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Dry firing?

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Mags
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Re: Dry firing?

Post by Mags » Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:30 am

I have red and orange dummy practice rounds. They look like plastic but are actually machined aluminum with a hard plastic plug for a primer. I don't think spent cartridges would work as well as the dummy rounds for protecting the inside of the bolt where the firing pin seat could impact it. The primer in the spent cartridge is dented from prior use. So the firing pin is going to move further forward than it would with a dummy practice round.
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Re: Dry firing?

Post by GFK » Mon Apr 13, 2020 7:14 am

I heard dry firing is not good also. I do not know for sure. I guess the concept is that the firing pin could work its way loose or become weak? At any rate, I typically use dummy rounds. However, I have dry fired when at a LGS. I have used two type of dummy rounds. The spent cartridge ones I like the best: https://www.amazon.com/Snaps-Winchester ... ds&sr=1-25.

The set I bought came with 5. So, I can fire more before reloading than using the A-Zoom caps in my 30-30s. I had the A-Zoom caps first. But, I became concern with the thin metal rubbing in the action. So, I went looking for a standard cartridge that was turned into a dummy round. I guess a person can make their own. But, it was simpler for me just to bought a set. Also, I think a dummy round made from a standard cartridge aids in a normal wearing of the action.
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Re: Dry firing?

Post by GunnyGene » Mon Apr 13, 2020 7:57 am

Depending on the gun, you may be able to place a small piece of cushioning material between the hammer and the back end of the bolt/firing pin. A small strip of leather for example that fits tightly, to absorb the shock of the hammer strike. I've done that with my bbsc and others, including my blackhawk, but you'll need to cock the hammer without cycling the lever, to keep it from falling off.
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Re: Dry firing?

Post by Ojaileveraction » Mon Apr 13, 2020 8:54 am

If I'm going to dry fire my rimfire I stick a spent caseb in and use that to stop the firing pin.
For my center fires I make dummy rounds with all the bullets I'm shooting and fill the primer pocket with a punched out piece of the no rebound neoprene plastic I use on my leather work table.
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Re: Dry firing?

Post by RanchRoper » Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:36 am

That seems good.
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Re: Dry firing?

Post by markiver54 » Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:55 am

Thanks for the input guys. Guess I will avoid dry firing.
I must say though, when I bought my 9mm Springfield, the salesman at Field and Stream dry fired it and I did too. He knew his guns, as he was a retired cop. He said it would not hurt it. Is that because it is striker fired?
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Re: Dry firing?

Post by Ojaileveraction » Mon Apr 13, 2020 10:38 am

Most say dry firing a center fire is safe. But there are always those individuals thattalk about incidents when it was not ok to dry fire a center fire.
I don't know.
I see snap caps as inexpensive insurance.
markiver54 wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:55 am
Thanks for the input guys. Guess I will avoid dry firing.
I must say though, when I bought my 9mm Springfield, the salesman at Field and Stream dry fired it and I did too. He knew his guns, as he was a retired cop. He said it would not hurt it. Is that because it is striker fired?
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Re: Dry firing?

Post by markiver54 » Mon Apr 13, 2020 10:45 am

Ojaileveraction wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 10:38 am

I see snap caps as inexpensive insurance.
Makes good sense Tim. Will probably pick some up.
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Re: Dry firing?

Post by RanchRoper » Mon Apr 13, 2020 11:14 am

For me I would just avoid any unnecessary wear and tear in general on the firing mechanism, internals etc. Just my opinion. When things are happening inside my rifle, something should go bang and a great big hole should appear somewhere. :)
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Re: Dry firing?

Post by North Country Gal » Mon Apr 13, 2020 11:59 am

First, the rimfires, because the blanket warning about not dry firing any rimfire has become almost gospel, handed down from one generation to the next.

Before we get to the question, let's define the parameters. Are we talking constant dry fire practice for an hour at a time or only an occasional dry fire to check trigger and gun fit? How about that lone dry fire that occurs because we've emptied the magazine or cylinder on our rimfire and didn't count our shots? Should we be counting our shots, then? In most cases, its constant dry fire practice that manufacturers are reluctant to recommend, not an occasional or empty gun dry fire.

Note that dry firing in competitive bullseye sports is considered essential practice and, yes, this includes the rimfire categories. You won't get very far in this arena without a lot of dry fire practice. This is nothing new, by the way. It's been SOP as long as people have been competing. Dry firing for other uses is basically your call. I do dry fire some rimfire guns on a regular basis, others only sparingly.

You can safely dry fire some rimfires on a regular basis, but not all. Depends very much on the gun design and whether it's executed, properly. As long as the gun is designed for the firing pin not strike the bolt face or cylinder face, you can dry fire a 22, regularly. A couple of examples:

Ruger Mark pistols have a firing pin stop that prevents firing pin contact with the breech face and Ruger says it's safe to dry fire these semi-autos, but they warn that excessive dry firing can lead to egging out the bolt pin hole in the bolt. I've dry fired Ruger Marks, extensively, though, and never had this happen.

CZ rimfires and other rimfire bolt guns are typically are precision guns and designed for the firing pin not to contact the breech face, though, now and then, you'll get an individual gun that is off. All of ours are safe in this regard.

Some manufacturers play it safe as far as recommending dry firing with their rimfires, just in case one or two get out with a firing pin that does make contact with the breech face, but, in fact, it depends on who you are talking to when you ask. The S&W Model 41 22 auto is a prime example. Since this guns widely used in competition, a lot of 41 owners dry fire with no damage to their guns. A call to S&W, though, will get you various answers on this question on this particular model.

And then there's that dry fire that occurs when we've emptied our rimfire and weren't counting our shots. Think of literally the millions of rimfires out there of every make and model, shot by millions of shooters, that get a lifetime of this kind of dry firing and more, with some guns handed down from one generation to the next with no issues, then show me an example of a manufacturer having to replace a firing pin because of it. Let's get serious, here. If this was a liability, manufacturers would have been replacing rimfire firing pins on a constant basis for over a hundred years to the point of proving extra firing pins with a new gun. Has never been an issue and will never be an issue.

When in doubt on your rimfire, do a test. Use a magic marker to cover the breech face and dry fire a few times, then check the breech face to see if the pin is making contact. If your rimfire passes the test and you're still nervous about dry firing, then don't or, if it makes you feel better, use snap caps, but snap caps on a gun with a firing pin that does not make contact with the breech face isn't something you need to use.
Last edited by North Country Gal on Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:25 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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