Safe & Practical Dry Fire Training

Ammo is expensive. That’s a universal statement that almost everyone who frequently shoots or trains will agree with. Gone are the days of the $10, 100-round box of ball 9mm. A quick search online for “124g FMJ 9mm ammo” will find you ammo at twice the cost it used to be. But no matter the cost, we all still need to practice; we all still need to train; we all still need to run through annual qualifications to include day courses, low-light courses, dynamic decision-making courses, malfunction drills, etc. Often what’s needed most is the simple repetition of target recognition, weapon presentation, sight alignment, sight picture and trigger press. Through correct repetition, we build our skills to an unconscious competency level, meaning they become “second nature;” we can perform them without conscious thought.

Dry fire is one way to practice, and there are several commercial systems you can purchase that allow you to practice a variety of skills. Some of those systems, though, require you to cycle the slide on your pistol between every trigger pull. Think about that: draw, present, acquire sights, hold sight picture, trigger press… manually cycle the slide. Repeat. Over the thousands of repetitions that you can enjoy shooting, you’re still manually cycling the slide for every shot. That eventually becomes a learned behavior that you DO NOT want to repeat if you ever need to use that sidearm in a real threat self-defense situation. So, what’s the answer?

One potential answer is the CoolFire Training system. Founded in 2016, CoolFire Trainer had the goal of providing a realistic, safe and cost-effective way to dry-fire train anytime and anywhere. The system uses compressed air and a proprietary drop-in recoiling barrel that allows you to use your own handgun for dry-fire practice. That means YOUR sights, YOUR trigger, YOUR holster and more. When it comes to training with your handgun, everything needs to be as close as possible to the same conditions as when you are working the street or carrying off-duty/for self-defense. The CoolFire Trainer empowers that.

Unlike some other systems, the CoolFire Trainer replaces the barrel in your handgun and the compressed air mechanism used to create recoil for each shot is contained in the trainer barrel. An adaptor that attaches to the end of the barrel is provided with each kit, and a CO2 container for refills. Depending on the size of your handgun—full size, mid or compact—you’ll get an average number of shots per air fill, ranging from 10 to 20 shots per fill. Shorter barrels mean less space for compressed air and, therefore, fewer shots per fill. The reality of that means you can’t train malfunction drills and since no magazine full of ammunition is being replaced, you can’t practice reload drills.

Unlike some other systems, the CoolFire Trainer replaces the barrel in your handgun and the compressed air mechanism used to create recoil for each shot is contained in the trainer barrel. An adaptor that attaches to the end of the barrel is provided with each kit, and a CO2 container for refills. Depending on the size of your handgun—full size, mid or compact—you’ll get an average number of shots per air fill, ranging from 10 to 20 shots per fill. Shorter barrels mean less space for compressed air and, therefore, fewer shots per fill. The reality of that means you can’t train malfunction drills and since no magazine full of ammunition is being replaced, you can’t practice reload drills.

The basic “Bronze” package on the CoolFire Trainer site (coolfiretrainer.com) is listed at $389.99 and available for 28 different handguns to include models of 1911, GLOCK, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory and Walther. At a commercial cost of roughly $0.40 per round of 9mm (actual ammo), that $390 cost would pay for itself after about 975 dry fire shots, or the equivalent of about 20 boxes of practice ammo. After that, your cost drops drastically to just the cost of the refill CO2 tank, equating to just a few cents per shot for the life of the system. Hundreds of thousands of shots are possible from the system, so your savings over the life of your shooting practice would be substantial.

GLOCK, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory and Walther. At a commercial cost of roughly $0.40 per round of 9mm (actual ammo), that $390 cost would pay for itself after about 975 dry fire shots, or the equivalent of about 20 boxes of practice ammo. After that, your cost drops drastically to just the cost of the refill CO2 tank, equating to just a few cents per shot for the life of the system. Hundreds of thousands of shots are possible from the system, so your savings over the life of your shooting practice would be substantial.

The final consideration we examined and needed to address, is the wear and tear on your handgun. Simply put, there is far less than there would be with live ammo. Of course the slide is still recoiling, and you get that minor wear, but there are no rounds going through the barrel; no brass being extracted or ejected. The slide-stop isn’t being activated so that spring isn’t getting the attached wear and tear.

Considering all of the forgoing information, if you’re in the market for a dry-fire system, we’d suggest you take a look at the CoolFire Trainer. There are three different training packages available: bronze, silver and gold, and we hope to be extensively field-testing one of them in the near future. Stay tuned!