Training pistols & dry fire tools

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azrocks

azrocks

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I recently saw a post where someone mentioned SIRT training pistols. Does anyone have any experience with these or similar products (like magazines that reset the trigger on glocks and perhaps other striker fired handguns)? I'm really interested in taking my dry-fire practice to the next level and would love to hear opinions on what y'all have experience with.
 
I've held a SIRT, and personally, it isn't for me at all.

I spent a couple hundred bucks on an airsoft replica of my competition gun, but at the end of the day, that gun doesn't weigh or balance the same; the trigger is different, sights are different, "recoil" is different... it has been in the box since about 2 days after I got it.

I have no desire to try any faux-gun again.

The laser-light type systems intrigue me, where you have a laser cartridge that sits in the actual chamber of your actual gun and is activated by the firing pin. It takes a special kind of target to record the hit and show you where it was. I think this might be mildy useful especially for a newer shooter as they are working their draw speed down for the first time, but even then, I wouldn't spend a bunch of money on it (anymore).

You just need to spend enough time live firing to develop solid shot calling ability, and then you won't need any gizmos to do so in dryfire.
 
Sincerely appreciate your input, ny.

I'm not really big on the laser myself. I can see where it might be of some use to an instructor or training partner in diagnosing problems with trigger pull, but probably no-more-so than doing the same during live fire.

The one thing I thought would be useful would be the ability to reset the trigger between shots. What do you think about that? I'd really like the ability to shoot dry-fire strings with a striker-fired pistol, or shoot single-action strings with a DA/SA.
 
If there is a viable way to do that with a real gun, sure, I think that would be great, but I've never seen one... if there is, please link it up.

On a Glock I've heard that if you hold it very slightly out of battery, the trigger will just spring back and forth (no break) though I never did this when I was shooting a Glock. The M&P does the same thing completely in battery, and that was nice.

With a DA/SA gun, personally I pull the DA once and then kind of simulate a SA pull without letting the trigger reset all the way. I have a buddy that just pulls the DA a bunch real fast, but I'm not a fan of that either.
 
My experience with dry-fire training is that unless the training firearm is an exact analog of the competition one the benefits don't justify the expense. I've used a repeater 1911 format pellet pistol for USPSA practice, not the same weight or trigger feel. Air rifle for highpower and silhouette practice, again not the same weight or trigger. SCATT and Noptel systems for highpower.

The electronic systems allowed me to use my own firearm and were useful in capturing what I saw on the target when the trigger was pulled. This was a novelty that quickly wore off because I already knew where the sights were and had called the shot. It was a lagging indicator. What they really told me was how bad me hold is relative to the the better shooters that I was training with!

The reality for me is that consistently breaking and calling good shots is the best practice that I can do. Everything else wasn't worth the added expense, time or effort. YMMV
 
The laser-light type systems intrigue me, where you have a laser cartridge that sits in the actual chamber of your actual gun and is activated by the firing pin. It takes a special kind of target to record the hit and show you where it was. I think this might be mildy useful especially for a newer shooter as they are working their draw speed down for the first time, but even then, I wouldn't spend a bunch of money on it (anymore).
Click to expand...

I bought a whole bunch of laserlyte stuff a couple of years ago. The training pistol is not really close enough to replace my actual firearms but I bought it anyway so that my kids could have fun with it. I bought it with the 3 little pop up cans. It is pretty fun but, frankly, is a waist of money if you are buying it for training purposes. My kids like it so it is good on that count.

The little laser that has the adjustable ring to fit in your firearm is problematic. It doesn't seem to be on target most of the time, it won't fit in anything shorter than a 3" barrel and it doesn't function in anything longer than 5" in my experience. It uses the click of that hammer or striker to set off the laser and click doesn't seem to travel down more than a 5" barrel.

Now, the one thing I do like is the caliber specific laserlyte cartridges. I bought one in 9mm and it is accurate. Since it actually sits in the chamber, it is more likely to be. I made the mistake of buying the electronic target and don't even bother with it. You can dry fire practice with a paper target pinned to the wall and it works just as well. It is bright enough that you can easily see where you are hitting. It also doubles as a bore sighter.
 
The one in the chamber is what I had in mind, but if it is a visible laser, no thanks... I don't want to get in the habit of drawing my eyes off the sights looking for laser flashes on the wall.
 
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