A Story of Preparedness and Not Drawing

 I think I've told this story before, but it bears repeating.

 Very early in the morning while stopping at a gas station to put air in my tire, I was approached by a stranger. The first words out of his mouth were to ask if I was from around here, immediately sending me into condition orange.

It’s interesting to note that this happened just a day after I got into a good discussion about mugging, vehicle thefts and how you’d react during those situations.

We all have our preconceived notions of how we’d react in a violent encounter, but the truth is that we’ll never truly know until we’re put in that exact situation.

3/4/14 threat Cons and Training

I’d like to explain my statement earlier about condition orange and provide a brief example of the Cooper Color Code here for reference.  Colonel Jeff Cooper is known for advocating a color code to describe a person’s state of mind. Not so much in regard to a level of alertness, but purely the mental state.

The following comes from his book, Principles of Personal Defense:

Condition White - You are unprepared and unready to take lethal action. If you are attacked in White, you will probably die unless your adversary is totally inept.

Condition Yellow - You bring yourself to the understanding that your life may be in danger and that you may have to do something about it.

Condition Orange - You have determined upon a specific adversary and are prepared to take action which may result in his death, but you are not in a lethal mode.

Condition Red - You are in a lethal mode and will shoot if circumstances warrant.

Condition Orange is what my body kicked into when presented with this stranger that approached me in the parking lot of the gas station. I’d like to explain one more principle of what occurred to me though, before going into the rest of the story.

Body Alarm Response

The body alarm response is what naturally happens to your body during an elevated state of awareness and the adrenaline dump that comes along with it. This is typically referred to as “fight or flight,” but more appropriately described as BAR.

During a body alarm response, the characteristics exhibited are rapid heartbeat and its counterpart, rapid breathing; tingling of the extremities, degradation in fine motor skills, tunnel vision and that sinking sensation in your stomach. You should embrace these characteristics as your body’s early warning system and be glad, they’re working, not let them control you and succumb to the “fear” you might think this means.

As blood is drawn into your core from your extremities (that tingling sensation and possibly numbness), you may recall the smallest of details during this heightened level of awareness. Blood being drawn away is also what can cause loss of fine motor skills, which aren’t as “fine” as you might expect. 

There are ways to control body alarm response though, meaning that through training and preparing yourself, you can mitigate its effects.

Now back to my story. What happened is, as I was walking inside to get change for the air pump at the gas station, I was approached by a cleanly-dressed stranger. He had come from the direction of a nicer vehicle that was parked alongside the convenience store building of the gas station. I immediately assumed that it was his vehicle, but I quickly flipped through a memory of just a few seconds ago where I’d noticed him floating around a gas pump.

As he approached my path to the convenience store entrance, my plan was to ignore him and keep walking inside. This plan quickly went out the window, as he encroached rapidly while asking the question, “Are you from around here?” That particular question, along with the quick approach into my personal space, immediately sent me into condition orange.

My first reaction, even before answering him, was to look at his hands and start walking backwards. I’m actually really proud of myself, as this is what I’ve been over repeatedly with in my head, “watch their hands, watch their hands.” I’ll ding myself on walking backwards rather than stopping prior to when I did, but I think a lot of that is how we realistically encounter people every day.

In a perfect world, I’d like to say that I follow the 21 ft. rule.   It states that a healthy adult male can cover the distance of 7 yards (about 21 ft.) in 1.5 seconds. Coincidently, that’s also about how many seconds it takes to draw a sidearm and put two rounds center mass on a human-size target at 7 yards.

You make that quickly approaching adult male an armed attacker and you can see why it’s called the 21 ft. rule. Realistically, we allow people within this 21 ft. perimeter each and every day; for me this day was no exception.

Putting distance between myself and this stranger was also something I was proud of, although moving backwards is never a good thing. “If you’re moving in reverse, things come from behind.”

As I put distance between myself and the stranger I answered yes to his question. At this point he continued to approach with his hands down by his side, while stating “Do you know if there’s a Walmart around”, I cut into his statement, putting up my left hand and saying, “Just wait right there and I’ll answer your question.” My right hand also moved backwards towards my gun. I never placed my hand on it, or gave away its position, I was just cognizant of where I was moving my hand to.

His immediate response was to put both his hands up and say “Ok, I was just trying to find the Walmart, I found the HEB, I just can’t find the Walmart.” By now I think he realized that I didn’t like him invading my personal space and he finally seemed aware of me putting distance between us.

I gave him some simple directions to Walmart, but was very short with him, continuing to watch his body position. After he said thanks for the directions, he turned around and walked off as I walked closer to the building’s door. I noticed him walk right past the car I had assumed belonged to him and round the corner behind the building. After paying for my gas, I exited the building.

Ensuring to keep my head on a swivel all the way back to my vehicle I didn’t see the stranger again. I brushed off the encounter until I was back in my vehicle and on the road. It was then that I really took stock of what happened and the indicators that warranted my elevated condition. I truly feel that my actions prevented me from becoming a victim or at least made me appear to be a hard target. I think this was an innocent event.  I think he honestly needed directions.

I wanted to share my story with you, because I think it helps to reinforce how important it is to listen to the Spirit, what some call your gut feeling, and an example of how your conditioning can take over, even when you don’t plan for it. I think that If I hadn’t mentally rehearsed this scenario thousands of times in my head and been exposed to it during my training, the outcome would have been dramatically different.

 

Carrying a gun is a big responsibility.  Knowing when to draw, and when not to draw your weapon is sometimes tricky.  You must make the correct decision.  Use wisdom and do not react to emotion.  Act, don’t react. Train well and work scenarios out in your head.

 

Semper Paratus

Check 6

Burn

Use of Force Continuum and Concealed Carry

 An example of a use-of-force continuum follows:

• Officer Presence — No force is used. Considered the best way to resolve a situation.
o The mere presence of a law enforcement officer works to deter crime or diffuse a situation.
o Officers' attitudes are professional and nonthreatening.
• Verbalization — Force is not-physical.
o Officers issue calm, nonthreatening commands, such as "Let me see your identification and registration."
o Officers may increase their volume and shorten commands in an attempt to gain compliance. Short commands might include "Stop," or "Don't move."
• Empty-Hand Control — Officers use bodily force to gain control of a situation.
o Soft technique. Officers use grabs, holds and joint locks to restrain an individual.
o Hard technique. Officers use punches and kicks to restrain an individual.
• Less-Lethal Methods — Officers use less-lethal technologies to gain control of a situation.

o Blunt impact. Officers may use a baton or projectile to immobilize a combative person.
o Chemical. Officers may use chemical sprays or projectiles embedded with chemicals to restrain an individual (e.g., pepper spray).
o Conducted Energy Devices (CEDs). Officers may use CEDs to immobilize an individual. CEDs discharge a high-voltage, low-amperage jolt of electricity at a distance.
• Lethal Force — Officers use lethal weapons to gain control of a situation. Should only be used if a suspect poses a serious threat to the officer or another individual.
o Officers use deadly weapons such as firearms to stop an individual's actions.
Concealed Carry Use of Force Continuum

Unlike a police officer, the presence of a concealed carry civilian is not a deterrent. I think we should add a first step in place of “Officer presence” with “Get out of dodge”. If you can see something developing, violence, riot, a fight, have an exit strategy. You should be practicing good situational awareness and should be able to see something developing. Get yourself out of harms way.
Verbalization-Force is not physical.
You can calmly try to defuse the situation as a police officer might. If things escalate make sure your words are clear and concise.
Empty-hand control
As a civilian you really cannot grab someone. But if you think you can throw someone to deflect them and to escape, then do so.

Less-lethal methods
Cops are equipped with an array of weapons on their duty belts and are taught the "use of force continuum," which clarifies how to match the right tool to the threat level. For example, if a bad boy wants to grapple at close distance, the police can break him down with an impact weapon. If he squares off against an officer from 10-feet away, he could get a blast of pepper spray. And if he looks crazy or amped on dope, he will get a jolt with the Taser. The cops I know don't want to shoot anybody any more than you do. You might want to think about having a second, less-than-lethal weapon on your person whether you carry a firearm or not. Dual-force will give you additional response options and/or provide you with something in your hand that should be recognized by a street-wise criminal as a potential defensive weapon. Remembering a key point in risk avoidance, if you look like a hard target, predators are more likely to pass you by in favor of an easier mark.

Lethal force
You had better make sure there is a reason to use lethal force. Also make sure you issue commands that can be heard by witnesses or a 911 call. Remember also, you should not hesitate if faced with a risk to your life, but just pulling your gun doesn’t mean you have to shoot. Often the presence of a gun is similar to the presence of law enforcement. It can stop the situation and give you a chance to leave. But remember, this is your last resort, and there should be a clear and present threat. If you draw your weapon, you’d better be prepared to use it.  Don’t draw your gun and hope that’s enough.  If you must shoot, make sure your reason will convince a jury.  It may not come to that, but it could ultimately come to a trial.  Just saying “I feared for my life” may not be enough to keep you out of jail. If there is a threat do not hesitate, but be sure about a threat.

Using a similar adapted Use of Force Continuum is of benefit to any concealed carry participant. If you can learn these steps and review them, if the time comes you are better prepared to meet the challenge and come out on top. Being prepared for most contingencies is a mindset.

Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn

Speed, Surprise , and Violence of Action

Speed, surprise, violence of action. The essence of close quarter battle. (CQB)  Often CQB is talked about with that 1000 yard stare.  It’s supposed to be the pinnacle of battle.  As one who has experienced it I’ll tell you nuts!  It’s no fun and very dangerous, I guess that’s why it’s made out to be so sexy.

I was a young man in a foreign country going through a combat experience.  At one point, two other guys and I were hauling ammo from our position to another.  We were experiencing a lull in firefights and were moving through a series of bunkers and berms with relative cover.  Another guy and I had the ammo in our hands and on our backs.  The third guy was security, and we were glad he was there.  We went around a corner and ran into a roving patrol of 9 enemy soldiers who were pretty lax in their patrol discipline.  We met them and it surprised us both.  But our security guy was doing his job and took out 3 enemy before we could drop our ammo and get our rifles on target.  Fortunately, it took the enemy a little longer to figure out that they just bumped into the enemy, and we neutralized them before they could get their rifles pointed in our direction.  But had our security man being a little hesitant, the story would have turned out different.  He was ready even though it was a surprise.  He closed the small distance between us and hit them with such a heavy force, and then as we followed, the enemy didn’t know what hit them.  This is classic violence of action.  In close quarter battle there are 3 principles that must be used without hesitation, without thinking, to win the short gun fight.  They are Speed, Surprise, and Violence of action.  In our case, we won this scary confrontation even though we were outnumbered.  We walked away without a scratch because these principles were adhered to.  Because of the security man’s speed, even though we too were surprised, the violence of action was successful.  

Violence of action is the principle by which we neutralize the threat as soon as possible. If I were to sum up the concept in one word, it would be dominance. We must dominate the enemy both physically and psychologically to prevent them from defending their position or mounting a counter-attack against us. When it comes to Violence of Action, overwhelming force is the name of the game. Think of it like this. You're watching a UFC or boxing match. You see one of the fighters launch a brutal series of punches into his opponent with the speed and ferocity of a machine gun. You can literally hear his fists smash into the other dude's head as he shreds him into a bloody pulp. The beaten fighter buckles under the unrelenting storm of punches, unable to fight back or protect himself. Eventually, the referee steps in to stop the fight before someone gets seriously hurt. The fight is over. Pitted against such overwhelming force, the other guy never had a chance. Can we apply that to CQB? If our goal is to overwhelm and dominate the enemy, there's a number of ways we can get that done. From a military or law enforcement perspective, we can begin by: using demolitions to breach the door, tossing a flash-bang into the room blasting holes or using a vehicle to ram open additional entry points into the wall.

Follow it up with a well trained team flooding the room with guns and that's violence of action in a perfect world.

But what about in a civilian context? Does violence of action apply to a security-minded citizen? Yes it can. If you have to clear your house or enter a shopping mall to retrieve a loved one during an active shooter event, violence of action is especially critical. And while you may not have breaching assets or demolitions handy, you can still establish violence of action. 

Utilizing fast, aggressive maneuver and fire superiority may be all you have. But if you do it right, it may be all you need. Anything that allows you to gain and maintain dominance over the enemy is what we're looking for.

In my combat experience there was a point where the enemy focused on my position.  There was a concentrated, overwhelming force heaped on my position to where I could not return fire in any way.  I had my friends firing from other positions but I just sat down behind 4 walls of sand bags and waited to be killed or over run.  I did have others come to my aid and a mortar team quickly neutralized my attackers who stopped the onslaught enough to where we could exchange fire.  I was the most scared I had been that day and thought this was how I was going to die.   

The principles of speed, surprise, and violence of action all have a synergistic relationship to the others. Gaining the element of surprise will help you with speed. Moving with speed will help you sustain violence of action. Speed and violence of action can help you gain the element of surprise. They all work together. But just like with speed and surprise, there are common mistakes shooters make when implementing violence of action. We could go down a large rabbit hole in talking about all this but let’s focus on three mistakes that can overturn all of these principles.

Failure to commit is the first mistake.

You know about the fatal funnel, usually a doorway or threshold you must cross to advance toward the threat.  These funnels are where you are the most vulnerable. Moving through them quickly is imperative but moving deliberately and quickly when you don’t know where the threat is. Because of this danger new shooters may freeze causing many problems.  A static target in a fatal funnel is of course very dangerous but also stops the other team members from entering.

Danger is danger.  If you are going into a place where you know a bad guy is, there will be danger. So, when you must go, go! Move in a controlled and aggressive manner.  Dominate the space.  Commit to move, and then work the plan.  You should be flexible because combat is often unpredictable.

The second mistake is inadequate weapon skills.  You must know your weapon if you are to take it into combat.  You need to be able to reload it in the dark.  You need to be able to clear it in a moment.  You should also know how to transition to a backup weapon.  When I taught tactics in the military, I found that even those with training and experience can fail at weapons manipulation, clearing malfunctions, and transitioning was always a hang up.  You must practice these three things until you have the muscle memory to do them without thinking or in your sleep.  This is no joke, I saw people die in combat because they could not clear a weapon! 

When training close quarter battle there are many things you may not be told will happen that can affect your performance.  The stress, fear, and overload of battle is something you need to think about and be ready for.  You should learn safety in battle such as: not flagging team members, keeping your finger off the trigger until you know what and who you are engaging, muzzle discipline.  Combat is a mess.  It’s usually quite loud. It can be very confusing in terms of where the enemy is, where rounds are coming from, and who should be shooting where.  You need to neutralize the bad guys, not your team mates, ourselves, or other friendlies. The point is, we want to our weapon handling skills to be on point.  We need to also talk about malfunctions.  Shooting guns for a sustained period makes it hot.  When jams or malfunctions happen on a flat range without being fired upon, they are fairly easy to correct.  But in close quarters a malfunction can kill you.  You must have a plan of action of what to do and when.  It should be part of your personal training.

The sights, deafening sounds and even smells are different than anything you’ve experienced.

 The third mistake is targeting.  This happens in two parts, shot placement and target identification.  This is why a good light must be in your EDC.  CQB is fast and furious.  You must see the room or space and shoot the enemy and not non combatants (bystanders if there are any) or team mates.  You can only move as fast as your eyes can process.  Move with controlled speed and controlled violence of action.  You will have to discriminate friend and foe.  Then there is shot placement.  Stopping the threat in CQB must be immediate.  Missing the target is no good, but wounding is almost as bad.  Dying threats are still a threat.  They can pull a trigger even while bleeding out.  Well placed head shots are a must.  I know, this isn’t a nice thing to talk about but the truth is, kill or be killed.  Many people practice for center of mass but make sure you do the full Mozambique drill. (Drill described at the end of this post) Make sure head shots are in your training.  It is not sick, it is reality.  Plus, body armor is not that difficult to obtain. Head shots aren't something we're accustomed to doing on the move. And while chest shots that enter the heart and lungs are normally fatal, it may take several seconds for the threat to expire. Again, that's enough time for him to return effective fire on you.

To gain immediate incapacitation, aim for the area approximately in the center of the face, below the middle of the forehead, but above the upper lip. That will "turn off the lights."
Can't we achieve incapacitation with a shot to the spinal column? Yes, a hit to the spinal column (anywhere below the jaw and the top of the sternum) can get it done, but that's a very narrow target. If you're off by even a few centimeters, you may leave him with enough gas in the tank to deliver a fatal shot to you. Train yourself to make well-placed head shots and you avoid the problem altogether. There is another way to approach the issue of shot placement.  I know of some units that don't train their personnel to take head shots per se.  Instead, they prefer to teach "shoot the threat center mass and continue shooting until the threat is down" approach.  That works too.

All of these are the very raw basics.  Practice, practice, practice!  There are nuances to CQB that you will learn with practice.  Read everything you can and watch everything you can get a hold of.  Be selective.  If you have a chance for “live fire” CQB, take it.  This would be paintball, airsoft, or simunition training.  The best training is force-on-force in a shoot house or other safe facility.  I know that’s not readily available but you may have an opportunity.  Remember that a flat range is not real tactical training.  Shooting from barriers, around things and corners is better than a weaver stance and paper.  Be creative, you don’t need to spend a lot of money if you can shoot around a shooting bench.

Good luck and keep on shooting.

The Mozambique Drill (or Failure To Stop drill)  was developed by my past instructor Jeff Cooper.

A mercenary named Mike Rousseau fought in the Mozambican War for Independence. He told a story to Jeff about rounding a corner and came face-to-face with an enemy and an AK. He raised his Browning Hi-Power and shot two 9mm rounds into the combatant's chest. But the man failed to fall or stop, and a wounded man with an AK-47 is still a very dangerous man. He quickly fired a third and final shot into the combatant. The round was aimed at his head but went through the neck, severing his spinal cord. This stopped the threat.

The Drill

Usually it's fired from a holstered position, but it's not required.

The drill involves firing two shots to the center of mass (chest) and one to the head.  

You can start the drill with a double-tap to the chest of the target.  Just so we’re clear, a double-tap is two rounds fired rapidly to the chest. Then two shots with a single sight picture.  This entire drill is a three-round string fired from 7 yards: two rounds to the center of the chest, then one deliberate round to the head.  It’s simple but all important for CQB.

Semper Paratus

Check 6

Burn

Wolves With Table Manners

 Why is the Mormon Church less violent than the general population?  I just read an article about why.  It is “A Peaceable People: Why Latter-day Saints Are Less Violent than the General Population” By C.D. Cunningham, March 31, 2025

 

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=f1ae0d7b4299083214edca1ee7ef6bbf5cb8e2504cd4d4950f686c81ab40fc4cJmltdHM9MTc4NDA3MzYwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=11f528e6-0686-6b2e-3675-3f7107846abc&psq=lds+church+violence&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9wdWJsaWNzcXVhcmVtYWcub3JnL3dwLWNvbnRlbnQvdXBsb2Fkcy8yMDI1LzAzL01vcm1vbi1DcmltZS1SYXRlXy1UaGUtVHJ1dGgucGRm

 

In this article it is purported that Mormons are less violent and have a lower crime rate because of a few things.

1.      Theological Foundations

2.      Community Structures

3.      Economic Stability & Welfare

4.      Lifestyle Norms: Sobriety, Stability, and Self-Mastery

5.      Historical Memory

I would agree with all of these factors and the author mentions there is more.  I agree with that too.  Peaceable living abounds with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

But from someone who grew up in a large LDS community, and having been an active member my entire life, I have a position that a “handful” of typical members have.  With that background I also have another perspective.  One that is born out of experiencing combat and teaching self-defense for a long time.  As I meet other LDS veterans and also those LDS 1^st responders (my son is an EMT), I hear stories of tragic violence that the average Mormon community has been spared from.  You people who are LDS but acquainted with violence understand what I’m about to say.  We belong to a club.  We have a very unwanted membership in the violence club.  Unfortunately, we have experienced things that the average Church member hopefully will never experience.  I know, I’m a violence snob.  I’m not too much of a snob to understand that there are people who have not been exposed to violence who can understand it and are very much aware of it.  My concern is the average member.  One of the reasons I continue this blog is to get to the average American or average member.  It’s hard to understand evil or that crime exists when you have never had to deal with it.  One of the purposes of this blog is to inform and give tools to those who are less acquainted with violence and to add a dose of reality.  There is something called the Normalcy Bias.  It is a belief that it can’t happen here or to me.  It’s the deer in the headlights look!  Bad things DO happen to good people and it’s better to understand that and prepare.  This is why I constantly write these articles to try and help you, and I, to be more and better prepared.

Playing the “what if” game.

I prepare for the what if scenarios.  Having acute situational awareness can help in this preparation.  It’s actually part of it.  If you can see a problem before it happens then maybe it can be avoided.  When I teach tactical classes, I teach what I call ADD. Avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.  This is where your mind should be at all times when prepared for violence.  It may be inconvenient; it may take more time or resources but ADD is where we should all reside.  You can be what my wife calls me and my friends, Wolves with table manners. But what I’ve found is a trend in the Church.  Passivism.

Passivism is the enduring outlook or disposition characterized by submissiveness, a lack of personal initiative, and a tendency toward the acceptance of external control or authority without resistance or critical engagement.  Some guys were put into this state from doing all the things they were supposed to.  When they were boys they were good kids and if they were Scouts, they were Eagle Scouts.  They were Seminary class presidents and in Aaronic Priesthood Quorum Presidencies.  They served a mission and went to BYU.  They got a decent job and married a beautiful Mormon girl in the temple.  But they really never thought for themselves.  Some of them did but many just went along.  Now, I’m not saying they shouldn’t have done all those things, those were good decisions.  But many of these men just do what they do without thought or conviction.  They do it because that’s what good Mormon guys do.  When they finally come to themselves and start thinking, they leave their faith and sometimes their families.  Brethren, think!  But because they are passivists, they have never thought about violence and how it can, and in many instances, will, touch their lives.  They are not wimps, but they have never had to deal with violence so there has never been a need for preparation.

As Dylan said, “The times they are a changin’”  Men in the Church need to be peacemakers.  You can be a peacemaker and prepared for violence.  Be wolves with table manners.

Being less violent than others is a good thing. But when evil comes calling evil needs to know it will be met with wolf claws and fangs.

I beseech LDS men to be prepared.  Martial arts, weapons use, and keeping your head in chaos.  These are the things we should be engaged in along with being superior priesthood holders and operating with the Spirit.  It’s possible but like any other worthy cause, it takes work and determination.  I would challenge you, both men and women, to be ready for violence while preaching the word.

Semper Paratus

Check 6

Burn  

Training Value Part 3-Dry Fire

I have Dry fired for years.  Problem is, I never really had a regular program for dry firing.  I've just started to put together my own dry fire program.  A collection of steps to do it safely, and a collection of drills to work on areas I'm concerned about and to give variety.  As I was researching Dry Fire I came across the following article.  I liked the way they have evaluated Dry Fire to see what skills it helps with.  I include a portion of this article because I think they at Dryfire Mag did a much better job than I could have.  Dryfire Mag is a tool to help in Dry Firing.  I've never used the product but it looks very promising.

From Dryfire Mag 

https://dryfiremag.com/blogs/dryfiremag-blog/dry-fire-vs-live-fire

DRY FIRE VS. LIVE FIRE: WHAT SKILLS TRANSFER THE BEST?              August 08, 2025

 

SKILLS THAT TRANSFER WELL FROM DRY FIRE

The good news is: most foundational shooting skills transfer extremely well from dry fire to live fire. These include:

1. Trigger Control

This is the single most transferable skill.

Dry fire allows you to isolate your trigger press without the noise, recoil, or blast of live fire. You can watch your front sight (or red dot) and get immediate visual feedback on whether you’re moving the gun during the press.

·         Builds proper finger placement

·         Smooths out press mechanics

·         Reduces flinching habits

·         Improves shot anticipation

Pro tip: Use tools like the DryFireMag to simulate trigger reset without racking your slide between reps.

2. Sight Alignment & Sight Picture

Because dry fire gives you a chance to slow down and focus, it's excellent for reinforcing correct sight alignment and visual focus.

·         Helps build consistent alignment

·         Develops fast sight acquisition from the draw

·         Reduces over-confirmation of sights in close distances

·         Encourages more awareness of optic/dot movement

You’ll also learn how your sights behave during transitions, draws, and trigger presses—giving you crucial data you can’t always catch during live fire due to recoil and time pressure.

3. Draw Stroke / Presentation

Drawing from concealment or duty gear in a live environment can be rushed or rushed. Dry fire lets you refine mechanics, reduce wasted motion, and build consistency.

·         Improves grip acquisition

·         Refines speed to presentation

·         Allows high reps in short time

·         Reduces “fishing” for sights

A well-trained draw in dry fire translates directly into faster, more confident live fire performance.

4. Reloads (Emergency & Tactical)

Dry fire is ideal for working reloads, since you’re not under pressure from timers, loud bangs, or brass flying around.

·         Refines mag release & indexing

·         Helps develop 'muscle memory'

·         Perfect for running reps from concealment or gear

·         Enables repetition of specific reload types (speed, retention, admin)

5. Target Transitions

Even without recoil, dry fire allows you to practice visual and physical transitions between multiple targets—especially valuable if you use laser targets or reference points.

·         Builds eye-target-lead habits

·         Reduces over-travel

·         Improves timing and rhythm between shots

6. One-Handed Shooting & Manipulation

Whether dominant or support hand, dry fire gives you the chance to safely build confidence and control using either hand alone.

·         Develops strength and dexterity

·         Reinforces trigger discipline with either hand

·         Prepares you for injury-based scenarios or low-light tool use

7. Movement & Footwork

You can rehearse stepping into positions, slicing the pie around cover, or moving while staying on sights.

·         Practices movement into shooting position

·         Encourages balance and stability

·         Simulates real-world CQB or defensive movement

·         Helps prevent over-exposure in corners or barricades

SKILLS THAT DON’T FULLY TRANSFER FROM DRY FIRE

While dry fire is powerful, there are a few key elements it cannot fully replicate. Understanding these limitations will help you balance your training.

1. Recoil Management

Dry fire doesn’t produce recoil—so it won’t develop the timing, grip pressure, and follow-through required to shoot fast and flat.

·         No muzzle rise

·         No need to manage rapid cycling

·         No recovery between fast shots

This is one reason combining dry fire with live fire—even occasionally—is crucial for well-rounded skill development.

2. Follow-Up Shots (Cadence)

While you can practice simulated double taps or multi-shot drills in dry fire, the real recoil rhythm can only be felt on the range.

·         No recoil impulse

·         No true split-time feedback

·         No real dot/sight lift to control

3. Flinch / Recoil Anticipation Under Pressure

Dry fire helps reduce flinching, but it won’t expose your body to the startle effect of muzzle blast and recoil under real-world stress.

Some flinching only shows up when the bang happens—so live fire is still needed to diagnose and fix these issues fully.

4. Shot Accountability

Unless you're using a laser system or something like Mantis X, dry fire gives you limited feedback about where your shots would land.

·         No paper or steel hits

·         No confirmation of groupings or POI (Point of Impact)

This is where tools like the Smart DryFireMag or dry fire targets with integrated tech come in handy.

Some of the following drills may help in your Dry Fire program:

 1. Trigger Control Drill: Focus on smoothly pulling the trigger without disturbing your sight picture. Start with your firearm aimed at a stable target and slowly squeeze the trigger. Pay attention to any movement in your sights as you pull the trigger. This drill helps improve your trigger control, which is crucial for accurate shooting.

2. Draw and Fire Drill: Practice drawing your firearm from the holster and acquiring your target quickly. Begin with your hands at your sides, draw your firearm, and aim at your target, simulating a real-life scenario. This drill enhances your speed and accuracy, making you more proficient in defensive situations.

3. Reloading Drill: Simulate reloading your firearm to improve your speed and efficiency. Use dummy rounds to practice ejecting the magazine, inserting a new one, and chambering a round. Consistent practice with this drill ensures you can reload quickly and smoothly, which is vital in high-stress situations.

4. Movement Drill: Work on moving and shooting to develop your ability to stay accurate while on the move. Set up multiple targets and practice shooting while walking, sidestepping, or even running. This drill improves your ability to maintain accuracy in dynamic environments.

By regularly incorporating these drills into your dry fire practice, you can develop essential shooting skills and become a more confident and effective shooter. The key is to practice consistently and focus on the fundamental aspects of shooting.

 

Using all the tools available you can maximize the time, energy, and money you put into your personal training and increasing your Training Value.

Semper Paratus 

Check 6

Burn