Where Does the Glock E-Trainer Fit In Your Dry fire Training Strategy?

A few years ago our company released a product to the market called the Glock Easy Trainer or Glock E-Trainer for short. The reception in the market has been greater than we expected, but there are still questions we receive repeatedly that we want to address.

First, what is the Glock E-Trainer?

The Glock E-Trainer is a simple device that is installed onto any standard Glock handgun. When installed, the E-Trainer prevents the trigger from breaking and thus keeps the firing pin from being released. This ultimately means you can operate the trigger repeatedly without resetting the trigger by racking the slide.

Traditionally on a striker-fired handgun, in order to dry fire, you need to rack the slide after each trigger squeeze. The Glock E-Trainer eliminates that action. Dry fire training is more effective because:

• You get more trigger presses in the time allotted
• You don't need to rack the slide after each trigger squeeze

What is the Purpose of Dry fire Training?

I think in order to discuss this or any other dry fire training product, we need to have some clarity on the purpose of dry fire training. Here are some considerations:

More Total Time on the Trigger: We train dry (without ammo) because if we only get firearm practice when we have the time to go to the range and the money to pay for ammunition, none of us are likely to get enough time working on the fundamentals. We rely on dry fire training to augment our live fire practice.

Training Things You Can't Do Live: We train dry because many of us don't have access to live fire ranges where we can practice critical skills such as target transitions, moving while shooting, 360 degree environments, use of cover, low-light, weapon transitions, and much more. We rely on dry fire to train these skills and activities that we otherwise can't easily practice live.

Overcoming Shooting Problems During Live Fire: We train dry because there are some shooting issues that are created from live fire. We can help recoil anticipation, for example, if we first build the fundamentals such as grip before heading out to the range.

The Glock E-Trainer Elephant In the Room

Does the E-Trainer Replicate the Real Trigger Break?

No, in fact, the trigger break using the Glock E-Trainer doesn't feel like the factory trigger break. There really isn't any trigger break. So despite a mostly strong reception of the product in the market, this is the major gripe from people who haven't used the product.

The objection we hear most from potential customers, readers, and others is that the product isn't very useful because it removes the feeling of the trigger break and reset. In fact, one “commenter” wrote this:

Since the entire purpose of dry fire is to practice the feeling of breaking and resetting the trigger, this product is completely useless.

My response to a comment like this?

Mr. Commenter, if you believe that, then you also believe that all dry fire training is useless.

If you dry fire any striker-fired gun, including a Glock, then you have to rack the slide between each trigger press. Can anyone truly suggest or believe that to remove the feeling of the trigger break eliminates any benefit of the practice session while also believing that racking the slide between each trigger press is perfectly fine and has no potential negative impact? To believe that is to believe that muscle memory matters only in the trigger finger and not in the body as a whole.

If you need to defend yourself, you aren't going to press the trigger and then rack the slide unless it's to clear a malfunction. To suggest otherwise is a contradiction.

Furthermore, focusing on the trigger break is not always necessary for live or dry fire. “Feeling the break” is one of those misunderstood shooting fundamentals, just like “shooting to reset.”

So Where Does the Glock Easy Trainer Fit?

Now, if there is a way we don't have to rack the slide each time AND have the true feeling of a trigger break, then that is a solution worth pursuing. The SIRT pistol from NLT is a great product that provides a somewhat realistic trigger break. But for those who don't want to spend or don't have the cash to spend $200+ on a training pistol, the Glock E-Trainer may be the next best solution, and ultimately anyone serious about dry fire practice is probably going to want both…

You would want both because any quality dry fire training strategy is going to incorporate a lot of unique skills and situations. Each of those is best practiced using different tools. The SIRT may allow for repeated trigger presses without racking the slide, but when it comes time to practice malfunction clearing or reloads, you want to use a real firearm with a slide that can be racked for example.

Of course, any time we use a real gun for dry fire, we should ensure it's unloaded. But what's better than unloaded, is inert. That is why the BarrelBlok is such an indispensable product.

In some of my dry fire training, I focus on operating the trigger and then manually racking the slide. In other drills, I may attach the Glock E-Trainer and work on steady trigger manipulation without disturbing my sight picture. Other times in dry fire I  use a laser cartridge with the LASR software.

A quality dry fire practice session may incorporate several tools and methods in order to be well rounded, just the same as a live fire training program is going to incorporate a variety of tools and methods. Don't get stuck only doing one thing over and over in your training sessions!

What do you think? Have you considered the Glock E-Trainer for your dry fire practice? If not, please consider placing your order here. Like everything we sell, the Glock E-Trainer comes with a 60 day no questions asked return policy.