Dry firing? The truth

T

Teammiller

New member
Snap caps aside..
Is there a rule of thumb on which types of,guns are ''ok'' to dry fire, like my speed six has a transfer bar supposedly ok, any thoughts?
 
Guns you should not dryfire at all.

1. Rimfires. UNLESS the manual specifically states that it is an acceptable practice.

2. Any gun whose manufacturer prohibits the practice of dryfiring for that firearm.

3. Someone else's gun. UNLESS you ask for and receive permission from the owner.

4. Any gun that has not been checked, re-checked and triple-checked to verify that it is unloaded.

I am not aware of any special prohibition on dry-firing for your Speed Six. However, you can download a manual at no cost from Sturm Ruger's website to make certain.

http://www.ruger.com/service/productHistory.html
 
It really depends on the model. Some would give you a rule of thumb of "centerfire=ok to dry fire, rimfire=not ok to dry fire." But there's exceptions, there's center fire handguns you shouldn't dry fire (for example, the manual that came with my Kel-Tec P32 specifically warns against dry-firing). The Czech CZ-52 is also apparently not dry fire safe despite being a centerfire pistol. Supposedly Ruger .22lr semi-auto pistols are ok to dry fire despite being rimfire. I generally avoid dry firing entirely, even firearms that are most definitely safe to dry fire, but if you really want to dry fire I'd see if the manual for that specific firearm says anything about it (or get snap caps).
 
Broke the firing pin on my HK USP Compact .40 dry firing, the pin snapped in half and the back part fell right out. No warning in the manual.

I HIGHLY recommend snap caps, and would very much LIMIT dry firing even on a centerfire pistol if I don't have the appropriate cap.
 
Expect a ton of posts countering what I am about to say, but one should not excessively dry-fire even Glocks. Yes, they can and have been dry-fired to death and in fact have to be dry-fired to field strip, but there have been cases of breech-face failures due to copious amounts of dry-firing, perhaps combined with a pre-existing condition of a brittle breech face in a particular example, either inherent or common to not so common due to a couple of factors. The breech face in Glocks is one of the thinnest areas in the slide and when treated with the tennifer (hardening) process can become brittle, perhaps when combined with a not so desirable molecular alignment of the steel in the area before or after the extremely hot nitriding process.

When dry-fired without a snap cap, the "shoulders" of the striker are not prevented from slamming into the back of the breech face causing a sort of harmonic shock. When fired with ammo, the breech face is slammed by the rear portion of the shell casing brass in the shape of a circle. You can actually see the outline on the visible portion of the breech face. Dry-fired enough and sometimes a fracture can develop along this outline and eventually this may lead to a catastrophic failure of the breech face, leading to the necessity of slide replacement.

I fully expect a ton of people to slam this post, but someone will be along (hopefully shortly) with links to pictures illustrating that about which I am writing. The point is that probably most can dry-fire their Glocks hundreds or thousands of times without any evident problem...but some will not be so fortunate. And perhaps, it is just a matter of time before the problem occurs to most Glocks. I don't know. What I do know is that if I plan to dry-fire my Glocks for any duration for whatever reason, I use snap caps. It's not that hard to reset the striker without ejectring the snap cap and snap caps also offer the opportunity for other sorts of drills involving ejection and chambering. So why not have them on hand? That is my rule of thumb for all pistols.
 
I'm not a big fan of dry firing any gun. Not because I'm worried about breaking anything, I was just taught from an early age to assume all guns are loaded and it isn't a habit I care to break. You won't ever catch me muzzle sweeping someone even with the mag out and slide locked back (that's good manners as well good sense).

No matter how many times I check, I'm always afraid I'll hear a bang when I dry fire :rolleyes:
 
I don't dry fire my guns except my Glock. And that's only to clean it.

But I had always heard that it's hard on the firing pin of an older Smith and Wesson, where the firing pin is mounted on the hammer. There's nothing to stop the forward momentum of the firing pin since there is no case in place to stop the forward travel. This places undue stress on the little hole in the firing pin and can break.

Some say it's true. Other say they've dry fired their Smith thousands of times with no problem.
 
I was just reading an article about the specification for the developement of the Kimber 82G rimfire.

The testing criteria demanded 5000 rounds fired and 500 dry fires. The sequence was 1000 rounds fired followed by 100 dry fires.
 
Snap caps aside..
Is there a rule of thumb on which types of,guns are ''ok'' to dry fire, like my speed six has a transfer bar supposedly ok, any thoughts?
Click to expand...

In general, current production firearms are safe to dry fire, but there are enough exceptions that it's best to check to the user's manual.

Exceptions I am aware of:

  • many .22 rimfire guns.
  • CZ-52 with cast firing pin
  • Taurus wheelguns.

These ought not to be dry fired.
 
I still haven't managed to wear out my Security Six, and I've been trying since 1980 or so....I must have a couple of hundred thousand dry fire cycles on it.
 
I was dry firing my S&W model 66 when the above described firing pin broke off. That is the only failure in over 30 years of use.
 
I dry fire practice with my CZ SP-01 and my XD almost daily. I use snap caps for peace of mind. I didn't dry fire practice until recently, and it has made some big improvements for me, so now I'm a dry fire advocate. Assuming it's safe to do in your firearm.
 
I always use snap-caps for two reasons...

1. It more closely simulates real ammo, so reloading, unloading, malfunction drills, etc, go right along with dry-fire practice. I find I'm more likely to do all of my practice if I can do it all at the same time.

2. Using snap-caps is another layer of idiot-proofing. The habit of loading the snap-caps ensures that I always check my gun before I dry fire it.
 
Taurus wheelguns? didnt know. I use snap caps but i didnt know dry could hurt it.
Click to expand...

My Taurus revolver manual (Model 451) specifically advises against dry-firing it. Not sure what their rationale is.
 
Taurus wheelguns? didnt know. I use snap caps but i didnt know dry could hurt it.
Click to expand...

The manual says not to. I had an old Model 66 that would mash firing pin springs to uselessness (eventually) if dry fired.
 
Broke the firing pin on my HK USP Compact .40 dry firing, the pin snapped in half and the back part fell right out. No warning in the manual.
Click to expand...

If there is no warning to not dry fire it won't hurt your gun. If any part breaks, it would have broken at exactly the same round count from live fire. Sometimes stuff happens.
 
Dry Firing helped me get a great deal.....

Years ago a friend of mine brought one of his friends to visit me. He had a 38 Special revolver for sale at a really good price claiming that he needed the money quickly. I looked at the pistol and felt the inside where the hammer hits the primer and felt that it had apparently been dry fired a lot. The dry firing had caused the metal to flow out. (It was not a Smith but a nice looking revolver) I bought it for a song. When they left, I loaded it and tried to pull the hammer back. The cylinder jammed and learned that the truth was he was not seeking quick cash as much as getting rid of a pistol that he thought he had ruined. I took a metal file and cleaned up the extruded metal and the pistol was fixed. Later traded it with cash for a Ruger Blackhawk 44. So to me his dry firing helped me out.

I avoid dry firing as a rule but I also have snap caps to prevent from damaging my weapon.

Lemmon
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top