The Dry Fire Primer – Annette Evans | Book Review

One of the largest barriers for people regarding shooting is the financial cost. Buy a gun, buy ammo, spare magazines, get training, go to the range, eye and ear protection. The list goes on and on. If you’re like most shooters, running through a few boxes of ammunition a year is about all you’ll do, and you’ll feel great about it. Others will fire hundreds to thousands of rounds annually and still want more. How can both groups improve their shooting ability without breaking the bank? Dry fire.

As an instructor, I always tell my students that the majority of their gun handling skills can be trained without ever firing a live round. Dry fire is a fantastic tool to keep skills sharp while reducing the strain on your savings account. On the flip side, poor practice in dry fire can instill horrible habits that will transfer to your live fire. How do we keep this second option from happening? We study.

I’ve been a fan of Annette Evan’s writing online for a few years, but I was initially skeptical about her book. “It’s dry fire, how can you fill a whole book about it?” was the pervading thought. Despite this, I figured I’d drop the $7.99 plus shipping to read it for myself.

While “book” may be technically correct, the 81 pages from cover to cover begs a different descriptor. Short and to the point, Annette wastes no time (nor paper) diving into effective dry practice. She covers a broad range of topics related to the subject; How to set up your training area, particular skills to practice, performance enhancers, safety, fundamentals, and more. She goes in depth but never belabors a point.

There are some weird sentences that are challenging to read which appear a few times throughout the book. I’m able to glean what Annette is trying to say, but definitely had to re-read a handful of sentences a few times. Luckily this is uncommon, though distracting. I’m not sure if these were missed in editing or if I’ve simply had a stroke and didn’t notice.

Overall, if you’ve read tons of posts online and immersed yourself within the firearms world, this book won’t be groundbreaking for you. You may find some new ways to articulate things, or a couple new ideas, but overall nothing is cosmic.

If you’re newer to the community, or don’t have hours upon hours to scour the interwebz, then this book is right up your alley. At only 81 pages, most readers could knock this out in one sitting if necessary, and it is easy to go back to for reference material. The Dry Fire Primer is definitely recommended reading for my students, and a solid purchase for any shooter.

Want to read more of Annette’s work? Check her out on Facebook, Instagram, plus the handful of places she’s published her work.

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