Dry Fire Practice at Home

You can improve your shooting without firing a single round. Dry fire practice builds the muscle memory and consistency that translate directly to breaking more targets.

Safety first: Before ANY dry fire practice, ensure your gun is completely unloaded. Remove all ammunition from the room. Check the chamber and magazine tube. Then check again. Never point at anything you wouldn't shoot.

Why Dry Fire Works

Your brain can't tell the difference between a perfect mount with a loaded gun and one without ammunition. The neural pathways that create muscle memory form either way:

Benefits of Dry Fire

• Free—no ammunition costs
• Practice anytime, anywhere
• Perfect for building consistency
• No range fees or travel time
• Focus on form without recoil distraction

What You Can Practice

• Gun mount and cheek weld
• Stance and foot position
• Eye focus and target acquisition
• Trigger press without flinching
• Follow-through and swing

Essential Dry Fire Exercises

1. The Basic Mount (10-15 reps)

Start with the gun in low-gun or ready position. Mount smoothly to your cheek and shoulder, ensuring the stock comes to your face—not your face to the stock. Your eye should look straight down the rib.

Focus on: Consistent cheek pressure, smooth motion, proper head position

2. Mirror Mount (5-10 reps)

Practice your mount facing a mirror. Watch for head movement, gun cant, and shoulder pocket placement. The mirror provides instant feedback on your form.

Focus on: Head staying still, gun fitting into shoulder pocket, eyes staying level

3. Swing and Track (10-15 reps per direction)

Pick a point on the wall. Mount and swing left, tracking an imaginary target. Return to center. Swing right. Focus on moving your body, not just your arms.

Focus on: Weight transfer, hip rotation, maintaining cheek weld through swing

4. Spot Shooting (10-15 reps)

Place small stickers or tape pieces on a wall at various heights and angles. Practice mounting and pointing at each spot, simulating different target presentations.

Focus on: Quick target acquisition, consistent mount regardless of angle

5. Trigger Press (5-10 reps)

With a snap cap in place, mount the gun and press the trigger while watching the barrel. The muzzle should not move when you pull. This reveals flinching or trigger jerking.

Focus on: Smooth trigger press, no muzzle movement, maintaining sight picture

Structuring a Practice Session

Quality matters more than quantity. Short, focused sessions beat long, sloppy ones:

Duration

10-15 minutes is ideal. Stop before fatigue causes bad habits.

Frequency

Daily short sessions beat weekly long ones. Even 5 minutes helps.

Reps

50-100 quality mounts per session. Stop when form degrades.

Focus

Work on one thing at a time. Don't try to fix everything at once.

Sample Weekly Plan

Day	Focus	Duration
Monday	Basic mount & mirror work	10 min
Tuesday	Swing and track (left/right)	10 min
Wednesday	Rest or light stretching	—
Thursday	Spot shooting targets	10 min
Friday	Trigger press & follow-through	10 min
Saturday	Range day—apply your practice	—
Sunday	Combined drills or rest	10 min

Helpful Equipment

Snap Caps

Dummy rounds protect firing pins and allow trigger practice. Essential for trigger press exercises.

Full-Length Mirror

Provides instant visual feedback on your mount, stance, and head position.

Laser Training Aid (Optional)

Inserts in the barrel and projects a laser when you pull the trigger. Shows exactly where you're pointing.

Target Stickers or Tape

Small marks on the wall give you specific points to practice acquiring.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Practicing tired: Fatigue leads to sloppy form. You're ingraining bad habits instead of good ones.

Going too fast: Speed comes from smooth repetition, not rushing. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

No specific focus: Mindless repetition is less effective. Know what you're working on each session.

Skipping safety checks: Every single time, verify the gun is unloaded. No exceptions.

Tracking Progress

Improvement from dry fire shows up at the range:

Video yourself: Record your dry fire sessions periodically. Compare footage over weeks to see improvement.

Mount becomes automatic: When your mount feels natural and consistent, dry fire is working.

Range scores improve: The ultimate test. Track your averages over time.