Comments on: Drill of the Week: The Wall Drill

By: Eupemia

Eupemia — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:08:41 +0000

Good words.

By: ToddG

ToddG — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:07:02 +0000

Giving credit where it’s due, that tip about following up a “bad” dummy with ten dry fires is from Larry Vickers. It definitely makes the drill substantially more useful. Another part of Larry’s way of doing the drill, which he actually calls Dummy & Ball, is to use a lot more dummy rounds than live rounds. It makes the live rounds more of a surprise, so it has a similar benefit to the “bump drill” but you are doing a proper trigger pull every time.

By: JoeB

JoeB — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:12:49 +0000

Thanks Todd:
The ball and dummy drill is really a good tool, and the guys that work on the range I visit have a good time loading up my magazines for me. However, the tip about the dry fire follow up sounds like the ticket. When I click a dummy round, I typically see the barrel/front sight ‘dive’ and realize I’m so busted. I think I’ll spend more time on a sand bag too.

Thanks for the tips and thanks for this web site; it’s a terrific resource.

Also, good point on the bump drill; while it does provide a surprise, various trigger pressures are in fact a little weird!

By: ToddG

ToddG — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:46:41 +0000

re: the “bump drill,” I’ve seen it and tried it. To be honest, I think it has limited usefulness. It will help you learn what a surprise break will feel like. But because you are applying different pressure and trigger pull strokes each time, you’re not really learning ow to pull the trigger the right way on demand.

Some things to try if you’re anticipating recoil: the ball & dummy drill (load your mag with about 1/3 dummy rounds at random; when you get to a dummy, the gun shouldn’t bobble; if it does, do ten perfect dry-fires and then continue), even simply shooting from a rest or sand bag will help you get used to recoil without letting you yank the gun off target.

Another thing to try is simply doing some close-range “point” shooting. Get used to indexing the gun and pulling the trigger without worrying about perfection in your sights. Once you get used to the recoil, you can start on finer accuracy. I don’t think this is ideal, but it is a good solution for someone having trouble anticipating recoil without the benefit of regular instruction.

By: JoeB

JoeB — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:50:08 +0000

I remembered where I saw the bump drill:

http://www.downrange.tv/player.htm

There’s a lot of good stuff there…

By: JoeB

JoeB — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:43:50 +0000

I’ve incorporated the wall drill into my dry fire practice routine. When I do it, the sights stay on ‘target’. However, when I get out to the range and live fire, I still hit low and left (I’m right handed).

Another exercise I came across, and I can’t remember if it was posted here or else where is a bumping drill. You can do this at the range or dry fire. Hold the pistol in a normal grip and stance, and repeatedly squeeze the trigger with increasing amounts of pressure until you get a surprise release of the sear. I have found when I live fire this exercise, I am surprised at the ‘bang’ and my shots typically land in the black.

Despite my steady dry fires, I still seem to be jerking the trigger, or rolling the pistol downward in anticipation of the recoil. Other than more range time and practice, is there something else I need to concentrate on and/or focus on to get my shots more consistantly up in the black?