How do you dry-fire practice?

[killer_muffins]

I've recently purchased, and taken home, a CZ75 SP-01 (pictures to come soon!) and have been dry firing with snap caps. However, I've been trying to figure out what's the best way to actually do this. Normally (with live rounds), I would fire my first shot with a single-action pull (hammer cocked) and all subsequent trigger pulls would be in single-action until the magazine ran dry. But while dry firing, should I manually cock the hammer every time? I don't really see why I should practice dry firing in double-action if I'm basically never going to fire live rounds in this way.

This is a problem unique to DA/SA semi-automatics as striker-fired semi-automatics don't have this "dilemma". Or maybe this situation is completely unique to the CZ75 SP-01 as it can be carried "cocked and locked". Would appreciate any insight or routines that you guys/gals practice while dry firing.

[Brandon04GT]

You can dry fire either way, I don't see how it would make any difference to the gun.

[killer_muffins]

Well I know that either way isn't going to affect the handgun, I was just wondering what's the most effective way to spend that trigger time.

[Brandon04GT]

How about both? Seeing that your gun is usually carried in DA mode, any event that would lead you to have to fire it would probably have you pull the trigger in double action before single action. Also in a home defense situation, if you had to engage an intruder, you'll probably only be firing off a couple rounds...so DA then SA.

[Lugiahua]

I would practice with both, unless this is pure range gun and will never be use as a defensive weapon.

[killer_muffins]

I would carry/store in "cocked and locked" configuration so the first (and all) trigger pulls would be in single-action, which is why I'm wondering if dry firing in single-action isn't as helpful as it seems, since you have to manually cock the hammer after each trigger pull.

But I suppose you're still right; there's no harm in understanding and familiarizing myself with both the double and single action pulls, and will be better in the long run if I ever do have to use the in gun double action. Thanks for the replies.

[Yerman]

I think practicing in DA promotes good trigger control, proper grip, etc. it will also help to smooth out your trigger. I think you should practice in both SA and DA but more in DA.

I often decock my Sig at the range and fire full magazines in DA only. You are not always going to be able to pull your hammer back if a bad guy comes in the door.

I also feel that DA is a safety feature that you are disabling by cocking the hammer back. If I was clearing my home with a CZ SP-01, I would do so with the safety off and hammer forward.

Just my .02, for what it's worth which isn't much

[eyestothesky]

Hello, fellow redditor. I just saw this same post on Gunnit. Welcome to CalGuns!

[Euphoria526]

I actually do the opposite. Every mag from my p01 I start off in DA. Definitely helps with flinching and I've found myself to be really accurate te first da shot. And like others have said in the event of actual use your not likely going to be prepared enough to rack the slide or cock the hammer

[Red Devil]

As for Striker-Fire Pistols w/ a good reset trigger? (Glock)

Dry-Fire mine a lot. One from the bottom (full pull) followed by Two from the Reset.

~ Five minutes of very slow Trigger-control practice, and then Five minutes of Snap-shooting.

Start at the low ready position, pick one of several targets, engage and fire w/in One second, and then return to the low ready position and reset the striker. One from the bottom, then Two from reset.

[BamBam-31]

Since it is a DA/SA gun, I would practice both, probably 40/60. I'd also practice the DA-to-SA first and second shot at the range, just to get over the crunchenticker nature of a DA/SA. That said, I'd pay more attention to focusing on the front sight and holding it rock steady at a small aimpoint on the wall than the actual trigger pull itself. Whatever the trigger is, your job is to smoothly and continuously press it straight rearward til the hammer drops. If the sights didn't move throughout that entire process, it's a bullseye. Remember how that feels and program that puppy into your muscle memory.

[XVIga_Rob]

Dry fire/practice with a dime balanced on the end of the barrel. Both SA & DA.

[gorenut]

Def practice both. When I owned Sigs, H&K USP, and a Walther P99, all configured DA/SA I made sure to do both. Practicing DA definitely helps overall trigger control. You can even get a laser trainer to practice and make sure the muzzle isn't getting jerked around.

[killer_muffins]

Hello, fellow redditor. I just saw this same post on Gunnit. Welcome to CalGuns!

Haha. Thanks! Was trying to get the advice from everywhere and anywhere. Someone in the gunnit thread told me to "rack slide, pull trigger, allow trigger to reset. Repeat." I think this is probably the best way to practice single-action (in DA/SA handguns) since it accounts for the trigger reset which I didn't think of before, but using snap caps with this methods seems troublesome after a couple of times with all the loading/extracting.

Any one with dryfire practice specific to the SP-01 (with the manual safety)?

[eyestothesky]

Haha. Thanks! Was trying to get the advice from everywhere and anywhere. Someone in the gunnit thread told me to "rack slide, pull trigger, allow trigger to reset. Repeat." I think this is probably the best way to practice single-action (in DA/SA handguns) since it accounts for the trigger reset which I didn't think of before, but using snap caps with this methods seems troublesome after a couple of times with all the loading/extracting.

Any one with dryfire practice specific to the SP-01 (with the manual safety)?

I can't speak for CZ, but when I dry fire with my Glock using snap caps, I only need to rack the slide a fraction of an inch to reset the trigger, thus the round is not extracted. It's slightly annoying, but much better than constantly ejecting and reloading the dummy rounds.