By Dave Anderson

There’s no way to learn to shoot or maintain shooting skills other than by putting in trigger time. It would be nice if there were some magical tips, or a miracle cream we could rub onto our hands — but there just isn’t. Live fire is the most fun, of course. But what about when there’s just no time to get to the range, or it’s just too cold or hot or rainy? And let’s not forget ammunition costs money. Sometimes ammo is in short supply or even impossible to find.

I’m a staunch advocate of regular dry-fire sessions. Even the very best shooters I know — including national and world champions — use dry fire as part of their training regimen. I’ll admit, though, dry fire isn’t very exciting. The reason we shoot is to hit a target. One solution is an airgun, and I do love airguns. Still, another gun is not the best way to learn the feel, handling and trigger pull of our favorite competition or personal defense handgun.

Above: The LaserPET target/sensor is in program P3 and has just started the first
five-second countdown. The pistol is a ’50’s-era Browning Hi-Power. A previous owner
removed the magazine safety so I can dry fire without having to have a magazine in place..

A Solution

Laser Ammo Training Technologies has a host of clever training tools. Shown here is a system for pistol training. It uses a laser SureStrike “cartridge” which can be chambered in your handgun. The SureStrike cartridge fits 9mm chambers, while adapters can be used for .40 S&W, 10mm, .357 SIG and .45 ACP chambers. When the trigger is pressed and the firing pin strikes the rear of the laser assembly, a red laser dot is “fired” at the target.

Recently a SureStike to fit .380 ACP chambers was added. There are also SureStrike cartridges or adapters for .38 Special/.357, .44 Magnum and .45 Colt revolver cartridges, 12- and 20-gauge shotguns and .223 and .308 rifles.

The other half of the system is a battery-powered target which is activated when hit by the laser dot. The LaserPET electronic target has a 1.8″ square laser sensor, a start buzzer and a bright LED display. The unit has three useful operational modes.

Set to P1, the unit counts hits until the reset button is pressed. This shows if you hit or missed and keeps track of the number of hits. P2 can be used to work on draw-and-fire times. In P2 mode the unit gives a start buzzer after a random delay of zero to 7 seconds, then starts an elapsed time display. When the laser dot hits the laser sensor, elapsed time is displayed for 5 seconds. The unit then repeats the random delay buzzer.

In P3 the unit does a 5-second displayed countdown during which the shooter can practice a magazine change, then a second 5-second interval during which the shooter can try for as many hits as possible. The display will then show the number of hits during the 5 seconds.

The 9mm SureStike laser cartridge assembly has a retail price of $99.95, the LaserPET target with tripod, batteries and target inserts costs $119.95. Considering the only expense from then on is occasional battery replacement, it looks like a pretty good investment when compared to the cost of ammunition.

The Laser Ammo pistol training system components are the LaserPET electronic target/laser
sensor, tripod and batteries, five target inserts which fit a slot in the target and a
SureStrike laser “cartridge”, this one to fit 9mm chambers.

Safety First

As with dry firing, we must be vigilant against a live round finding its way into the chamber. When dry firing or using the Laser Ammo system there should be no ammunition anywhere in the vicinity — or even in the same room. Check, double-check and check again to make certain the firearm is truly unloaded. One benefit of the laser system over dry fire is the fact a SureStrike laser is in the firearms chamber, making it impossible to load a live round.

Even after making sure the firearm is unloaded, only dry fire against a backstop which would positively contain a bullet, like a concrete basement wall or your steel gun safe. When you’ve read and heard as many stories as I have about the ways live ammo seems to find its way under the firing pin, all this caution won’t seem excessive at all.

It was as well using my ’50’s-era Browning Hi-Power. In this case a previous owner had removed the magazine safety feature so it was only necessary to thumb cock for each shot.

The SureStrike cartridge doesn’t have an extraction groove, so hand-cycling the slide won’t remove it. After a few “shots” I found the unit a fairly tight fit in the chamber. I used a wooden pencil from the muzzle to push the SureStrike out. The laser lens is deeply recessed to protect it from damage, so a regular cleaning is a good idea as it can catch dust and grit. It’s a cleverly-designed, well-made and useful system.

For info: www.americanhandgunner.com/index, Ph: (516) 858-1262

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