DryFire Indoor Laser Shotgun (ILS)

DryFire is designed for shooters to use their own shotgun for intensive indoor practice.

ILS is being developed for those who don't have a shotgun or who don't wish to use their real shotgun.

We need more clay shooters!

We need to increase the number of people trying clay shooting and taking up the sport.

More shooters means more sales of shotguns and cartridges, more income for shooting grounds and more shooters taking part in competitions for local, national, world and Olympic medals.

We believe the best way to promote this is Indoor Clay Targets (ICT) which provides an inexpensive way for people to enter the sport.

It seems obvious to us that the more people who shoot, the more shotguns and cartridges will be sold. The more people who feel confident with their shooting, the more people who will take part in competitions.

An opportunity, not a threat

Indoor Clay Targets (ICT) and an Indoor Laser Shotgun (ILS) provide an opportunity for the future - they are the opposite of a threat to our sport because they will increase the number of people taking up outdoor shooting.

Wanted - a forward-looking manufacturer!

Pentathlon and Biathlon are already using laser pistols and rifles - new sports, like "Laser Run", are being developed specifically to use laser guns.

There are two ways to develop an Indoor Laser Shotgun:

• A custom design with aluminium barrels, machined action, machined stock and moulded other parts. This is described below.
• A modified shotgun with minimum changes by a manufacturer so the Indoor Laser Shotgun would fall into either the deactivated or replica categories within the law.

We would prefer to collaborate with a manufacturer on the second option because such a gun would have the look-and-feel of the real thing and make it easier to transfer from indoor to outdoor shooting.

It would also provide a major marketing boost for a forward-thinking manufacturer - what would be more natural than to go from the brand used indoors to the same brand used outdoors?

Nothing beats breaking a clay or shooting outdoors and Indoor Clay Targets (ICT) provides an inexpensive way to get there - especially for young people.

Nothing beats the quality of a beautifully made shotgun - but someone has to take the lead to provide Indoor Laser Shotguns at a price affordable by clubs and individuals starting out in our sport.

Contact us

Please contact Mike Lake to discuss the opportunities offered by ILS and ICT.

ILS is not a shotgun!

• ILS is safe for use by anyone, of any age or build, and it meets all the requirements in the UK of sections 36 and 38 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 as well as subsequent regulations.
• ILS cannot fire projectiles and cannot be converted to a gun - its only task is to send a short pulse of low power infrared laser light to simulate a "shot".
• ILS feels like a real outdoor shotgun - it has the same weight (adjustable) and the same point of balance. The trigger mechanism is designed to give the same "feel" as on a real shotgun.

How design has evolved

The world has moved from this (a LH BSA Martini International Mk V .22LR - super accurate in the prone position):

to this (a System Gemini three position small bore rifle: prone, kneeling, standing):

Some manufacturers of high-end competition clay shotguns are moving towards fully adjustable stocks.

ILS design

ILS is designed for indoor use by anyone of any age, build or ability.

ILS is ambidextrous and fully adjustable so everyone can have the perfect gun fit.

These sketches show the building blocks that make up the system.

From left to right:

• Shoulder pad (butt plate).
• Aluminium frame to hold shoulder pad, comb and pistol grip.
• Ambidextrous comb.
• Ambidextrous pistol grip.
• Action: machined from aluminium.
• Forend.
• Upper and lower barrels: aluminium extrusion.

  The lower barrel is threaded at each end for stackable steel weights to adjust overall weight and balance.

Adjustments available

The sketch below shows:

• how the shoulder pad can be moved on a ball & socket joint to any angle
• how the shoulder pad can be moved from side-to-side and up/down,
• how the comb can be adjusted up/down, forward/backwards and side-to-side.
• how the trigger mechanism operates a switch to "fire" a pulse of laser light through the top barrel,
• how the stock frame fits through the pistol grip and into the action.

UK regulations require at least 51% of the surface area of a replica firearm to be one of the following colours: bright red, bright orange, bright yellow, bright green, bright pink, bright purple or bright blue.

Background notes

Shotguns may have a single barrel or two barrels which may be "side by side" or "over and under".

Single barrel shotguns may fire one shot before reloading or they may be "semi-automatic" - they automatically load a second cartridge when the first has been used.

Double barrel shotguns fire the first barrel when the trigger is pressed and the second barrel when it is pressed again. The order in which the barrels are fired (top then bottom or bottom then top) is selectable.

Shotguns come in different "calibres" relating to the diameters of the cartridges and barrels.

The Indoor Laser Shotgun (ILS) will be modelled on an over-and-under 12 bore - in the USA this is referred to as a "12ga" - short for "12 gauge". The diagram below shows the parts of such a shotgun.

The external dimensions of ILS barrels are easy to model and can be made as an aluminium extrusion. The barrels will have an OD of 21.5mm and an ID of 16.5mm.

The forend is also straightforward and can be injection moulded or routed from wood.

The action contains the trigger mechanism and electronics. The ILS does not require an external DryFire Universal Gun Assembly because all the parts are inside the action which will be machined from aluminium.

A key feature of a shotgun is its stock - this is the part that enables a shotgun to be configured for different users. Some people have longer arms than others and getting the correct "length of pull", the distance from the shoulder pad to the trigger blade, is a very important part of "gun fit".

"Length of pull" may vary between 330mm (13") and 405mm (16") - an adjustment range of 75/80mm at the shoulder pad.

The stock angles downwards from the back of the action to bring the shooter's eye level with the rib on top of the barrel. The amount of "drop" is defined by distances down from a horizontal line running along the top of the rib. Drop is measured at the front of the comb (usually about 35mm down) in the middle of the comb and at the heel - the top of the shoulder pad (usually about 54mm down).

The shooter's trigger hand wraps round the "grip" so the pad of the index finger falls neatly onto the trigger blade. Grips may be "handied" for left or right handed use or they may be ambidextrous.

The ILS requires an ambidextrous grip - either injection moulded or CNC milled from wood. The grip will fit round the aluminum stock that fits to the action and is only long enough for the shooter to have a comfortable grip.

The top of the stock, the "comb", fits neatly into the shooter's cheek (the cheek bone is specifically designed for this purpose!) and its height may be adjusted up/down to bring the shooter's eye level with the barrel rib. The ILS comb will be ambidextrous and either injection moulded or CNC milled from wood.

When looking down on a shotgun the stock is not be aligned with the barrel - it will be offset or "cast" to the right or left so the shooter's eye sits central to the barrel without having to roll the head over. If the junction of the stock and action is symmetrical vertically, cast can be adjusted with a simple angled aluminium or steel shim which can be rotated to give left or right cast.

The butt is not square-on to the rest of the stock, it is pitched at an angle between 5 and 6 degrees. The shoulder pad is often a separate part attached to the butt in such a way that it can be raised up or down and rotated slightly left/right and clockwise/anticlockwise to give the best fit for the shooter.

Comments and suggestions

We are actively working on the design of ILS.

We don't have a monopoly on ideas and we welcome positive and creative suggestions from anyone. Please contact us at the email: