To Dry Fire or Not to Dry Fire...That is the question!

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  • BE Mike

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    I recently heard someone exclaim that dry firing a 1911 was a bad thing to do. Come on now! Anyone who has shot 1911 style pistols in competition probably has dry fired them much more than they've "wet fired" them. Yeah, after thousands of dry firings you may break the firing pin retainer, but it's an inexpensive and very easily replaced part. Centerfire revolvers...Dry fire the heck out of them, too! The only handguns that I know of that shouldn't be dry fired are many rimfires. I think, (but maybe someone else with more knowledge than I will chime in) that shotguns shouldn't be dry fired. Rifles, well if they are centerfire, I'm going to dry fire them.
     

    rvb

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    to improve, or not improve... is that the question??

    I couldn't begin to imagine how many times I've dryfired...
    I've broken a Beretta firing pin and several Beretta trigger return springs back when I was shooting those. Replaced several tired out 1911 firing pin springs (usually the first thing to break).

    The couple bucks in repairs were well worth it....

    -rvb
     

    Trebor657

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    I practice dry fire several times a week...I invested in snap caps for all the calibers I have .38/.357 9mm .45 .380....I figure better safe than sorry....haven't had any issues so far regarding breakage etc....
     

    dung

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    My old 22's all have hammers or a way to decock them, no dry firing those. I picked up snapcaps for my antique shotgun and need to get some for my SKS. I have read that dry firing will mess up and can cause slam fires on it. I would rather not find out if it is true.
     

    LongGun

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    I frequently dry fire all my stuff to practice, including my XDM which supposedly would cause a broken roll pin (no issues yet, knock on wood...)
     

    BE Mike

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    Since I recently posted about a firearms accident, I should state: Before dry firing, visually check to make sure that the chamber is empty and if you have a magazine disconnector, make sure that the magazine is empty before inserting it into the magazine well. Yeah, I know it is basic, but it never hurts to say it.
     

    88E30M50

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    Stock CZs that have the firing pin retained by a roll pin should be dry fired with a snap cap or an O ring under the back of the firing pin. Without one of those, the firing pin will eventually deform the roll pin which could cause a malfunction. It can happen in a relatively short amount of time on a new gun. CGW has a stronger roll pin available that reduces the chances of that happening. Pre-B CZs have no issue, nor does the striker fired CZs.
     

    MindfulMan

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    Stock CZs that have the firing pin retained by a roll pin should be dry fired with a snap cap or an O ring under the back of the firing pin. Without one of those, the firing pin will eventually deform the roll pin which could cause a malfunction. It can happen in a relatively short amount of time on a new gun. CGW has a stronger roll pin available that reduces the chances of that happening. Pre-B CZs have no issue, nor does the striker fired CZs.

    Thanks for the info ! :yesway:
     

    JAL

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    Whether dry firing will damage a weapon or not is very weapon make and model dependent. Some pistols, like the Beretta 92FS/M9, should not be, per its instruction manual. That's the first place to look for whether or not a specific make and model of pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun or howitzer can be dry fired without damage (RTFM, what a concept!).

    The standard 1911, series 70 and 80, can be dry fired. It's the last step in clearing one, AFTER ensuring the mag is dropped out, and then ensuring the chamber is clear, by racking the slide several time and visually inspecting it. When doing so, it should ALWAYS be aimed in a safe direction. In the military, the MPs had a sand bucket outside the MP HQ for this. On the range, it's aimed downrange provided the range is clear. The safest direction in my home is toward the floor (your home or apartment may be different) and well away from my leg and foot. An exterior wall cannot be considered a safe direction. Anyone who was in the military and handled a 1911 as an assigned weapon for any length of time will know that the manual of arms for recovering from inspection arms dry fires the 1911. Military personnel in all the uniformed services did this for decades with them. Since you've read this here, it must be true because it's on the Internet. Now RTFM for your specific make and model 1911 and confirm or deny its veracity.

    The one thing I won't do with my 1911 is drop the slide full force on an empty chamber, nor do I use the slide stop to release the slide, even though the military did this routinely as part of the manual of arms. Exception: in a firefight I usually do it during a reload, especially a quick one.

    John
     

    BE Mike

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    Whether dry firing will damage a weapon or not is very weapon make and model dependent. Some pistols, like the Beretta 92FS/M9, should not be, per its instruction manual. That's the first place to look for whether or not a specific make and model of pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun or howitzer can be dry fired without damage (RTFM, what a concept!).

    The standard 1911, series 70 and 80, can be dry fired. It's the last step in clearing one, AFTER ensuring the mag is dropped out, and then ensuring the chamber is clear, by racking the slide several time and visually inspecting it. When doing so, it should ALWAYS be aimed in a safe direction. In the military, the MPs had a sand bucket outside the MP HQ for this. On the range, it's aimed downrange provided the range is clear. The safest direction in my home is toward the floor (your home or apartment may be different) and well away from my leg and foot. An exterior wall cannot be considered a safe direction. Anyone who was in the military and handled a 1911 as an assigned weapon for any length of time will know that the manual of arms for recovering from inspection arms dry fires the 1911. Military personnel in all the uniformed services did this for decades with them. Since you've read this here, it must be true because it's on the Internet. Now RTFM for your specific make and model 1911 and confirm or deny its veracity.

    The one thing I won't do with my 1911 is drop the slide full force on an empty chamber, nor do I use the slide stop to release the slide, even though the military did this routinely as part of the manual of arms. Exception: in a firefight I usually do it during a reload, especially a quick one.

    John
    The owner manuals also say no reloads. I guess those tens of thousands of rounds that I've loaded and shot should have ruined all of the guns I've ever owned. I've owned two Beretta 92FS. One was a custom gun built by Tony Kidd, formerly of the USAMU. I dry fired and continue to dry fire them. No damage. I will agree that one should avoid dropping a slide on an empty chamber of a 1911. Of course military manuals and manual of arms are developed for the lowest common denominator.
     

    Thor

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    I use snap caps and don't worry about it.

    Any damage being done probably won't be evident until the part fails (unless you magnaflux them after cleaning :)). It may not fail, or it may either way I prefer to do what I can to take care of the things I own and may trust my life to; so I don't dry fire on an empty chamber of anything. YMMV.
     

    rvb

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    I've owned two Beretta 92FS. One was a custom gun built by Tony Kidd, formerly of the USAMU. I dry fired and continue to dry fire them. No damage.

    Yea, I have Berettas that reach into 7 figure territory on the number of times dryfired. Like I said above, a couple of broken trigger return springs and one firing pin very near the end of the gun with the most abuse (barrel lugs cracked, which cracked chamber and slide rails, after 120k+ rounds).

    I will agree that one should avoid dropping a slide on an empty chamber of a 1911.

    agreed, but it's not the end-all, especially on a production (eg not custom) 1911. I worry more about the slide lock on glocks breaking (seen it)...

    It may not fail, or it may either way I prefer to do what I can to take care of the things I own and may trust my life to

    I somewhat agree with this. I do treat carry guns a little better than range/competition/practice guns. Because dryfire could lead to a broken part I don't dryfire my carry guns as much. But not every gun is a thing I may trust my life to... I'm much more likely to trust a match score to them...

    It's also why I like to have a practice version of my carry gun, or at least very something similar (eg carry G19, compete with G34).

    But a lot of that risk from the abuse of dryfire can be mitigated if you change out certain parts on a maintenance schedule (eg trigger return springs on all guns, firing pin/striker springs, firing pins/strikers). Pretty cheap maintenance... not much more cost than snap caps...

    -rvb
     
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