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Mudgett working a student through his trigger control drills.
Dry practice is regularly discussed as “a way” to significantly improve one’s shooting. Those who advocate for it are right.
Additionally, several people view your live fire work as validation of what you have been working on in your dry practice. I cannot argue with that view.
One challenge when writing an article about someone’s training class is being able to do justice to the material. You don’t want to give up all the curriculum they developed. Nor can you convey everything they include in their discussion and execution of the drill. As a result, this may go deeply into what was presented.
There is a grey area in between those, and it involves the combination of anticipating the live shot, managing the firearm’s recoil after that live round, and the next trigger press. Can you set your semi-auto pistol for multiple dry presses? Yes. This can be done cheaply and easily by retracting the slide slightly and inserting a wire tie or a small piece of cardboard between the breech face and the barrel hood. Bringing the pistol just out of battery gives you the ability to get multiple presses.
You can set up your unloaded pistol for multiple presses in dry practice. A small piece of cardboard or a wire tie will move it just enough out of battery, allowing the trigger to repeatedly move back and forth.
Skip Loading?
Enter the idea of Skip Loading. This does involve live fire, and as a result, it must be conducted on a live-fire range. Preferably, another shooter is present to monitor your performance and assist with loading your magazines.
This is not new, as it was taught with revolvers for decades. With a minimal number of live rounds, the shooter could get a tremendous number of dry and live trigger presses.
Skip loading had been in use for decades when law enforcement agencies used revolvers before transitioning to semi-automatic pistols. However, using it with semi-autos was much less common. One advocate for it was Larry Mudgett, who served with the Los Angeles Police Department in various assignments, including D Platoon – SWAT and as the police academy’s lead firearms instructor.
Over-simplified, this type of skip loading is a graduate-level version of ball and dummy work.
One of the drills has the student gripping and sighting the pistol while the instructor presses the trigger. This confirms the student’s understanding of a sight picture and grip.
Larry included it in the lesson plans for both the academy firearms and semi-auto transition programs. I recently took a defensive pistol class from Larry’s company, Marksmanship Matters, due to my interest in how he taught trigger control with semi-automatic pistols through various drills.
It was introduced only after we had done several other trigger-control drills. Our presses were monitored, and we were accountable for our performance on each one.
Verbalization
While acting as the coach, the student gave the shooter specific verbal cues at each step of the process. This was done to guide them through it.
An example of setting up a magazine for a skip loading drill. The ETS magazine allows you to see it.
Set-Up
There were specific directions on how the magazines were to be loaded for each of the drills. You loaded your partner’s magazine before inserting it into their pistol. That way, the shooter did not know what was in the chamber – dummy or live.
The results of two Failure Drills, shot at seven yards with skip loading.
Remediation
If a bad trigger press was observed, the shooter remediated it before resuming the drill as described.
Finishing Out
As the class continued, the number of dummy rounds decreased while more live rounds were added. This was worked into both Failure Drills (as in shots to the body that failed to stop the BadGuy) and headshots on hostage takers.
Avoid the inexpensive, plastic dummy rounds at all costs. Use those made with metal.
What Dummies?
First, I would strongly suggest staying away from having a reloader make your dummy rounds. Having something that resembles a live round too closely can cause significant problems. Second, I would avoid all plastic dummies, as the case rim will not withstand repeated use.
ST Action Pro dummy rounds – durable and highly visible.
I prefer the ST Action Pro dummies based on cost and experience. They have a nickel-plated case with an orange plastic insert that fills the primer pocket and gives the profile of a loaded projectile. A-Zoom makes a machined, one-piece metal dummy with a synthetic insert in the primer pocket to absorb firing pin strikes.
Machined dummy rounds from A-Zoom, ordered from Brownells.
Both ST Action Pro and A-Zoom dummies can also be used for your dry practice without worry.
Other Options?
Yes, there are several options available, including the Dry Fire magazine and the Mantis-X system. Interestingly, two of the assistant instructors work in the customer service department at Mantis.
Alone?
If you are doing this without a partner, use multiple magazines and mix up the order as much as possible. Also, use the camera on your phone to provide feedback.
Four head shots on a reduced-size hostage target at 12 feet – with skip loading.
Validity?
Yes. Most of the students in the class were either inexperienced or new shooters. Nearly all of them experienced significant improvements, particularly in their consistency. The skip loading gave them immediate feedback on their trigger manipulations.
Final Thought
Current students of this craft are fortunate to have many trainers who bring a depth of experience and knowledge to their classes. Several of them are nearing the time when they will no longer be teaching. If you want exposure to their material, you should hurry up and take a class from them.
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