Dry fire training is one of the most effective ways to improve your shooting performance without using live ammo. But as world champion shooter JJ Racaza points out, many shooters make crucial mistakes that prevent them from getting the most out of their time. In this video breakdown, JJ shares how to use a shot timer correctly during dry fire practice, and what to avoid.
The #1 Mistake in Dry Fire Practice
“A lot of people make this mistake of doing the dry fire… They go up, fire, reload, fire — and they continue to make all these noises,” JJ explains.
The problem? Shooters don’t stop moving after the drill ends. Instead of pausing, they reload or shift positions — and the shot timer continues to pick up all the post-drill noise.
“Every single one of those noises was recorded. And the last sound recorded was the one that was recorded for your overall time.” That means your timer logs an inaccurate final time, showing extra seconds that don’t reflect your actual performance.
That means your timer logs an inaccurate final time, showing extra seconds that don’t reflect your actual performance.
Why Follow-Through Matters
JJ emphasizes the importance of follow-through — the brief moment of stillness after your final shot — especially during dry fire.
“All you needed to do was wait a second or two more after the dry fire drill is done… before you make all the others reset and all that stuff. So the timer only records your drill itself.”
That short pause ensures the timer captures only the time you care about: the duration of your actual drill.
What Proper Dry Fire Looks Like
“Now the correct way to do this dry fire would be this: you would have to achieve the follow-through…”
JJ demonstrates the correct approach: execute the drill, finish with a clean press of the trigger, then hold still. No reloads, no resetting — just silence. After a couple of seconds, you can move.
This lets your SG Timer register the correct last shot and ignore all the follow-up noise. The setting JJ is referring to is called „Waiting time”. Waiting time is a safe zone period used in Smart mode for Dry fire Drills.
What If Your Firearm Doesn’t Allow Multiple Trigger Presses?
If you’re using a striker-fired pistol or another firearm that doesn’t allow repeated trigger presses during dry fire, JJ has a solution:
“I won’t pull the first shot. I’ll just pretend in my head that I fired the shot. Then I’ll reload, then I’ll fire the final shot.”
This approach allows the shot timer to capture only one valid sound — your final simulated shot — without contamination from unnecessary clicks or resets.
The Importance of shot timer settings
JJ also highlights the need for built-in reset time between repetitions during dry fire:
“It’s super important when you’re setting this up… between reps depending on the drill that you’re doing — whether it’s a complex drill like magazine reloads, or a punch-out and draw and fire — I may need five seconds in order for me to reset myself.”
When he sets up his timer, JJ uses two repetitions with a 5-second pause between them. That time allows him to reset the firearm, reposition the magazine, and return to a ready state — ensuring every repetition is clean and deliberate.
If you’re ready to take things to the next level, JJ suggests running your timer in live fire mode — even during dry fire practice.
“You can go to shooting, and it’ll record… put it on 100% sensitivity… and record all the sounds.”
This way, your SG Timer captures every step: how fast you grab the magazine, insert it, and execute the final shot. That data gives you a complete performance profile, not just the final time.
“That’s the big most important thing about the reset time and all of that stuff.”
JJ’s key takeaway? Train smart. Build in pauses, control your follow-through, and let the shot timer work for you — not against you.
Want to optimize your dry fire setup and get accurate feedback on every drill? Try the SG Timer with the Drills App by Shooters Global, and start training with data that actually reflects your performance.
Tags: Drills app, dry fire, jj racaza, sg timer, SG Timer 2, Shooters global, shooting timer, shot timer
