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Looking at
the empty ammo shelves at Wal-mart the other day, I was reminded
that, while this ammo shortage is likely to be temporary, there
will come a time when the shelves will be permanently bare. Ammo
will be scarce resource, to be rationed and closely monitored. Every
shot will have to count.

While I am
comfortable with my stockpile, I am not made of money. My days of
blowing through a couple hundred rounds at the range are over. Firearm
training is important, of course, but I have other survival
priorities that are just as pressing. Food,
energy,
medical suppliesÂ…the
list goes on. In times like these, it is vital to know how to get
in some quality trigger time without using up precious
ammo stocks.

Luckily, the
4 fundamentals of shooting can all be taught and practiced without
busting a single cap. I am referring to dry-fire practice. Would
you believe that the mighty U.S. military relies on dry-fire
practice to train soldiers in marksmanship and small-unit tactics?
Their methods can be used by your family or survival group to teach
the inexperienced shooters and maintain your skills.

First, letÂ’s
review the 4 fundamentals of shooting:

1. Body position
2. Sight picture
3. Breathing
4. Trigger squeeze

New shooters
should master these fundamentals before they acquire bad habits
at the range and waste precious ammo. Even expert marksmen need
to practice these drills to keep their skills sharp.

A quick safety
note: when dry-firing weapons make sure the chamber and any magazines
are empty. Remove all ammo from the room or area where the training
is taking place. At the end of the training session say this out
loud: “Dry-fire practice is over. No more practice.” Then
you can load your weapon and store it in its normal spot.

Dime/Washer
Drills

Before we ever
went to the range in basic training, we spent hours doing dime/washer
drills. This drill focuses on trigger squeeze, but the other 3 fundamentals
should be practiced at the same time. To perform this drill with
a rifle, get into a stable kneeling or prone firing position and
have a friend place a dime or small washer on your barrel. As you
practice your smooth trigger squeeze, the dime should remain in
place.

If you jerk
the trigger in any direction, the dime will fall off. You can increase
the difficulty of this drill by placing the dime on the front sight
or somewhere on your rifle with less surface area. Make sure not
to neglect the other 3 fundamentals as you perform this drill.

Pistol variant:
This drill can also be done with a pistol. A nice challenge is to
balance an empty cartridge on the front sight.

Target on
the Wall

Dry-fire
practice in your home is easy and rewarding. Pick a spot on
the wall or small object across the room and practice lining up
your sights, breathing out and smoothly squeezing the trigger. Make
sure your sight picture is consistent, with the same amount of open
space between each side of your front sight and the rear sight notch
or aperture. After several iterations, incorporate drawing from
a holster or from a low-ready position with a rifle. You could also
have a friend call out targets around the room to add difficulty.
Next, practice “clearing” your house, moving from room
to room and picking out targets.

The George
Romero Drill

Ok, we all
love zombie movies and TV shows like The Walking Dead. Next
time you sit down to watch your favorite show, get in some dry-fire
practice. Every time a zombie appears on your TV screen, pop him,
concentrating on all the fundamentals we discussed. If youÂ’d
rather watch Jeopardy, then pop Alex Trebec, it doesnÂ’t really
matter. The point of this drill is to make you conscious of your
speed getting on target and squeezing the trigger. You can also
incorporate drawing from a holster.

A note about
rimfire: Repeatedly dry-firing rimfire weapons will damage them.
To practice with rimfire get some Snap
Caps, which are inert plastic rounds.

Conclusion

It is my sincere
hope that everyone in the Wolf Pack will use these drills to maintain
their readiness and save some money. If you have any other drills
or variations sound off in the comments!

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April
10, 2013

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