Anyone Use ITarget Pro For Home Dryfiring Practice?

[MrNeutron]

Would anyone here have any experience with the ITarget Pro home dryfiring setup (a laser shooting setup that can record your hits and scores them)?

If so, does it seem to be durable, fairly easy to live and deal with, and etc.? Any negatives??

Got to thinking how, at a $99 price point, it could be cheaper than 3 boxes of .380 ammo might be for my Ruger LCP Max, depending......

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[MrNeutron]

Well, okay then.........

I *think* that I've found a slightly cheaper alternative to the ITarget and other systems.........

Realistically, all I personally really want (and can afford) is just practice getting one shot outta the holster, and to possibly have that timed and scored. With most of the laser type target systems, you have to rack the slide of a semi auto for your follow up shots, unless you get a system with a "blue gun" or other systems, some of which also similate recoil. I won't allow myself to afford one of those systems; I'd rather invest in ammo for practice, or primers (maybe) for reloading. And getting back to the "rack-the-slide-for-every-shot" deal, I'd rather not develop a habit of doing that for follow up shots.

On Amazon, I found a Pink Rhino laser training cartridge for $40. There's a free app for a cell phone called G-Sight Laser Training Pro. It uses the camera on your cell phone to view a target, and will score where your hits are on the cell screen. It does require something to hold the phone steady and fixed on the target. Some laser target "systems" include a tripod for this. My wife is a photographer, so I have a tripod I can affix my phone to, and use that. Targets are just whatever free ones you can get on the internet for the most part.

Here's a video of how one guy did this:

I may also at some point try a combo of my Pact shot timer and these:

Thoughts and advice????

Jimmie

 

[Hayharnel]

I dryfired once, but that was a long, long, time ago back in high school. I have vowed to never do that again!

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Would anyone here have any experience with the ITarget Pro home dryfiring setup (a laser shooting setup that can record your hits and scores them)?

If so, does it seem to be durable, fairly easy to live and deal with, and etc.? Any negatives??

Got to thinking how, at a $99 price point, it could be cheaper than 3 boxes of .380 ammo might be for my Ruger LCP Max, depending......

My review/research of some dry fire systems here FYI:

Mini review of inexpensive laser dry fire system

Summary: Itarget is app name of this inexpensive one I found. U use ur phone and a laser cartridge. It lets you use your own targets, measures shot times from draw to first shot, and records shot placement for a cost of about $31. Very simple and easy to set up. Makes fake bullet holes on ur...

www.northwestfirearms.com

 

[MrNeutron]

Man, thanks for that link to your review, @ilikegunspdx !

I read a few minutes of it, and will read it all a bit later. Appreciate you takin' the time to do that. I dunno why my "SEARCH" didn't turn that up. Guess I used the wrong search words, like
laser, target, & etc.. Even searched in 3 different forums.......

Meanwhile, I have already received my Pink Rhino cartridge for my .380 LCP Max, and put it in the chamber ($40). Amazon is an amazing thing, huh? I put my cell phone in a tripod (some "engineering" required for the mount; we're only set up for DSLR cameras here...... ), fired up the free G-Sight LTP app, got everything focused on my home made target, and plinked away for 15-20 minutes. Wife fired a coupla 10-shot groups and liked it.

I need to get off my lazy butt, and drag my timer up to where I was "shooting" in my living room at the fireplace mantle, so I can do some outta-the-holster draws and shots. G-Sight LTP does have a Shot Timer "add on app" for $5, but I haven't tried it yet. I'm happy with the way the G-Sight LTP app works for group shooting. Lord, I do have "issues" with the trigger pull on that Max, versus my Kimber's trigger I shot in the Steel Plate and Action Pistol matches I used to put on at DRRC years ago.........

My home-brew target is just a series of circles made from tracing the outlines of a variety of dishes, bowls, cups, and etc., onto a sheet of computer printer paper. You could use anything for a target doing it this way.

Again, Thank You ilikegunspdx!

Hope there's been no more issues of "Instant Oatmeat", @Hayharnel .

Jimmie

 

[MrNeutron]

Found this phone mount for $8 to use on the tripod. Again, I "engineered" a mount that was a bit of a pain to live with.

So far, I'm out the $40 for the cartridge, $8 for the tripod mount (on order), and I went ahead and spent $5 more for the "Shot Timer" feature/app for the G-Sight app, if that makes sense. You order the "Shot Timer" feature from within the G-Sight LTP app, from Google Play Store for Android folks with a Samsung S9 like myself.

I'm out $53 so far. I can spend more than that for two 50 rnd. boxes of ammo at the local Rapid Fire gun shop in Sandy. Not as cheap as ilikegunspdx got by, I got "sucked into" buying a higher cost laser cartridge and some convenience items (phone mount for tripod, and app cost). If I recall correctly, the complete Itarget "kit" (comes with a combination phone mount and target mount "sled" gizzie, cartridge, app download, & target) is $99 from the ITarget folks. Its more of an integrated kit system, and may have some features I'd like to have, but can live without.

The setup I have works well for group shooting, and should work alright for "draw and fire 1 shot" drills using the $5 Shot Timer feature. I did have to turn off a light in the living room due to the camera/shot app "sensing" a shot that was actually a ceiling fan light. I couldn't use it at all in my basement with my existing overhead LED shop light lighting (too bright). Could probaly beat that issue with an end table-type lamp for the basement.

I'll live with the above setup for the next week, then I'm out of commission for a month or more after getting a torn rotator cuff fixed.

Jimmie

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Found this phone mount for $8 to use on the tripod. Again, I "engineered" a mount that was a bit of a pain to live with.

So far, I'm out the $40 for the cartridge, $8 for the tripod mount (on order), and I went ahead and spent $5 more for the "Shot Timer" feature/app for the G-Sight app, if that makes sense. You order the "Shot Timer" feature from within the G-Sight LTP app, from Google Play Store for Android folks with a Samsung S9 like myself.

I'm out $53 so far. I can spend more than that for two 50 rnd. boxes of ammo at the local Rapid Fire gun shop in Sandy. Not as cheap as ilikegunspdx got by, I got "sucked into" buying a higher cost laser cartridge and some convenience items (phone mount for tripod, and app cost). If I recall correctly, the complete Itarget "kit" (comes with a combination phone mount and target mount "sled" gizzie, cartridge, app download, & target) is $99 from the ITarget folks. Its more of an integrated kit system, and may have some features I'd like to have, but can live without.

The setup I have works well for group shooting, and should work alright for "draw and fire 1 shot" drills using the $5 Shot Timer feature. I did have to turn off a light in the living room due to the camera/shot app "sensing" a shot that was actually a ceiling fan light. I couldn't use it at all in my basement with my existing overhead LED shop light lighting (too bright). Could probaly beat that issue with an end table-type lamp for the basement.

I'll live with the above setup for the next week, then I'm out of commission for a month or more after getting a torn rotator cuff fixed.

Jimmie

I think ur on the right track. Personally if I had $250 to spend let's say, I would rather spend $50 on a laser dryfire system (which allows u to practice darn near everything you need to practice from training) and then spend $200 on training, rather than spend $250 ona fancy dryfire system. Put the $ and effort into training and then have a dryfire system that lets u practice those techniques u learned.

Fe all you need is one life size or torso/head target and you can practice shooting the three spots from the draw (crotch, center mass, head). Then if u can rig a way to have the target move, you can practice shooting a moving target (which to me is VITAL). Imo that moving target is often easier to practice with inside ur home or in your yard than at the range.

Yesterday at 3 am we had a shooting 2 blocks away (not kidding). The cops counted up 27 shell casings (no bodies). I can guarantee you they were moving not sitting in one place like in an old west Mano on Mano shootout. The perps shot a lot but the shots don't count if they don't hit the moving target. The real life situation u may be involved in will likely have moving targets. Personally I like to imagine (try to get a mental picture) of an actual event and how you would respond to that. Tons of real world examples out there that help u pretend, Fe ok here is the situation I'm sitting outside at a restaurant near the entrance to the eating area and guy comes up and demands $ with a knife, then x, then y, etc the more real it is in ur imagination the easier it will be when the real thing happens.

Being cool and collected when ur body is pumping adrenaline and making u crazy with jitters and tight muscles can help u put shots on target and avoid blasting away and missing which is our default response IMO. I think of airline pilots, they can react in a cool and deliberate manner when the body is throwing them in fight or flight mode. They can do it because they have practiced it hundreds or thousands of times. So I would say training is by far the most important, laser dryfire allows u to practice what u learned as many times as you can for virtually no cost. Then at the range u can continue to practice with live ammo. Imo both dryfire and live fire are opportunities to use ur imagination to help train ur response when ur body is sent into fight/flight/freeze mode. Just some thoughts and feel free to ignore.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I think ur on the right track. Personally if I had $250 to spend let's say, I would rather spend $50 on a laser dryfire system (which allows u to practice darn near everything you need to practice from training) and then spend $200 on training, rather than spend $250 ona fancy dryfire system. Put the $ and effort into training and then have a dryfire system that lets u practice those techniques u learned.

Fe all you need is one life size or torso/head target and you can practice shooting the three spots from the draw (crotch, center mass, head). Then if u can rig a way to have the target move, you can practice shooting a moving target (which to me is VITAL). Imo that moving target is often easier to practice with inside ur home or in your yard than at the range.

Yesterday at 3 am we had a shooting 2 blocks away (not kidding). The cops counted up 27 shell casings (no bodies). I can guarantee you they were moving not sitting in one place like in an old west Mano on Mano shootout. The perps shot a lot but the shots don't count if they don't hit the moving target. The real life situation u may be involved in will likely have moving targets. Personally I like to imagine (try to get a mental picture) of an actual event and how you would respond to that. Tons of real world examples out there that help u pretend, Fe ok here is the situation I'm sitting outside at a restaurant near the entrance to the eating area and guy comes up and demands $ with a knife, then x, then y, etc the more real it is in ur imagination the easier it will be when the real thing happens.

Being cool and collected when ur body is pumping adrenaline and making u crazy with jitters and tight muscles can help u put shots on target and avoid blasting away and missing which is our default response IMO. I think of airline pilots, they can react in a cool and deliberate manner when the body is throwing them in fight or flight mode. They can do it because they have practiced it hundreds or thousands of times. So I would say training is by far the most important, laser dryfire allows u to practice what u learned as many times as you can for virtually no cost. Then at the range u can continue to practice with live ammo. Imo both dryfire and live fire are opportunities to use ur imagination to help train ur response when ur body is sent into fight/flight/freeze mode. Just some thoughts and feel free to ignore.

This is why I use a cat instead of a tripod.





not really

 

[VanceInWA]

The technology just doesn't seem up to snuff yet. Just recording where you hit with a shot, in the absence of any context or training feedback, is downright rudimentary.

Here's what I'd like to see in the future: a Peloton type of system whereby a full display of different scenarios may be presented so you can react in what feels like "real time" to a situation. After the scenario completes and your response to the situation has been processed, the system provides a deconstruction of how you reacted and compares that against the best/ideal reaction that is recommended. That's the kind of training that would be beneficial in a home setting. Could even customize your response deconstruction within the framework of different laws in different states.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

The technology just doesn't seem up to snuff yet. Just recording where you hit with a shot, in the absence of any context or training feedback, is downright rudimentary.

Here's what I'd like to see in the future: a Peloton type of system whereby a full display of different scenarios may be presented so you can react in what feels like "real time" to a situation. After the scenario completes and your response to the situation has been processed, the system provides a deconstruction of how you reacted and compares that against the best/ideal reaction that is recommended. That's the kind of training that would be beneficial in a home setting. Could even customize your response deconstruction within the framework of different laws in different states.

Agree that kind of thing would be cool. I like the analyzing your reaction piece. That would be awesome!

I have had the opportunity to record myself with ring cams (the cams recorded automatically) when people have trespassed (some innocent, some with intention of breaking in) on my property a couple times. It is helpful to watch the video for my body language, what I said and in what tone, and importantly what I did in terms of distance to intruder, presence of cover, and weapon related stuff I won't get into here. But it is so limited, we can't practice that many scenarios in real life unfortunately (which actually means fortunately cuz we never had to go through those scenarios). I will say however that I knew what to do in those rudimentary trespass scenarios because I had thought about what to do in my imagination previously -this is especially important if you have kids I think. Fe where are the safest parts of the house? if you found an intruder at point a or b or c what would u do and where would poeple go? That kind of thing.

We can also do the same using real world scenarios such as what if a guy shot a gun inside a Walmart in the ammo isle (like happened in Bellevue I think it was, maybe Wenatchee can't remember)? What if you were in the parking lot and the guy tried to carjack your car with gun (note that the car owner(s) got shot in that Bellevue case)? Or if you shot the perp where would the gun be, your hands be, etc when the cops rolled in with a report of an active shooter?

Without that though one can still practice at home via dryfire, whatever, or at the range in scenarios from ur imagination.

Imo the dry fire piece is more for competency with firearms type of things. I believe the most important piece is how do u react mentally when the flight or fight or freeze response hits your system. And for that the preparation well before the event is the key IMHO. For example:

(1) are you mentally prepared to take someone's life if you really had to, or would that ingrained sense of "don't harm others" make you hesitate?

(2) are you able to execute what you have trained to do in a smooth, deliberate, and confident manner no matter what the environment/situation?

(3) do u know the laws and your local DA/Jury culture ahead of time so that you know legal ways to respond to the threat?

(4) do u know and can use many forms of de-escalation, and/or non-deadly force if needed?

(5) do u know and ideally have practiced tactics, such as being aware of using lighting and other concealment, using cover, being ready for and not panicking in gun malfunction situations, competency in using the perps gun (whatever it is) if u had to, etc. etc

Like Clint Smith says, "the best training results in u not having to shoot at all" or something to that effect.

I think we often spend a lot of time on the competency with a firearm piece of the equation but often not enough time on the other pieces.

Re the analyzing tactics piece there is a pretty cool video I'll try to dig up and post here. Edit: found it:

I think the active self protection videos on YouTube can also be helpful in seeing real world scenarios fwiw.

 

[WillametteWill]

The technology just doesn't seem up to snuff yet. Just recording where you hit with a shot, in the absence of any context or training feedback, is downright rudimentary.

Here's what I'd like to see in the future: a Peloton type of system whereby a full display of different scenarios may be presented so you can react in what feels like "real time" to a situation. After the scenario completes and your response to the situation has been processed, the system provides a deconstruction of how you reacted and compares that against the best/ideal reaction that is recommended. That's the kind of training that would be beneficial in a home setting. Could even customize your response deconstruction within the framework of different laws in different states.

We have a Smokeless Range system. This is a system where you project targets onto a screen (wall) and shoot with laser firearms. They also have scenarios and you can even create your own video based scenarios. This company has lots of options as far as laser guns that cycle (recoil simulation) and other reactive laser targets. We just use SIRT guns and they work fine. There are different modules so you can practice many different aspects of shooting (e.g. falling plate rack that when your laser hits the plate, it falls on the screen...magic!)

It's not inexpensive and we have not yet tried the scenario module but expect to soon. Two shooters can go up against each other as well. Most of my training is just with a SIRT gun for drawing, mag changes and multiple targets.

 

[Frank RW]

consider a pellet or bb gun? dry fire for years at the price of one of those systems.

everything but the BANG! with a good replica. Here's a few I've owned that do the job nicely.

4lbs of fun right there, including the coffee.


For the six-shooter fan...


or if you're a rifle kinda guy...


... even those scary black ones!


Some fine toys... I mean TOOLS right there folks.


And everything above for the price of what it costs me in ammo last time I went to the range.

 

[patbob]

I know this thread is a little stale, but I thought I'd go ahead and add my experiences with the ITarget setup I bought. I got only the cartridge instead of the whole setup (cellphone stand, etc.) as I had most of those pieces already. As a new handgun owner, it seemed like a pretty good way to get some practice to become more confident handling my handgun. But there's pros and cons.

Once nice part of such systems, is that with a little trig, I can simulate any desired size target, at any distance, even given my limited training area. Like the OP, I found the ITarget software was pretty sensitive to light reflections off the target -- it works better with non-shiny targets and with the sensitivity adjusted down. The software has a limited zoom capability, so there's more freedom in how far away from the target one places their cellphone, and it helps when doing the trig thing. As others mentioned, the software doesn't care what your target looks like, so you can use anything. However I felt it was potentially programming in detrimental muscle memory, like having to work the slide after every shot, no recoil, etc. so it's no substitution for real practice. It is also a little spendy -- I too saw the rhino cartridges, but rhino doesn't have to pay anybody to maintain a cellphone app, so I chose to spend a little extra money to support ITarget by buying their laser cartridge because they maintain the software (which is free), without which the laser cartridge would be mostly worthless to me as a training aid.