Dry Fire 2 weeks out

Ta-da!

All right, um, I forget when it's gonna end, so anyway. Dry fire challenge. I am 2 weeks out. It is Saturday. I've got 2 weeks until my competition that I want to do a little bit better than dead last place, which is what happened in my last competition. So because of this, I started a dry fire challenge where I am touching my firearm every single day no matter what. Today has been a crazy busy day. Uh, I taught all morning until 5 or so. And hey, DJ, it pops you right on. I'm gonna make you go that way though. So I'm 2 weeks out. And so DJ and I were talking just after my Suicide Prevention Saturday, and we came up with some things to talk about. So refinement, what am I doing every night? I'm working on a single skill generally. When I do short bouts of 5 to 10 minutes, then I pick a single skill. If I'm going to do a longer dry fire, I'm going to do more than a single skill. And here's the reality of it: when you're brand new into shooting, you usually will try to figure out what the next best thing is. When you really get into shooting, you really find out that you're just practicing the basics and trying to expand on them. So Um, that is really what Dry Fire is about, is take what you already know and make it a little bit better, because that refinement, that little tiny difference— one of the things that Tony Robbins talks about is how people have, um, you can, you can have plastic surgery, right? And if you have plastic surgery, there's like millimeters that make the difference between good-looking and gorgeous.. And when it comes to success in pretty much anything that we do, same idea. It's those little tiny tweaks. I've, I'm very lucky that I get to actually work with people on a regular basis, and I get people who are experienced, who've shot for most of their lives, but never had professional training come and then be able to make a tiny little tweak that I can see. And all of a sudden like, wow, I did not know. Hey, Crabby Turtle, by all means, if you have any questions, just ask. All right, DJ, I'm gonna make you talk to me.

Well, as you began, I was thinking about, could you walk us through like, oh, my vocabulary is failing me right now, a chain of custody, so to speak. Could you work through the steps of what it is as you prepare, what is part of the package that you lay out before you, what do you need to make sure you have every time?

All right, so, um, pretty much we always need to have a holster. Well, actually, not even always. I always need to have a gun. Having a safe area, one of the things I always suggest to people is we want to have an area where we do our dry fire that's like my classroom, where there is no ammunition. So part of it is making sure that, A, you have a place to practice that is the same every single time. Like you see behind me. I have targets on the wall. Having targets pre-set up helps in whatever your dry fire practice area is. So first, pick a spot in your house that has a safe direction for you to point a firearm in. Then you're going to have an empty firearm, and in that same place, there should be no ammo. So empty firearm is definitely one of the first things that I need. If I am practicing draws or reloads, I need to have my belt and my holster and some magazines. Now, all the practice I've done so far that you guys have seen, uh, for this month has been with my USPSA gear. So you'll see a whole bunch of magazines and a holster. The competition that I'm doing in 2 weeks is IDPA. I will have 2 magazine holders. And one holster and a different looking belt. So it depends on which of your sports that you're practicing for. I have been using my USPSA stuff because it's easier to throw on and off. So knowing what you're practicing, knowing what you're practicing with, and depending on, uh, what kind of gun you're practicing with. So let's say you are a bullseye shooter instead and you're shooting.22. One of the things you'd want to have is dummy ammo because you don't want to dry fire a.22. So I don't know if that made it more complex or if that made sense. DJ, did that answer the question of sort of what you're looking for?

Oh yeah, I was absolutely able to follow along, and I appreciate the answer, but I have a curiosity. What is the difference between the two sanctioning bodies' rigs as you practice and care and compete with them with?

All right, so Highwoods, um, go me. Um, so, uh, all right, so IDPA versus USPSA. USPSA is also IPSC, but it's different. Um, and it's just like chess and checkers in that you have a checkerboard, it's black and red or white and black depending on what you're playing. And you have different pieces, and IDPA versus USPSA is the same thing. We just have different pieces that we're supposed to use. So in IDPA, International Defensive Pistol Association, we have categories of guns we can use, and we have categories for the gear that we're using. So there are specific types of holsters that you can use in IDPA that are not legal in USPSA. And vice versa. Our courses of fire in IDPA are 18 rounds or less. In USPSA, we have rounds of courses of fire that are 32 rounds or less. So that's one of the reasons why when you see me with my rig on, I have like 5 magazine carriers, because I might go through that many magazines. If you look at last night's, I think you'll see that I say If something's gone wrong, I'm going all the way to my farthest one, but ideally I am not going to. So those are some of the high-level things. The other thing is IDPA, International Defensive Pistol Association, was the first sport that I played, and I love it because it's much more like checkers in that in IDPA they say, okay, here's your course of fire. You walk into a bar, you go here, you shoot these 3 things, you go to the next spot, which is called position 2, and you shoot these 3 things, and then you go here and you shoot those 3 things. Um, and when I say bar, I don't mean an actual bar. We have scenario-based, uh, stages that we shoot, so it's a theoretical bar. Now, USPSA is a lot more like chess, where yes, you have the same board that we're on, but there's 15 targets, shoot them as you see them., or you have to figure out how you're going to get to all of those targets. So two different sports, um, you're still playing at the range, you have similar but different, uh, requirements for your competition gear. And that's kind of like high level what the differences are. If you really want to get geeky on it and read all the differences in the, uh, rule book, you go right ahead, but it's kind of painful.

Understood. Now, which— I'm going to throw this at you. IDPA, USPSA, which is your preference? Because you're practicing with one rig and one style right now, even though dry fire crosses over, which is your favorite?

I don't know that I have a favorite. I just like playing with guns. All right. But if someone were to get into competition, I would 1000% suggest that they do IDPA because I started with IDPA. And as a new competitive shooter, being told, go here, do this, go there, do this, go here, do that, is much less mind-blowing than the, here's 15 targets, figure it out. So if I was brand new, and also the, uh, requirements that you need for IDPA you only need to have those 2 magazines for your pouches and plus the one in the gun. So there, it's a lot less expensive to get into IDPA than USPSA. So if I was asking, if I was telling someone who's brand new, I would absolutely say IDPA for the cost of entry is actually lower.

Following along with that completely, and it does make good sense to do that. That's kind of a get your feet wet, you know, in that sort of competition and decide which way you want to go from there. Now you did mention, you know, distance like bullseye shooters, and long distance is another kind of variation on a theme. And I do like that you pointed out that basically the setting is going to be the same, you know, reinforcing that it needs to be a safe spot, that the firearm needs to be empty, that another stage related to that is don't have live ammo around. I mean, that's a good idea. I don't think about that so much, particularly when I'm on, you know, on a range. That's a solo thing. I seem to have a lot more confidence. But anytime you're involving another shooter, and quick reminder, when you're at the range, there are other people there that you need to consider. Even though you're in your own little pod, the safety thing applies to everybody. Everybody is, you know, range safety officer. Wanted to reinforce that as well.

Right on. Absolutely. Without a doubt. All right, so 10:02. Are you going off to Hillbilly?

She wants to drop a link. Indeed I am. And so what Brooke is indicating there is that —well, beginning just moments ago—was a live program with Hillbilly Up. In the text chat, I'm going to place a link to that, and I encourage people to go check that out. It's kind of a raucous good time. The name of the program is Guns, Beer, and Therapy, and that therapy isn't the serious psychological type either. It's a kickback kind of conversation. Um, check it out if you will. Subscribe to that channel. Uh, it's a parallel interest for sure. Um, so as a closeout, as a closeout for me, and I'll pass it back to you, everybody out there, be safe, have fun, carry your guns, and rawr, as only DJ can actually say.

All right, um, good night everybody. I will see you tomorrow sometime after my class because I'm teaching again all day tomorrow, so that'll be cool. And we will talk more about what do you do in dry fire, as well as I will tell you what I'm working on and who Who knows, depending on the weather, maybe I will shoot another classifier and we will see how my dry fire is helping me progress. So, uh, check out the link DJ just dropped. And for those of you who are watching on Facebook, there it is. But if you want to go to my YouTube side, by all means, uh, you can cut and paste over there. All right everybody, have a lovely Saturday night and we'll talk to y'all another