Dry firing auto pistols

T

TreeWeasel

Inactive
Will dry firing an autopistol damage it? I've always been very careful not to do it, I'm just curious. Also if you want to dryfire to get accustomed to trigger pull etc, what's the best method? I've seen dummy shells for shotguns, do they make these for pistols too? I hope you guys subscribe to the "there are no stupid questions" school of thought because lately I've been asking more questions than that annoying neighbor kid down the street.
 
Aslong as it a center fire, you should have no problems. Alway use snap caps or dummy l;oads. I'm told this is overly cautious, but I do it.
Dry firing is excellent practice. Put a dime on the end of the slide. Practice controlled trigger pul until you can do it without the dime falling off. At the range, have someone load your gun for you with the snap caps. This will help you identify other trigger pull or other problems.
 
Yes, they make dummy shells for pistols. They are called 'snap caps'. You can get them at any gun shop. Always use them for dry fire practice!! :) Some pistols can be dry fired on an empty chamber, others can't. Don't risk a broken fireing pin finding out. :(


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Just as there is no such thing as too much fun,
there is no such thing as owning just one gun!!!
 
It's not a stupid question. I should have asked that also when I bought my CZ 75B. I dry fire my Colt Gold Cup with no problem and I thought I can do the same to my new CZ. We'll, the firing pin broke Anyway I manage to have the dealer install a new firing pin at no cost,,,that's good customer/dealer relationship.

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jj0287
 
...right, like the manual that came with my Beretta says specifically not to, but I have heard others say it was ok for their guns

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"...you're thinkin was that 5 shots or was it 6? Well, you've gotta ask yourself one question: Do you feel lucky??? ...Well, do ya PUNK!?!?
 
I fold a cleaning patch and put it between the hammer and the firing pin. It gives some cushion and avoids the metal to metal contact. I dry fire my Ruger P series almost every night, no problems yet.

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Good shootin to ya
Plateshooter
 
No modern gun, center fire or rimfire should be damaged by dry firing. The exception would be a countersunk rimfire revolver so badly out of time that the firing pin would hit the end of the cylinder.

Snap caps in common calibers are available at many gun stores, or you can make your own with nylon plastic; decap an empty cartridge and cut a piece of plastic to fit the primer pocket.

Jim
 
I always thought it was ok with modern centerfire guns, but it is bad for rimfire guns. I would think the firing pin on a rimfire would strike the chamber, causing deformation of the edge of the chamber or damage to the firing pin because of the steel to steel contact. Please correct me if I am wrong.

[This message has been edited by lowrider (edited December 13, 1999).]
 
you can get "snap caps" for a .22 lr pistol/rifle its just h ard piece of red plastic i hace to "dryfire" my .22 browning buckmark after i drop the slide after the last round. no decock on it.
 
The only dumb one is the one you don't ask sir. Everybody here started at square one at some time or another, and I think you'll find everyone here happy to help. Part of the 'mission statement' for the Firing Line is promoting safe firearms ownership. 'Nuff said.

As for dry firing, as many have pointed out, some makers endorse it, some don't. For starters, read your owner's manual or call the maker's customer support line and ask. Personally, I think snapcaps are cheap insurance, so I use them with everything I own, no busted firing pins yet. At the minimum, I'd use a spent cartridge case. M2
 
Dummy rounds work, but I like snap caps better. What I really like is the red color of the snap caps (orange for dummy rounds). They are easilty identifiable in speed loaders or magazine or when doing a press check. Having these when you are performing dry practice drills provides closer similarity to loaded magazines and speed loaders for reload practice and malfunction drills and add a little more safety as to easilty and quickly identifying there is nothing live (ammo) in your gun.

Best Regards....
"Train as You Live and Live as You Train"
 
1. Any quality automatic pistol will not be harmed.

2. Don't try it with a K!mmmer or 3erett@!

HTH :)

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Be mentally deliberate but muscularly fast. Aim for just above the belt buckle Wyatt Earp
45 ACP: Give 'em a new navel! BigG
"It is error alone that needs government support; truth can stand by itself." Tom Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1785
 
One centerfire pistol you should NOT dry fire is the Beretta Tomcat. The manual specifically counsels against it, and the firing pin will self-destruct in short order if you do.

(Even using Snap Caps is no guarantee that you'll not cause the firing pin to disintegrate: the pin hits the "primer" so hard that it quickly craters the primer and makes it ineffective -- even in the expensive spring-loaded snap caps.)
 
Question- If I just inserted a spent shell would it do the same thing as a snap cap? Also would you have to take the primer out or would a used primer harm anything? As long as there is something in the chamber would there be a problem?

Thanks
189...
 
Not all centefire autos can be dried fired without problems. On glocktalk.com I read a post by s fellow who said he broke the firing pin twice on his USP due to dry firing. According to him H&K specifically warns against this practice. As for the CZ, I called up CZUSA and was told to use snap caps. I don't know if CA was juts covering its back or if the pistols do in fact get damaged when dry fired.

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So many pistols, so little money.
 
I said "properly designed" pistols will not be harmed. If design or manufacture is so poor that a firing pin will "disolve", the maker should be ashamed of himself.

Those makers who advise against dry firing are probably covering their tails, but the warning itself would cause me concern. If the maker tells me that the firing pin breaks in dry fire, how do I know it won't break in live fire?

Jim
 
I've never heard of H&K warning against dry firing. I'll dig out my manual and double check. I've dry fired thousands of times with a USP and never had a problem. I usually use snap caps, but not always.
 
I own a CZ75B, 9mm and the firing pin broke after regular dry firing. The manual does NOT warn against this, but the CZ75B Kadet in .22LR warns that dry firing will result in
chamber damage(says nothing about the firing pin though).
 
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