Is it OK to dry fire no-transfer bar SA revolver

Generally, it's ok to dry fire centerfire SA guns. Snap caps won't hurt, so I would suggest to be safe that you use the snap caps.

I'm not a gunsmith and I don't play one on TV. :D
 
It's safe, but IMHO it's not a good idea to make a practice of it. The firing pin is typically held in the hammer by a very small locking pin. Too much dry firing can shear that pin. Snap caps are never a bad idea.
 
Dry-firing a Colt-style SA repeatedly frequently results in an oversized hole in the recoil plate where the firing pin passes through.
On a Colt, or a good copy that also uses the plate, that plate can be replaced. Not a home repair job, though.

On a cheaper copy without the plate, once you enlarge that hole through the frame too much, the frame's junk & you don't repair it.

Best to always use snap caps in conventional Colt-patterned single-actions if dry-firing.
Denis
 
I often note that many commercial snap caps are nearly worthless in reducing the hammer or firing pin impact. And that does include such home made devices as using pencil erasers in primer pockets of fired cases.

I see nothing wrong with using GOOD snap caps even in guns that won't be usually be damaged by dry firing, like the SAA. But in too many cases, snap caps are merely a "feel good" gadget rather than real protection from gun damage.

Just a note FWIW. Dry firing a revolver with a transfer bar is not a good idea. Unlike the hammer block (as used in the old Colt DA's and modern S&W's) the transfer bar is struck every time the hammer falls, so extensive dry firing can damage it. The hammer blocks, on the other hand, are never hit by the hammer unless something is already very seriously wrong with the revolver.

Jim
 
Seems like I remember something about dry firing being more of a problem for rim-fire firearms. That said I make a point not to do it when it can be helped.
 
In the old days, it was common for a firing pin in a rimfire firearm to strike the edge of the chamber if there was no cartridge or snap cap. That soon battered the edge of the chamber and the result was that cartridges would no longer chamber. With a few exceptions, modern .22's (for practical purposes the only rimfires still being used) are made with a positive firing pin stop that will prevent that from happening.

Still snap caps in .22's are not a bad idea, and if you dryfire a .22 without them, check the gun every so often to make sure the firing pin is not hitting the breech face.

Jim
 
I have found Azoom snap caps to be the best as they are machined aluminum thus holding up over a longer period of time. All snap caps will wear out if struck by the FP too often! I do not know of anyone making a snap cap for .22 rimfire, they are normally sold as action testing or cycling only, there is no spring loaded or soft surface for the FP to strike.
 
If the gun has a rigid firing pin, try not to dry fire it. If it's a rimfire try not to dry fire it

Thats my story, and I'm sticking to it.
 
.22 snap caps are just pieces of plastic; they have no springs. The plastic itself cushions the firing pin and protects the chamber edge. If they are rotated when loaded they will usually last a good while.

Jim
 
I have at least 100,000 cycles of dry firing, and probably 30,000 of live fire on my Ruger Security Six. No issues at all to report. Don't own a snap cap, either.

Ruger used to have an Old Model (so no transfer bar) Single Six in a plastic display case they'd take to large gun shows. The box had a mechanism that cocked and dry fired the Single Six every second for the three days the show was open. And they took that display with them to shows for years.

The point of that display was to show that Ruger's rimfires were perfectly safe to dry fire, and that you'd probably wear out before the gun did.

While I'd probably treat a small-framed first generation Blackhawk carefully- I wouldn't baby it.
 
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