Dry firing is an inexpensive practice used by many shooters to improve their skills. However, there is no feedback with traditional methods. Laser training cartridges and other devices allow a computer to give fedback on how you are doing and make it a fun filled activity. There are several software packages available for both smart phones and PC's that can be used. Some completely free smart phone apps are available that we invite you to try, but they have the disadvantage of making your phone dedicated while shooting and very difficult to use for phone calls or texts. We hope this program will become your favorite and we seek your help in evaluating and improving it.
This software runs on Windows 10 desktops or laptops as a shooting trainer. A real firearm with a laser training cartridge or a laser training pistol is used to place laser dots on a paper target. A webcam connects to the computer via USB and monitors the target for the presence of dots. Scoring is performed by the program and shooter specific records are maintained.
The program is new in development (with no known bugs) and beta testers are needed. There is no charge for the first 100 who apply. Just send an email to MyShootingTrainer@gmail.com.
with your name and address specified and it will be sent to you by email. After using it, please review the product, comment on how you like it, report any issues, and give your ideas for improvements.
You DON'T need Java, Python, or any third party software packages, just what normally comes with Windows!
Installation is trivial. No installers needed. Just create a folder/directory on disk (or use an existing one) and copy a few files to it. To run, click on the executable file and the software should load and initialize in about 4 seconds!
The application is optimized for use with a real firearm equipped with a laser cartridge that will need to be cycled manually or operated in double action trigger mode. That requires some extra time between shots, so timed rapid fire modes are not supported as they add little value.
Target selection is limited to a simple bulleseye type, because it provides a very definite preferred point of aim from which to measure dry firing accuracy.
The shooter fires 10 shots at the bullseye target. A gunshot sound is played on each detected shot and the results of each shot are displayed on the computer screen and score is kept. A data record is written on the 10th shot so user progress may be monitored. The user may check his target after the 10th shot (perhaps capture the target image to show to friends). An eleventh shot causes a fresh target to appear.
During testing so far under reasonable lighting conditions, very few false shots and missed shots were experienced.
Computing use is kept very low (processor intensive computing is done in assembly language with AVX2 instructions if your computer has them), so the application need not be exited to do other things on your computer.
Of course, more functions will be added over time, but simplicity and ease of use will remain a majot concern.
Development, documentation, and support is 100% USA based with no foreign investment, ownership, or offshoring. Manuals are prepared in the USA by native English speakers who both use and develop the software with an aim to produce perfect English and accurate information.