvements but it’s basically retraining myself.

The other thing I’d throw in there is to finish the reload even if you mess up. There will always be the possibility of botched reloads and we just have to find a way to make it work and win the fight.

 

[Brandon Breeze]

For me, my dry fire is trying to be perfect on every rep.

I just tried to make the basics as simple and as perfect as possible. I want my draw to be flawless each and every time and to pick up my dot and target each rep instantly. I used to really struggle with fishing for the dot. I have met not to do that anymore. The biggest obstacle I have is transitions, especially on the move. Most of my current dry fire is perfecting that. Great post. Thanks for sharing

I know this is basic stuff, but at the same time, I was dry firing without par times and wondering why I wasn't getting any better at the match.

Always strive for perfection and won't stop dry firing until I have 10 reps in a row without a hiccup and on my par time in whatever dry fire it is that I'm doing that day. This is typically pushing beyond what I'm comfortable with, so that many mistakes happen, then settle on something a little slower than whatever crazy par time I set. Though I'm not sure how much faster I can actually get consistent with reloads. 0.3 seconds is pretty dang fast, lol. I do wonder if I switched to full gamer gear what it would look like. I'm still just using my "battle" belt with esstac kywi pouches.

Last dry fire stage I had setup at home for a 17 HF based on hits and par time, with a 34 round stage. It's a burner stage, so no doubt HF's would be high, but if I aim for a 17 HF dry and can pull off a 8-12 HF IRL then I think that's a win.

I had a couple weeks off from matches last month, but kept up my dry fire. All I was practicing was Speed Mode. I found out this was not good, lol. Next match I went to I shot more Charlies than my previous 5 matches combined. Wouldn't be a huge deal if I were shooting Major, but I'm shooting Minor, so it cost me a lot. Now I find the balance and start off with Speed Mode and end with Accuracy Mode.

The match this past weekend was a decent balance of Speed & Accuracy (for me). Wound up 29/103 shooters with 70%+. One target with 2 Mike & FTSA cost me several spots and tanked what would have otherwise been my best stage. Now I know why folks are so critical of each and every hit on each and every stage of the match. One bad stage on a 6 stage match can drive your performance way down the ladder. Now, I'm seeing folks that I use to pace with for stage and overall match times fall far below. One of the guys I have shot with a lot is now pacing 20-30 seconds slower than me on matches regularly, so I know it's working.

I have mountains of work to do, but failing to recognize progress is just as bad as dwelling on all of the work one needs to do to get where they want to go.

 

[Brandon Breeze]

I’m around .3 right now (with A zone hit after) in terms of speed but I’m currently working on consistency. Took a training with Tactical Performance Center recently and got some pointers that have helped with that:
1. Maintain wrist straightness and stiffness for both hands. Don’t change the wrist angles
2. Bringing elbows to my torso.

It’s basically to further reduce the amount of movement with the reload and kind create index points on the body. I’m seeing immediate improvements but it’s basically retraining myself.

The other thing I’d throw in there is to finish the reload even if you mess up. There will always be the possibility of botched reloads and we just have to find a way to make it work and win the fight.

Believe me, haha. I'm coming off of retraining all sorts of bad habits. Used to Wick Flick my mags for example, had no clue how much time that wastes, for no reason.

Reloads IRL are more like 0.5-0.8 seconds to ensure they're solid. Pushing faster often leads to a botched reload. Similar with splits. Most of the time when I'm going under a 0.18 split I am almost guaranteed to earn a Charlie. Slow down to 0.2-0.24 and most of the time I can get 2 Alpha's even on the move. Seems like I'm better off going just that tad bit slower to make sure my hits are good. Obviously on closer targets it's less important. Closer targets I can split 0.13-0.16 and still keep em in the Alpha at least according to when I'm digging in on Practiscore Competitor.

Now, I just need to create and execute better stage plans and get my movement dialed in to start moving into the top 10 overall (and beyond) at the locals.

 

[jag9953]

I know this is basic stuff, but at the same time, I was dry firing without par times and wondering why I wasn't getting any better at the match.

Always strive for perfection and won't stop dry firing until I have 10 reps in a row without a hiccup and on my par time in whatever dry fire it is that I'm doing that day. This is typically pushing beyond what I'm comfortable with, so that many mistakes happen, then settle on something a little slower than whatever crazy par time I set. Though I'm not sure how much faster I can actually get consistent with reloads. 0.3 seconds is pretty dang fast, lol. I do wonder if I switched to full gamer gear what it would look like. I'm still just using my "battle" belt with esstac kywi pouches.

Last dry fire stage I had setup at home for a 17 HF based on hits and par time, with a 34 round stage. It's a burner stage, so no doubt HF's would be high, but if I aim for a 17 HF dry and can pull off a 8-12 HF IRL then I think that's a win.

I had a couple weeks off from matches last month, but kept up my dry fire. All I was practicing was Speed Mode. I found out this was not good, lol. Next match I went to I shot more Charlies than my previous 5 matches combined. Wouldn't be a huge deal if I were shooting Major, but I'm shooting Minor, so it cost me a lot. Now I find the balance and start off with Speed Mode and end with Accuracy Mode.

The match this past weekend was a decent balance of Speed & Accuracy (for me). Wound up 29/103 shooters with 70%+. One target with 2 Mike & FTSA cost me several spots and tanked what would have otherwise been my best stage. Now I know why folks are so critical of each and every hit on each and every stage of the match. One bad stage on a 6 stage match can drive your performance way down the ladder. Now, I'm seeing folks that I use to pace with for stage and overall match times fall far below. One of the guys I have shot with a lot is now pacing 20-30 seconds slower than me on matches regularly, so I know it's working.

I have mountains of work to do, but failing to recognize progress is just as bad as dwelling on all of the work one needs to do to get where they want to go.

Dude great insight. Keep up the great work

 

[vplaza96]

Since I shoot the events with 10rd mags, I have to reload more than others. So, I try to practice reloading on the move to take advantage of the time in motion....