Dry Firing

G

gsl

New member
I hope I don't start a war with this one, but.....

What is the rule of thumb on dry firing? I am looking at a SIG P226 and would like to be able to practice to help become consistent with aim and trigger pull. Some say don't, some say it is ok.

Is this like whether you should change the oil in your car at 3000 or 5000 miles???
 
I can't speak for the Sig 226, but most centerfire handguns don't suffer from dry-firing. A notable exception would be the CZ-52, but I've dry-fired my 1911's and Glocks thousands of times without harm.
 
You can dry fire your p226 approximatley a kagillion billion times with no harm whatsoever. Don't do it more than that though.
Dave
 
titanium

is it true that some of the guns now are being made with titanium firing pins like the glocks? so it doesnt hurt them to be dry fired a trillion times..
 
get some snap caps!

I had the same question when I got my 92fs so rather than taking a chance I purchased some snap caps for $5 and dry fire with a smile a couple hundred times a week! I enjoy the peace of mind knowing that I am not doing any harm and improving my trigger pull and familiarity with the weapon. Best of both worlds! ;)

@ndy
 
I've been dry firing my USP 45 without snap caps. Probably over a 1000 times so far and no problems. But I keep eyeing a pack of A-Zooms at the range. I bought a combat handgun that should be able to take the load, but just like having sex in a back alley bar in Naples, Italy a little protection wouldn't hurt.
 
Naples, Italy

Flat top, I spent some time in Naples in the good old days. I wish I would have bought half the classic pistols I was offered in bars or on the street. Mint Berettas could be had for cigarettes. I'm off the point. I have done a lot of dry firing and seldom use snap caps. Never had a broken firing pin. Maybe I'm just lucky.
 
If you dry-fire without snap caps, you are prolly safe. If you fire WITH snap caps, you are definitely safe. Your choice.
 
Snap caps seem pretty expensive. How long do they last? How do they work if the "system" of an auto is that the blast of the shell blows back the slide, ejects the spent casing and loads another? Do you just use one over and over, simply re-cocking?
 
Seems like it depends on the gun

When I bought my Beretta Tomcat 3032, the dealer said do not dry fire it with an empty chamber.

Then I bought the Ruger 22/45 from the same dealer, they said under no circumstances should this weapon ever be dry fired.

I've been dry firing my Beretta 92FS with empty chamber for 13 years that I've had it with no problem so far.

My Kimber Ultra CDP is new only have had it 6 months, don't know what dry firing will do to it, only time will tell, but I was told that it won't be a problem.
 
Las Vegan Cajun,

"Then I bought the Ruger 22/45 from the same dealer, they said under no circumstances should this weapon ever be dry fired."

Your dealer doesn't know what he's talking about, of course no surprise. Any recent vintage Ruger rimfire (20 years of so) has a block to prevent the firing pin from peening the chamber face, they are prefectly safe to dryfire all you would like. I don't know when the stop was designed in, but it's in all the MK-II pistols, and the 22/45's.
 
When in doubt, use snap caps or A-Zooms.

I keep them in all non .22LR pistols. I also use them for rifle & 12ga.

At a couple of bucks each, they're not expensive compared to sending your gun in to the smith. Gun stores around here sell them in singles so you don't have to buy entire packs at a time.
 
I have found it difficult to get information on this subject that I feel 100% confident of. Step 1 is always RTFM (read the f'ing manual). The Beretta manuals for the 92 and the 96 specifically say not to dry fire without snap caps. I have never heard anyone say that a SIG can't be dry fired, but I have never seen it officially from SIG. Nothing in the Kimber manuals either.

In wheel guns, I have a Taurus .41 Mag that says not to dry fire, and I have a Ruger Single Six that says do it.

When in doubt, I use snap caps. I've got about $20 invested in snap caps to protect the $3000 I've got invested in hand guns. The one thing I have never heard anyone say is that snap caps can harm a gun.
 
The firing pin slides in a channel. The end of the channel is closed, except the opening where a bit of the pin protrudes to hit the primer. The concern is that the firing pin will break because it is slamming violently against the end of the firing pin channel. There is no primer to cushion its stop.

I dunno how long snap-caps last. I have a set that have been used maybe 100 times or so. They are developing a pit in the "primer" that is almost as deep as a fired primer, so I guess I'm going to have to replace them.

For my .22 revolver, I just keep a spent cartridge in the chambers to serve the same function as a snap-cap.
 
I use A-Zooms primarily. These use some sort of rubber/silicone for the percussion cap area and don't seem to wear down like the brass snap caps. Must've dry-fired some of my pistols hundreds/thousand(s) of times with them. Only problem with A-Zooms is that the aluminum rim is soft and gets chewed-up pretty badly by ejectors on my semis during FTF drills. The brass-rimmed snap caps do better in this regard.
 
One thing that most folks forget, is that firing pins are cheap for most modern guns. By the time you buy snap-caps every few hundred dry-fires, you could just have a spare firing pin around. The only caution here is for a carry gun, since it might be awkward to stop the fight to change firing pins. :D
 
A while back I bought some cylindrical nylon, like the stuff on printout post binders. It comes in several sizes. I scraped some down to primer sizes (large and small). When I want snap caps, I just cut off a piece and put it in the primer pocket of an empty case. When it gets marked, I replace it. I have enough to last about a hundred years, and I think it cost a dollar or two.

Jim
 
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