Dry-fire training is one of the most significant ways to make gains in pistol shooting, regardless of discipline. However, the absence of ammunition changes the dynamics of the dry-fire process, especially as it pertains to the weight of the pistol. If not careful, the differing nuances can affect the fidelity of the dry-fire experience or become counter-productive at worst—especially for more advanced shooters.
Of course, safe dry-firing calls for certain non-negotiable “rules,” like dry-firing in a safe direction and doing so in a sterilized area that is free from any trace of live ammunition. To avoid being counter-productive and retain that realistic weight of their pistol, dry-fire practitioners can either load up with snap caps, dummy rounds, or use weighted magazine inserts.
Snap-Caps & Dummies
Historically, I’ve been a snap-cap user, but the problem with these is that they’re fairly expensive. The cost of 5-6 snap-cap rounds is nearly the same amount as a 50-round box of real pistol ammo. Snap caps are typically made from aluminum or plastic, and speaking from experience, it doesn’t take much for them to get chewed up.
Even if one spent the approximately $75-$90 it would cost to “fill up” a single standard 15-18 round magazine, the loaded weight wouldn’t be equivalent to that of the same magazine loaded with live rounds. Snap-caps do have some utility, but none for adding realistic weight.
Access to a reloading setup means that dedicated dry-fire practitioners can load dummy rounds as a simple and low-tech solution that takes care of the “weight problem” in a loaded magazine. However, it also skews the margin of risk towards the wrong side.
After all, primerless and powderless dummy rounds are still loaded with actual metallic casings and real bullets. And even if painted or marked a different color, the potential for accidentally mixing up duds with live rounds only increases.
Speaking from experience, I’ve mixed those crimson-colored A-Zoom snap-caps (that I actually really like) with live training rounds in the same pouch while at the range. This paragraph isn’t an indictment of dummy rounds or snap-caps because they do provide some value.
However…
The Tie-In To Gun Safety
I recently trained with Gabe White in one of his pistol classes. During the lecture portion of the first day before the shooting started, he reminded us of the logic behind gun safety. Gun safety as we know it works because when distilled into its core elements, it is a series of overlapping redundancies that all help to avoid negative outcomes.
Keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction means that even if it discharges, the round won’t harm anyone or destroy anything. Keeping the finger off the trigger means that there’s no chance for the gun’s trigger to be actuated in case it isn’t pointed in a safe direction, and so on.
Negative outcomes with firearms tend to happen when those two core elements are broken. In my view, being careful to avoid dummy rounds is another layer of safe redundancy.
S__t happens, and dummy rounds end up in weird places and vice-versa. I’m not saying to disregard dummy rounds completely, but extra care must be taken with them.
Weight Inserts
I formally reviewed JV-Training.com’s weighted magazine inserts a few months ago. To summarize, these inserts are 3-D printed to fill the “void” left behind by real handgun magazines absent the spring and follower. They’re also filled and sealed with lead shot that realistically mimics the loaded weight of a typical magazine.
Once correctly installed, the same base pad or floor plate contains the insert. At the top, it sits lower than the follower so as not to catch the slide and interfere with training. The filament used to print these is an eye-catching bright orange.
When Weight Started To Matter
Consider this my personal addendum to the original review of the JV-Training magazine inserts, except that this article isn’t about the inserts themselves. Frankly, I’ve always dry-fired with a single A-Zoom snap-cap (that’s how I know that they tend to get chewed up over time fairly quickly).
However, lately, my skills have been developing to a point where the weight of an “empty” gun vs one with a realistic weight makes a difference. Especially with the “feel” of the gun and the mind-body connection during the shooting process.
Two of my core handgun training goals for 2025 are to get as close as possible to that one-second draw from concealment and develop automaticity in transitioning between targets. For the first time in my ‘shooting career,’ I caught myself caring about the weight of the handgun at the time of draw.
It happened precisely during that recent training class with Gabe White while I was diligently drilling the Bill Drill, one of the exercises that makes up the core of his “standards.” Even before that point, I understood that it was important for shooters to maintain a realistic weight in terms of fidelity for dedicated practice, but it wasn’t until that Saturday that I truly got it.
Post-Script: A Perspective On Weight
More so with regards to polymer-framed semi-autos, the loaded magazine is roughly ⅓ of the total weight when the gun sits in the holsters. Consider the Ruger RXM I recently got my hands on for a future review: with a Holosun HS407CX2 red dot, the empty RXM weighs 650 grams in total.
A 15-round Magpul GL9 loaded with Federal HSTs weighs approximately 232 grams, and a Glock 19-sized JV-Training.com weighted insert in a GL9 weighs 248 grams. 33% is significant.
**I also forgot to mention in my original review that the Magpul GL9 magazines play well with these inserts. However, I recommend taping the floorplates because there’s no spring tension to keep them in place.
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