[atbarr]

Should I load up some brass, without primers and powder, to practice my dry firing and magazine changes?

Thanks,

A.T.

[uscbigdawg]

Can't hurt.

[Dan Burwell]

That is what I do.

Since I have no external markings on them other than being much nastier than my real ammo, I keep a seperate dry fire bag that has mags I only use for dry fire, my timer and my home made dummy rounds.

I also check each primer pocket before it goes into a mag.

Other mark their rounds which sounds like a good idea to me, but I have yet to find a marker that stands up to the repeated chamberings I do when dry firing for IDPA.

[Matt Cheely]

Yes, it will keep you from botching reloads when a feedlip catches on the gun. Plus the mags will be a realistic weight.

[SV-COP]

Matt Cheely, on Jul 31 2009, 03:13 PM, said:

Yes, it will keep you from botching reloads when a feedlip catches on the gun. Plus the mags will be a realistic weight.

+1 I have a bunch of dummy rounds and my dry fire mag that I keep away from my live fire bag. WAY AWAY!

[boz1911]

Yup, seperate mags, dummy ammo, is the only realistic way to dryfire.

[Pharaoh Bender]

Absolutely. When you dryfire you want to keep the conditions as close to how you compete as possible...this includes shirt, shoes, and glasses. There is a significant difference in gun weight when it does not contain a loaded magazine, and the mag weight is worlds apart when it is empty.

Load 'em up.

[Holshot]

That's exactly what I do plus I also put them in a small bowl/jar and pour a little cold blue on them. Roll them around and then they look quite different than hot rounds.

[UW Mitch]

Holshot, on Jul 31 2009, 04:30 PM, said:

That's exactly what I do plus I also put them in a small bowl/jar and pour a little cold blue on them. Roll them around and then they look quite different than hot rounds.

That's an excellent idea! I tried painting some with Brownell's baking laquer but it chipped. I like the idea of the cold blue!

[atbarr]

I appreciate all the replies. I was thinking of spraying them and the magazines with Dykem blue. That will let me know for sure, they are blanks. Plus, I have enough magazines I can just use them for dry fire.

Thanks,

A.T.

[CocoBolo]

I have dummies and fill the mags to capacity. It is imperative with the Single Stack to do this.

I do standing and running reloads. Yes, most of my reloads are moving so I practice them on the run in the back yard where I have my dummy dry fire stage set up.

I start by running a few times to perfect the method then I get the timer out and work with it trying to go faster setting a repeating par time.

With my open gun I practice getting back on dot and target after the reload, with the limited it just comes natural.

[Pharaoh Bender]

atbarr, on Jul 31 2009, 10:19 PM, said:

I appreciate all the replies. I was thinking of spraying them and the magazines with Dykem blue. That will let me know for sure, they are blanks. Plus, I have enough magazines I can just use them for dry fire.

Thanks,

A.T.

I wouldn't paint the mag tubes as that will change the dimensions. Instead label the basepads and keep those mags loaded with dummies and completely separate from live ammo. I keep my dryfire mags in a tupperware canister in my garage (dojo).

[threefeathers]

I give this suggestion to my students and when I assisted Mas at LFI I.
Take two magazines and paint them a bright color, white, yellow, or the like. Put only dummy rounds in them.
Then make certain you put any loaded mags away, and I mean away. Then make certain you physically clear and check the chamber. Draw and dry fire to your hearts content.

Attached File(s)

•  LFI_II__9.jpg (94.61K)
  Number of downloads: 91

[pjb45]

I keep my dummy rounds physically separated from my live ammo, which is definitely separated from my mags. I always unload my mags and keep them with the gun in the safe. The only live ammo in the safe is in my BHP Mags the bottom shelf next to the gun.

I really noticed the difference when I did my dry fire reloads without dummy rounds and when I had dummy rounds in the mags.

My safety rules are that everything is physically located differently and when I am done, no matter how tired the routine stays the same, guns and mags are empty and ammo (real or dummy) is put away.

[Big Shooter]

I load my dummy bullets backwards and seat them waaaayyy short, and no primers. They stand out like a sore tumb. They will not chamber. If I'm dry-firing and I chamber a round for whatever reason, I know before I pull the trigger that I f&cked up somewhere, and there's trouble ahead!! But I can't practice "slide-lock reloads" either.

I'm thinking of sacrificing 3 or so mags, enclosing the top with resin or something and filling them with loose bullets or birdshot to get the proper weight...just haven't gotten around to it yet. But, that way there would be absolutely no way to accidentally get live ammo in your practice mags.

[kevin c]

If you use primerless dummy rounds in a gun with a 1911/2011 style FP, you might want to take care not to drop the hammer on a chambered round.

It won't go bang, but the tip of my FP jammed into the primer pocket flash hole and locked up my gun but good...

[atbarr]

The round that is chambered is a snap cap.

A.T.

[kevin c]

Ah, thank you, SiFu... :

[Steven Cline]

Matt Cheely, on Jul 31 2009, 03:13 PM, said:

Yes, it will keep you from botching reloads when a feedlip catches on the gun. Plus the mags will be a realistic weight.

Good thought, I use only a single snap cap at the moment, but a "full" mag would be more realistic feel from the holster.

Would change the weight of a mostly empty mag being dropped from the gun.