Ben Stoeger - Dryfire Reloaded

DRYFIRE RELOADED

By Ben Stoeger

Foreword

I got into competitive shooting by tagging along with a friend to shoot an IDPA match in 1999. The results were ugly, but I loved the challenge and came back for more, joining the club so I could practice on weekends. I knew I needed help and took a few classes, which got me squared away on the fundamentals of marksmanship. These were the kinds of classes where everyone stands on the shooting line and blasts a target at five or ten yards. Practicing that material got me to Expert, but I couldnt make progress beyond thatI simply didnt see what I should do differently or how shooting faster was possible. That stagnation eventually got the better of me, and I dropped out of IDPA in 2005.

I kept up casual pistol shooting and fiddled with AR-15s and precision rifles for a few years until the desire to compete got me shooting Steel Challenge in 2011. This put me in the company of several USPSA shooters who encouraged me to give that sport a try because I was finishing well in local Steel Challenge matches.

My USPSA shooting got off to a rough start. I landed in A class four months after shooting my first match based on my Steel Challenge skills. I then shot the 2013 Georgia Championship a few weeks later and came in 48th, which carried the distinction of low A. You dont get a trophy or cash payout for that kind of finish! What happened? I could hit the A zone just fine, and my shooting pace wasnt terrible for A class, but it took me forever to move between positions and reload. And what was this shooting on the move thing people were telling me I needed to do? Thats what you get when you jump from Steel Challenge to USPSA.

Right before the championship, Ben had taught a class at my home range. It was already full, but Ben said hed happily teach another one if Id round up a goon squad. Were talking Area 6 here, so finding goons wasnt a problem. The class was on. Maybe Ben would chase me with an axe to provide the sense of urgency I needed?

I had read Bens books by the time the class rolled around, but it was still a revelation. For starters, I got to see world-class shooting close up. Ben first shot each drill or sample stage, then we tried, with Ben quickly assessing each students skill level and providing individualized feedback and coaching. Ben cleverly designed the sample stages and drills to complement each other. If a drill involved shooting on the move, the next stage would reward shooting on the move. If the drill positioned targets at a wide range of distances, the stage would feature a shooting position with a similar target arrangement. This helped us both recognize and execute a variety of shooting challenges in context.

For me, Bens individualized feedback weighted heavily toward moving and shooting more rapidly, often with comical results. One drill had us run forward to a fault line and shoot three targets at seven yards. My first attempt was at the speed of a brisk walk. Ben called out: Again, but run this time! I ran to the fault line and skidded to a stop like a car with locked-up wheels, giving everyone a good laugh. Ben then patiently worked with me on coming into position with finesse. No easy task. Sometimes Bens feedback came in a style all his own. Ill never forget hearing Is that all you got? in response to shooting a drillthat axe wouldnt have encouraged me as much!

We all got sent home with a clear sense of where we needed to focus our practice efforts along with recommended live-fire and dry-fire drills to run. It was time to get to work!

Dry-fire was interesting at the time as we lived in an 800-square-foot condo with hardwood floors. I turned our 12 x 14 bedroom into my dry-fire ludus. Our queen-sized bed was pressed against one wall, which gave me a U-shaped path for moving between shooting positions and flipping magazines onto the mattress when performing reloads. For targets, I initially stuck Post-it notes on the walls and doors until the Pro Shop started selling scaled cardboard IPSC ones. Were being invaded by little men, joked my wife. More like a small army after setting up 32-round field courses.

But even in that small space, I burned thousands of reps into my subconscious, pushed myself to ratchet down par times on standard drills, and learned how my grip, stance, draws, reloads, and movement should feel when done correctly. Not having the distraction of the gun going off let me put my full attention on gripping the gun, processing and refining the sight picture, and running the trigger when things looked good.

When I wanted to alter something about my shooting, Id first spend a few evenings in dry-fire grooving in the new technique so it would be partially programmed into my subconscious when I hit the range to try it with live ammunition. These live-fire results would guide my dry-fire for the next week. This training regimen hasnt changed as Ive progressed in my skills, experimented with different shooting techniques, and received guidance from better shooters.

Dry-fire most evenings and live practice most weekends got me to M class just in time for the 2014 Georgia Championship, where I finished 11th and happily didnt win low M. Coming this far from 48th the previous year shows just what dedication to Bens personalized training plan can accomplish.

The year closed out with a move to a house with a basement, where I finished a 22 x 14 section as my dedicated dry-fire ludus and reloading area. This larger practice space lets me freely work position entry/exit drills without having to navigate a bed and fling magazines without having to worry about damaging furniture or the floorand crank out lots of 9mm for practice and matches.

I was fortunate to train with Ben a few more times, where he evaluated my progress, corrected aspects of my shooting, and gave me an updated training plan. Ben was hardly standing still himself, always working to improve his shooting and teaching techniques to stay on top of his game. To me, his progress has been particularly evident in how hes taught movement and body positioning while flowing through the shooting positions of a stage.

The 2015 and 2016 shooting seasons saw me crack the Top 10 at the Georgia Championship, which has gotten progressively more demanding in the Atlanta-area Production shark tankIm not the only one upping their game thanks to all the classes Ben has taught in the Atlanta area. GM also looks within striking distance with my classification at 93% at the start of 2017. I know my weaknesses and have drills in place to chip away at them in dry-fire and live-fire. Unlike feeling lost when I threw in the towel with IDPA, Ive never felt more excited about pistol shooting than today, because I know its within my power to improve. Work hard and intelligently and you can do the same!