DRY FIRE SAFETY PROTOCOL

So in yesterday’s blog I mentioned a Safety Aiming Dot, and I got a very reasonable question asking me what the hell I meant by that.

I constantly preach that the four firearms safety rules always apply, all the time, no matter what. This philosophy obviously bumps up against the requirement to dry fire to maintain proficiency, so what I have done is create in my head a safety protocol I go through whenever I plan to press the trigger on my weapons and NOT have them go BANG. The Safety Aiming Dot / Point is one of the elements in my safety protocol.

So, here is my Dry Fire Setup and Safety Protocol.

1. Clear the room of ALL ammunition.
2. Conduct safety check of all firearms. Open the action, look and feel the magwell and chamber.
3. Identify the Safety Aiming Point. This needs to be in a position which, should a discharge take place, no persons or valuable property are downrange. Rule 4 still applies (Be sure of your target and what’s beyond it).
4. Set up the target over the safety aiming point. Remember, take the position you intend to dry fire from into account when setting up the safety aiming point.
5. Conduct safety check again. Confirm no ammunition is in the room.
6. Conduct your training. If interrupted, you must stop and re-do steps 1-5. No exceptions.
7. When your training is complete, focus your mind and review what you have covered. Make a conscious decision to load your weapon if appropriate. Once you load, holster or lock up the weapon and STOP TRAINING.
8. Document the training in your log. Rob Pincus at I.C.E. Training recently published a great training log.

I cannot stress enough the creation of a conscious break at the beginning and end of every dry fire session. If you are harried or in a hurry, do not dry fire. Period.


A picture of an Elbow is an effective dry fire target.

Stout Hearts