What's the Big Deal About Dry-Firing?

[dan lenson]

Why is it bad for some guns?

Does using spent cartridges address the problem?

What are 'snap caps' for, exactly?

Smile, tomorrow's Friday.

 

[paddling_man]

Without the resistance of the firing pin contacting the primer, the pin can slam forward until the retained portion of the pin violently stops. Maybe nothing happens. Maybe the pin breaks. Maybe the pin jams forward and is stuck.


I had a Browning HP clone that seized the pin forward when dry fired. I saw a pistol, many years ago, end up with a broken firing pin.

Snap caps are to mimic that resistance of a primed cartridge.

A spent cartridge? Better than nothing but maybe still too much slop. It depends on the gun.

 

[steif]

dry firing

it's bad for most guns.
If it's a rimfire, you run the risk of peening the chamber where the firing pin strikes and making extraction hard or impossible.
center fires there is a danger of the firing pin breaking, some are worse than others. I have a CZ52 in 7.62x25 and broken pins are a bad problem, some from dry firing but the factory pins I have heard are very brittle.
I have also heard the cheap guns.. davis, bryco, raven, etc.. you can't dry fire due to risk of pins breaking.
I was told that a spent case does no good because all of the cushioning effect is gone with the original primer strike.
Snap caps are sold to cushion the firing pin striking to the front of the channel. some guys use them for dry firing trigger practice.

 

[parson]

You can also make "snap caps" by replacing primer with a small eraser, or using some of the liquid rubber stuff to fill primer pocket and trimming it down after it dries.

 

[dan lenson]

Thx much, INGO!

So much great advice here.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

it's bad for most guns. ...

Going to have to disagree with this...

In most all "modern" handguns, it's A-OK to dryfire to your heart's content. Especially if they've been made in the last 10-15 years.

The best thing to do, though, is to read your owner's manual to determine the manufacturer's stance.

There are always exceptions, though... a tuned up single-action might not be wise... Any revolver with the firing pin on the hammer...not a good idea at all...

The one big caveat is that, by far, rimfire firearms of any type, are where it's most likely to cause problems.

-J-

 

[steif]

dry firing

That's true about the new stuff being ok... I was just thinking about what I owned, I don't think I have anything made after 1960...lol..

 

[sporter]

Not a big fan of dry firing more than needed. I don't care how new or old the gun is.

 

[HighStrung]

I'm not sure if I read it on here or another of my frequented forums, but simply putting an earplug between the hammer (if equiped) and the firing pin. Just wedge it in where the hammer rests when it's not cocked and you're good to go, dry fire away. For those with striker fired, I havn't done research on guns that I don't own, but it's fine for my M&P.

 

[JusAdSumBellum]

You can also make "snap caps" by replacing primer with a small eraser, or using some of the liquid rubber stuff to fill primer pocket and trimming it down after it dries.

or spend $2 on a snap cap.

 

[parson]

True, they don't cost that much. But as my wife knows, I'm cheap! And, most of my handguns are revolvers, needing multiple snap caps.

 

[dan lenson]

The best thing to do, though, is to read your owner's manual to determine the manufacturer's stance.

Yeh, TCP manual mentions it's bad.

Was hopin' they were bein' campy about it.

I'm not sure if I read it on here or another of my frequented forums, but simply putting an earplug between the hammer (if equiped) and the firing pin. Just wedge it in where the hammer rests when it's not cocked and you're good to go, dry fire away.

That's an excellent tip! Awesome.

 

[Libertarian01]

To All,

I'll start by saying that I am not a gunsmith or anywhere near an expert, but the following is my opinion.

From what I understand this is "old wisdom" that has been unnecessarily carried into the modern age.

My grandparents would always tell me, "Don't talk on the telephone during a lightning storm." This made sense when telephone lines were made of metal that would actually conduct electricity. Today, this "wisdom" is mostly obsolete with the use of fiber optic phone lines.

Save for rimfires, I don't believe any damage is caused by dry firing a weapon. Of course, this doesn't mean "fire away 10,000 times per hour", but rather the casual dry firing of a modern weapon is going to cause no more damage than cycling the bolt or simply pulling the trigger.

I believe that perhaps in the 19th century the metal and manufacturing techniques were both significantly inferior to what we have in the 20th and now 21st centuries.

I don't see the problem w/ dry firing a weapon, except for rimfires. As I understand it there can be a problem with dry firing a rimfire as the firing pin can damage the edge of the chamber. I also concede that perhaps a few center fire weapons may have a specific design that may cause damage by dry firing, but I believe that the vast majority of modern weapons will suffer no ill effects.

I know there are many, many gun owners who had it drilled into them from the dawn of time to "NEVER dry fire a weapon", so where I stand goes against the grain. However, unless someone has solid evidence about the negative effects of dry firing a weapon, I won't worry about it.

Regards,

Doug

 

[remymartin]

I vouch for Libertarian, good dude.... And I agree.