Frequently Asked Questions

Is it a game?

No - but it is fun!

If it was a game, complete with fancy 3D graphics like a "shoot-em-up", we could have sold millions! (Games developers please contact us!)

DryFire is serious. It provides accurate targets. It provides accurate feedback. It provides the practice required to improve your skills.

Warning: DryFire may appear boring to non-shooters!

Let's face it, real clay shooting isn't exactly a spectator sport - despite the efforts made by the organisers of international competitions - it doesn't attract large TV audiences.

Competitive shooters know what they need - practice. We have seen international shooters, along with their coaches, at a local shooting ground, taking hundreds of targets in a day - all thanks to sponsorship covering the cost of clays and cartridges!

Now anyone can do it. 100 targets an evening is easy with DryFire - and with no clay or cartridge costs!

DryFire is the cost-effective way to hone skills and win competitions.

Does it work?

Yes, it works.

DryFire has been on sale for over 20 years and thousands of shooters all over the world are using it - from Sunday shooters to international champions.

Shooting is about angles. The angle you swing back before acquiring the target, the angle you swing through as the clay flies, and the angle ahead of the clay when you fire.

DryFire reproduces exactly those angles, with exactly the same speed of movement, as a real clay outdoors.

For a Skeet 4 high bird you start about 60 degrees to your left, you acquire the target and swing to a position roughly ahead of you before you fire - allowing for lead. That's what you do outdoors, and that's exactly what you do indoors with DryFire.

DryFire treats your wall as if it was transparent and you were looking through it at a real clay layout. The best way to explain this is to show an imaginary shooting stand and a crossing target.

The animation below demonstrates how a target trajectory fits on the wall (Note: the wall shown is for illustration only - DryFire does not show an image of a wall on the PC screen.)

The wall represents your field of view - as seen from your eyes in the last frame of the animation above.

When you swing left to your hold point in front of the trap, you will have moved through the same angle as at the shooting ground. When you call "Pull" and track the target (the laser dot representing the clay) you will be swinging through the same angles, at the same angular speed, as at the shooting ground.

DryFire shows the complete trajectory of most targets, from trap to ground, because you are fairly close to the wall. In all cases, your gun movement and angle of swing will always be exactly the same as outdoors - that's why DryFire is so accurate and so useful in building eye/muscle coordination - you do the same thing indoors as you do outdoors.

Do you shoot at the target?

This question is usually asked by those who have played shooting games. In fact we have seen some "Clay Shooting Simulators" where you "aim" at the target! Duhh!

It's all about lead! So, "no", you don't shoot "at" the target!

DryFire knows exactly where you should be pointing in order to hit the target at any point in its flight - and obviously that requires allowing for lead. "Aim" at a skeet 4 high bird and you will miss a long way behind - outdoors and with DryFire!

It doesn't matter what technique you use: maintained lead, swing through ("bum, belly, beak, bang"), as long as you have allowed the right amount of lead when you press the trigger you will hit the target. If you stop the gun when shooting you will miss behind - just like outdoors!

What guns, cartridges, clays does it support?

Any.

You select (or even define for yourself) the gun you are using: calibre, chokes, barrel length.

DryFire will work with standard mechanical triggers (set by recoil) or with release triggers (firing when the trigger is released).

You select the cartridge: pellet size, weight, muzzle velocity.

You select the type of clay: standard, mini, battue, rabbit, etc.

What about wind?

You can set wind direction, wind speed, steady wind, random gusty wind. DryFire uses this when displaying the path of the target.

If you have selected a going away target, and set a strong wind blowing towards you, don't be surprised if DryFire shows the target coming back and going over your head!

Do I have total freedom of gun movement?

Yes.

Your PC/laptop is connected to the simulator with a USB cable but there is no physical connection between your gun and anything else.

Beware of systems that use trailing wires on the gun - sooner or later you will trip up and the result will be an expensive mess on the floor.

DryFire allows total freedom of gun movement.

Will it teach me to shoot?

No - only a good instructor can do that.

DryFire can tell you exactly where your shot went - but it can't see you doing it! You could be shooting from the hip for all it knows!

DryFire is designed for that intensive practice that allows us to move from one plateau of achievement to the next. Once we are at the top, it allows us to maintain and hone our skills.

The best advice is to use DryFire for intensive practice between coaching sessions then allow your instructor to iron out anything that may prevent you moving onwards and upwards.