Firearms training when ammo is scarce!

This guest post by Blair and entry in our non-fiction writing contest.

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 supplies…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, let’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 you’d rather watch Jeopardy, then pop Alex Trebec, it doesn’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!

This contest will end on April 22 2013  – prizes include:

• First Place winner will receive - A $500 dollar gift certificate courtesy of LPC Survival that is good for $500 off anything on their site. And  a Wonder Junior Deluxe hand-mill courtesy of Kitchen Kneads,
• Second Place winner will receive – Two cases of MRE’s courtesy of Camping Survival and a $150 gift certificate off of Hornady Ammo from LuckyGunner.
• Third Place winner will receive -  a one year subscription to Personal VPN service courtesy of unspyable.

Well what are you waiting for – email your entries today. But please read the rules that are listed below first… 

M.D. Adds: folks remember that dry-fire means no ammo! Be sure that your weapon is not loaded with live ammo and always keep it pointed in a safe direction.

Originally at : The Survivalist Blog.net · Copyright © 2013 · All Rights Reserved.

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