Dry Firing and revolvers, a quick question.

E

erehwesle

New member
OK , now that I've introduced myself, I need to take advantage of your knowledge

I understand that dry firing a gun is bad for the firing pin, and you should use snap caps to avoid this.

The idea, though, I understand is provide some cushion to the firing pin. I have a revolver in 45 LC. It came with a plastic 'donught' that you can place in to signify 'unloaded', which is about the thickness of the rim of a 45 LC cartridge.

My biggest problem at the moment isn't flinching, but getting sight picture, and trigger control. Can I dry fire my Taurus 45 LC revolver, with the plastic donught in place, without damaging my gun?
 
well I am a first time buyer.

Will,

I'm not sure if that is the only reason, but I did ask my dealer if I could dry fire the gun before I bought it. He did say it was ok if I left the plastic donught in, and didn't ask to put in a snap-cap.

As a first time buyer, I wanted to know where the breaking pressure on the trigger was, both for my comfort with the gun, and to know if I felt comfortable with it or not.

If tarus gives a donught for that reason, I'm supportive.

I think you might be implying that first time buyers, or Taurus buyers may not adhere to normal standards of gun safety. While I'm sure first time buyers often don't, I can't speak for Taurus buyers, and I can say that I always treat firearms with respect, and am more interested in whether the donught is sufficeient for dry firing, than an implied gun safety lecture.

I know new gun owners can't have safety emphasized enough, one of the nice things when comparing a range to an internet forum, is that people in a range can immediately see my habits, if I scan the line when loading, obviously I'm an idiot, etc... I understand that online it takes a while to create trust. I will say that Taurus first time buyers, don't exactly dry fire all over the gun shop :)
 
Ruger puts a similar disk in their DA revolvers...BUT!

the manuals warns against dryfiring with the disk in place. They say that the brightly colored disk is only there to make it apparent that the gun is not loaded.

The manual also states that dryfiring WITHOUT the disk in place is fine.
 
From what I've seen all the disk that come with Taurus revolvers are orange rubber. The Taurus revolvers in my dealer's shop are titanium snubbies and a Tracker once in a while.
 
well I knew that.

Yes I'd agree absoulutely that the doughnut is orange rubber. My question is could I use it to dry fire without damaging my gun?
 
I don't see why not. My dealer told me Taurus puts the rubber disk there for two reasons: first, to indicate the gun is not loaded and two, because people tend to wan't to dryfire the firearm when the dealer hands the person the firearm.

In the end, it won't hurt the firearm at all!

If you're still unsure then call a gundealer or a gunsmith and they'll tell if it will damage the firearm or not.
 
what I thought

Thanks, Will, I thought that was the case, that a ring of soft rubber was fine for dry firing.

I know a 45 long colt is a strange gun for a first handgun, but I really like mine. And, yes, I'm hooked. I'm thiniking of a .45 kimber 1911 for my next gun, and that might be a CCW. I'm planning on spending some time at the range and asking a hugue amount of stupid questions. In fact I''m signed up for a NRA pistol course :)
 
that a ring of soft rubber was fine for dry firing.
Click to expand...

That ring lasted about 6 dry fires on each spot before it simply tore. It's quite useless for dry firing other than showing that the gun is unloaded. I still prefer snap caps for extra firing pin safety and unloaded security.
 
I bought a new Smith and Wesson 686. I had owned a lot of Smiths, but had never taken the time to dry-fire. Before I proceeded with my new 686, I called Smith and Wesson's Tech Support. I got their number from Smith's website. A tech assured me it was fine to dry-fire my 686, and would actually smooth the trigger some. Anyway, I have not missed the point that your revolver is a Taurus, but I would encourage you to call Taurus and seek their advice. A number for them should be easily had. Now, if you decide you need snap caps, you can buy them or make your own. You can make your own using empty brass cases. Drill out the primer pocket near the size of a pencil eraser. Trim the eraser so it will fit just below flush as a primer does. Use super glue or epoxy to secure the eraser in the pocket. This method works well for firearms in odd calibers for which snap-caps are hard to find. Dry-firing will definately improve your trigger control, which will lead to smaller groups. Imagine, if you will, that there is a rod extending out of the center of your arm that extends out to the trigger. When you press the trigger, you are pushing the rod straight back into your arm. This visualization will help you press the trigger straight back. I also read one of your other posts where you talked about sight picture. The main thing to remember when shooting a pistol is to focus on the front sight. The rear sight and target should be slightly out of focus. You should have the front sight in sharp focus. You will have to keep reminding yourself of this as it is so easy to focus on the target.
Good luck and keep working at it.
 
erehwesle, you probably know this...

Judging by your posts, I get the feeling you are a manual reader! :)

I have a couple of Tauri myself, and following a discussion on the subject of dry-firing some months back, I re-downloaded the Taurus revolver manual (PDF) from their website. In that manual, they still recommend against dry-firing. S&W, I understand from that same discussion, and as eka has reported, puts no such prohibition on their revolvers. Nor, as I recall, does Ruger.
 
Dry firing will not hurt it, and the ring is just an answer to a question that doest exist, as are snap caps in most cases. The only guns I can think of that NEED snap caps are rimfires, CZ series handguns, maybe a couple others...youre not going to hurt your Taurus.
 
Dry Firing...

I Have Two Revo`s A Ruger Security Six And Colt Lawman. The Ruger Support Dry Firing While The Colt Broken The Pin In Dry Fire.

No All Revolvers Support The Dry Firing, Read The Manual First Before Firing The Gun.

Byeeee.
 
I read my Taurus manual as well for revolvers and they recommend against dry firing. I know some folks don't mind dry firing, and i never minded too much, but now that my husband and i sit and play with the firearms so often, dry firing is something we decided not to do. Murphy's law says that even though you're going to dry fire once, the firing pin is going to break that time. so, we just ordered snap caps for ALL our guns. $7-10 is cheap insurance .
 
I wouldn't see why dry-firing a handgun would hurt. Actually I would vote for removing the plastic safety disk (inserted by the manufacturer) before doing so. That disk is not put in there to cushion the firing pin. It is put in there as a visible safety device.

Some people get a little carried away sometimes with this stuff. I would say that dry-firing any handgun would be alright every once in a while. I wouldn't sit there all day and use it like a cap-gun; however, I do dry-fire sometimes to assure that I am not "flinching" when I pull the trigger. Especially on my Glock 21. Getting used to that trigger pull can be a challenge sometimes.

Just my two-cents.
 
I currently own 17 wheelguns (S&W, Taurus, EEA and Charter Arms). Every one of them was dry fired approximately 1,000 times. I haven't broke a gun yet. Over the years i've broken in dozens of wheelguns by dry firing them. It helps slick up the action.
 
Dry Firing

I have shot rifle competition (i know, not a wheelie) with an anchutz (mine was $3800). Been to national matches in georgia, and trained at the olympic training center in co. Now, everyone has their opinion about dry firing breaking firing pins. Some said its ok, some said take a spent case and use that, and some just didnt like it period. Personally I dry fired the crap outa that gun,(and it still works perfect) because it teaches you trigger control, helps get rid of a flinch, and lets you "practice" these things at home. Not to mention, lets you get used to your gun so that when you get to the range, your more familiar with its trigger, and function. In my humble opinion, the benifits outweigh the costs. But thats my thought on the matter.
 
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