1911 laser/dry fire training setup

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Duke878

Regular
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Location
Lower Mainland, BC
Looking at getting a laser setup to train with my 1911. What would anyone suggest? I don't think there's a trigger reset system like the glocks... So gotta pull the hammer down each time
.. I was maybe thinking of the itarget system. Any Canadian retailers?? Thx!
 
...but a laser cartridge is great to keep you honest. The little red dot isn't going to lie like a shooter might. :)

I have a proper timer for live fire, phone app for dry fire incl par times, laser cartridge, and would use the CO2 thing if I had one. I think all of these things are great for working different areas.

You can use a laser on a SA gun by only pulling the trigger on the target you want to check. Draw, go through your routine without pulling the trigger, then when you get to the target you want, pull the trigger. I use it on my Shadow, and really work the DA by pulling the trigger on every shot.
 
jimbo14 said:
...but a laser cartridge is great to keep you honest. The little red dot isn't going to lie like a shooter might. :)

I have a proper timer for live fire, phone app for dry fire incl par times, laser cartridge, and would use the CO2 thing if I had one. I think all of these things are great for working different areas.

You can use a laser on a SA gun by only pulling the trigger on the target you want to check. Draw, go through your routine without pulling the trigger, then when you get to the target you want, pull the trigger. I use it on my Shadow, and really work the DA by pulling the trigger on every shot.
Click to expand...

Whered you get the cartridge? Wanna buy local.. Oh also what app do you use?
 
Cheapest route, go on AliExpress and pickup a laser training cartridge for $35. (takes about 3-6wks to deliver) and download/buy iTarget app for your smartphone. Hang up a paper target on your wall and go crazy. Cost you less than $50.
 
Duke878 said:
Whered you get the cartridge? Wanna buy local.. Oh also what app do you use?
Click to expand...
I have the SureStrike from Murray Gardner. Complete opposite from cheap imports. In every way. lol!

My wife bought me the iTarget system too. Had trouble with one of the lasers. Got it to work again after fiddling. I never use the iTarget anymore. I prefer the quality of the SureStrike, but that said, a handful of the Chinese ones may work just fine. Might be a durable one in the bunch. :)

Note that the striker switch on these things has a lifespan. SureStrike says at least 5000 strikes. I've had mine for over 18 months. Still going strong. Expect it to die at some point soon. Murray sells the replacement caps.

Apps: I've used ShotTimer by Surefire on my old phone. If I had the phone sitting beside the gun on the draw, it would pick up ~75% of the dry fire strikes. I'd do some of that, with the Par time setting for basic benchmarks. All I need is a starting beep, and a specific ending beep, to push me for mag changes, etc. Don't need a reliable mic pickup. I just got a new phone so I downloaded a couple free apps I found. Haven't tried them yet.

With all these lasers and apps, it really depends on how you use them. I found the basic iTarget gizmo with the little target to be fairly useless. I did 150 draws one night and that was it. Now I lend it out to friends to try. I get more out of covering my basement walls in a variety of IPSC/IDPA targets, different sizes, hard cover, no-shoot, round paper ones to simulate steel, and even a 1" square for precision. I'll shoot these in a variety of ways, with mag changes and using my laser. I really like the laser because when I focus on shooting close targets, I'm getting my vision to be more target focused rather than sight focused. The laser tells me how I'm doing since I don't have a clear sight picture.

It's really up to you and your creativity to get what you can from any of these systems. With the right focus, it easy to get way more out of a proper dryfire setup than a typical pistol shooter at the range that doesn't have a training plan.
 
Thoughts on Coolfire, or anything similar that cycles the gun for dry fire, causing too much additional wear on the gun? Obviously big advantages of the system but I have wondered about wear. I would expect usage to drastically increase compared to live fire for most. Total get that the barrel etc. Is replaced so more thinking about the slide / frame wear points. Most of the other stuff can be replaced easier.
 
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