Henry Rifle Forums

Is it safe the dry fire my new Henry? I would like to cock and dry fire to smooth up the action and trigger.

You bet. A lot of us do.

shortly after purchasing our first Henry I called Henry customer service and asked .... they told me it was fine to dry fire their center fire rifles .... I've done so over the years and all's good

That's good to know. If Henry says it so, it's so. Strange how one Mfg. will say ok, another say no. I do on rare occasions, but was never fond of the idea.

For me, the verdict is still out on this because I never thought it was a good idea to dry fire any rifle or pistol/revolver. It's just my own common sense at work. Oh I have done it, don't get me wrong but it was usually when I was checking and adjust trigger pull weight.

I don’t like dry firing but sometimes do it. It all depends on the firearm. My H001 doesn’t mind it however one dry fire broke my Uberti Cattleman. It was locked up hard and I had to send it in. They repaired it for free and told me not to do it again.

If you're worried about it, just cut a little piece of leather and slip it between the hammer and bolt. That will cushion the blow from the hammer.

JEBar wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 01, 2020 8:14 pm

shortly after purchasing our first Henry I called Henry customer service and asked .... they told me it was fine to dry fire their center fire rifles .... I've done so over the years and all's good

...and they also say to avoid pulling the trigger on an empty chamber in their rimfire rifles.

CT_Shooter wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 02, 2020 9:19 am

JEBar wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 01, 2020 8:14 pm

shortly after purchasing our first Henry I called Henry customer service and asked .... they told me it was fine to dry fire their center fire rifles .... I've done so over the years and all's good

...and they also say to avoid pulling the trigger on an empty chamber in their rimfire rifles.

This.... It’s my understanding that dry firing a Rimfire can be harmful.

I’ve heard the Ruger 10/22 is okay to dry fire. With the Henry H001 the pin doesn’t really hit the barrel. It stops just short.

My view is you shouldn’t dry fire it all the time but an occasional one is okay.

Looking down on the bolt/barrel with the firing pin pushed forward. In the cocked position. The bolt face. The firing pin fired. The firing pin in the cocked position. Henry has had two types of bolts and firing pins. The earlier ones had a round firing pin.

CT_Shooter wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 02, 2020 9:19 am

...and they also say to avoid pulling the trigger on an empty chamber in their rimfire rifles.

as noted, my inquiry was specifically about their center fire riles .... thanks for posting definite info as to dry firing their rimfires .... that does call into question their position on dry firing their pump action rimfires .. .. hopefully someone will have that info

This thing about dry firing goes all the way back to percussion BP guns (damage the nipple), and revolvers that had a firing "pin" that wasn't a floating pin at all but a protrusion on the hammer. I have an old IJ .22 wheel gun that shows severe damage on the cylinder from dry firing. Repair would cost far more than what the gun is worth, so it's just a wall hanger now.

Can I change my mind on the H001 firing pin not touching the barrel? This is after many thousands of rounds and apparently more dry fire than I thought.

I avoid dry fire if I can.