Here is an example of what practicing with DryFire
looks like. DryFire can be used in your home, a club room, or
any other location that offers sufficient wall space to project
the laser target and prevents direct or indirect sunlight from
reaching the target area.
DryFire will help you in two very important
ways.
First, your "Gun Control"
will improve greatly because you will be able to practice as much
as you want, as often as you want, and every movement you make
will be exactly what you would be doing if you were at the gun
club shooting with live ammunition.
Second, your "Sight Picture"
will improve because after every shot, DryFire will show you a
picture of your shot-string in relationship to the clay. This
is positive feedback that you can't always get at your local club,
unless you know one of those special people who can actually see
the shot-string.
Find out below how it's done! You may also want
to watch the DryFire Video
online or order a FREE copy
of the DryFire CD-ROM.
Practicing with DryFire
Install the DryFire software on your Windows PC
(Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP or 2000)
Connect the Dryfire unit to a serial port on your PC. Some
of the newest PC's don't have a serial port and it will be necessary
for you to purchase a USB to Serial Port Adapter to make the
connect from the DryFire unit to your PC. Many of these adapters
are priced under $30.00. Warning, not every USB to Serial Port
Adapter function properly. Most are able to give the Dryfire
unit commands, but some can't communicate back to your PC when
you shot at the target and the DryFire camera see the infrared
laser light. Click here
to get a name of an adapter that we have tested and it works.
For convenience, the DryFire simulator is usually mounted
on a camera tripod, which is located from 3 to 6 feet from the
wall. You will need to provide the camera tripod or sit the
DryFire unit on a suitable surface.
The DryFire Gun Assembly takes less than a minute to fit to
your shotgun. A soft plastic laser insert goes into the muzzle,
a miniature switch is strapped to your trigger and a "small
red box" is magnetically attached to your action. (Velcro
is available if you prefer) The Gun Assembly weighs about two
ounces and therefore, does not change the balance of your shotgun.
Also, there is no physical connection between your gun and the
Dryfire simulator and no physical connection between your gun
and the wall. This means your gun has total freedom of movement.
Stand behind the Dryfire unit and when you are
ready, call "Pull." The voice release system in the
simulator will release the target you have selected and you
will see a visible laser light (orange) moving on the wall in
exactly the same angular trajectory, and at exactly the same
angular speed, as the real clay, which it is simulating.
When you're ready, call "Pull." The target laser is
turned ON and begins moving across the wall at the same angular
speed and the same trajectory as in real life. Now, while your
eyes are focused on the moving laser target dot, shot the target
just like you would at the gun club. Whatever your sight-picture
is, that's what you'll need to see when shooting DryFire.
When you pull or release the trigger, a very short pulse of
invisible infrared laser light is sent out of the muzzle laser
insert. A sensitive digital camera built into the simulator
detects exactly when and where the infrared spot appears on
the wall. The PC software then carries out very complex calculations
to work out exactly where your shot-string will be, in relationship
to the center of the clay, when the path of the clay and your
shot-string intersect. DryFire also calculates the size of your
pattern, at that moment, based upon the choke you have specified
for that barrel.
The moment the digital camera detects the invisible laser
light on the wall, the sound of a shotgun can be heard coming
from your PC speakers. If Dryfire determines you would have
broken the target, the visible laser dot is removed from the
wall. If DryFire determined you missed the target, the target
laser dot continues to move along its trajectory giving you
an opportunity to shoot a second time.
The PC screen now shows you a picture of your shot-string
and its relationship to the clay target and provides five more
vital facts which are displayed in the lower left corner of
the PC screen for the first shot and the lower right corner
for the second shot.
1. Did you "Hit or Miss" the clay.
2. How far in "inches" was the center of your shot-string
in front of or behind the center of the clay.
3. How far in "inches" was the center of your shot-string
above or below the center of the clay.
4. How many yards was the clay from your muzzle when the
shot-string hit or missed the clay.
5. The time, measured in hundredths of a second, from the
launch of the clay until the shot-string hit or missed the
clay.
