Glock E-Trainer Review
To train is to better oneself when it comes to a firearm, wouldn’t you agree? Dry fire training is something that I find to be extremely beneficial when it comes to training. I constantly find myself dry fire training when I have the free time or can’t get to the range due to prior obligations. Now there are plenty of training aids when it comes to this exercise. There are lasers, dummy rounds, etc., so I figured I try my hand at something new. I decided to try myhand with the Glock E-Trainer, I’ve done some training exercises with this tool, and I have to say I am unimpressed with this training tool’s capabilities.
The Glock E-Trainer provides individuals the ability to practice their dry fire training without resetting the trigger after each pull. I can understand the concept behind this function. You can focus on your trigger control without distraction. E-Trainer explains, “this could be beneficial to shooters, so they don’t build bad muscle memory.” In a perfect world, this function would be
beneficial, but this isn’t an ideal world. Things happen, jams occur, double feeds, failure to fire, and so on. Muscle memory is crucial. By building good muscle memory working the slide while shooting, you can clear any possible obstruction and continue shooting.
–How did it feel pulling the trigger?
With the E-Trainer installed, I have to say the tension to the trigger is lowered in quality. I feel as though it turns my Glock trigger into more of something that you would find in an arcade game. The trigger feels tenser than what it usually does, and I find that to be problematic, especially if an individual trains with this and finds themselves feeling off when it comes to live-fire drills.
–What about installation?
The only thing that I find to be beneficial when it comes to the E-Trainer is installing the tool to your pistol. After clearing your firearm and locking the slide back, all the individual has to do is work the trainer up the rear to the slide. There is no need for tools, and that is even better. I would say that this proves to be somewhat beneficial, especially if you find yourself with some downtime and want to get a few repetitions in with dry firing.
–Final thoughts on the product?
I find myself training whenever I get the chance to practice. Whether I am on the range or not, there is always something that I can learn or improve on my technique. I used this trainer, incorporating it into my regiment each day for the last week, and I have found nothing but issues that could prove to be detrimental to my overall skill as a shooter. I find that by preventing potentially terrible muscle memory, this E-Trainer can bring about even worse habits that someone can pick up while shooting, especially if the individual is either brand new to shooting in general or just lacks experience. Like I said earlier in the article, I understand where the company was coming from, but it takes away from important aspects of shooting and your firearm itself. The ability to feel the reset of the trigger being one of them, not feeling the reset is something that shooters need to distinguish when they are shooting. Overall, I would say that when it comes to the Glock E-Trainer, this is something that I do not recommend to shooters of any skill level.
Author: Nicholas Torres
Rebuttal from Glock E-Trainer
Thank you Mr. Torres for writing your review. All opinions are valid and important and you brought some attention to important aspects of dry fire practice and the Glock E-Trainer product. You are not alone in that a few other people have made some of the same conclusions, and we appreciate the opportunity to address your comments.
In specifically thinking about the Glock E-Trainer the user is ultimately making a decision about what they want to focus on in a given dry fire practice session.
IF you choose to NOT use the Glock E-Trainer then you have to cycle the slide between shots. That has the potential to create a very serious negative training scar. Certainly, none of us want to be in the habit of racking the slide after every trigger press.
When performing a drill or exercise that onlyrequires one trigger press there is no potential for that training scar and frankly significantly less value to using the Glock E-Trainer. The product is really designed for exercises in which multiple trigger presses are desired.
IF you choose to use the Glock E-Trainer then you are removing the specific feel of the take-up, break, and reset. In your review, you argue that this could be a damaging training scar as the user perhaps needs to practice feeling those elements of the trigger press including the reset. It is to this point that I think we need to give some attention. We feel there are 4 important considerations to be made:
1) If you feel that it is important for the shooter to feel those stages of the trigger cycle then you can also admit that it is important for the user to practice repeated trigger presses without slide racking between each one.
If you believe in training scars then you must believe in all of them, not justthe one. Then it comes down to weighing them against each other and determining which is worse. It is our opinion that reinforcing the need to rack the slide after each trigger press has the greater potential for a dangerous training scar. We feel that the argument that cycling the slide every time between shots somehow helps train you to clear malfunctions doesn’t hold water.
2) There is no way to perfectly mimic live fire in dry fire practice. Thus each of us attempts to use a number of tools and techniques to practice various aspects of shooting in order to create well-rounded shooting skills in our dry fire practice.
Thus we encourage our customers to make the Glock E-Trainer one tool in their dry fire tool belt. Use it with exercises and drills where it makes sense.
3) There is an argument that can be made that the value of feeling the take-up, break, and reset of the trigger is way over-emphasized by the shooting community at large. The top-performing shooters argue and teach that accuracy is primarily a function of a good grip and sight management. When shooting repeated shots, especially at speed the top shooters effectively “slap” the trigger. The point of reset becomes irrelevant. We don’t feel that argument is any less valid for a newer shooter.
4) There is an argument to be made that practicing on a smooth trigger that doesn’t have a distinct take up and break can help a shooter overcome anticipation deficiencies. Shooters often flinch at the point of breaking the shot. Teaching the body to operate the trigger in a single motion, specifically when shooting at speed, can help decrease those deficiencies.
Thank you for your perspective and for giving the Glock E-Trainer a fair trial!
Sincerely,
Glock E-Trainer Team
