Is there a reason for saying no?

H

Hank15

New member
What are your reasons for not dry firing a gun?

My friends and I have been debating this for a while now, and I told them "you know what, it's fine to dry fire YOUR gun, but don't dry fire MY gun."

But for some reason, they still insist on making me dry fire my guns or in some occasions, they try to dry fire my gun. I think it's because some employee at Turner's (think it was a kid who was barely 18) was dry firing a kimber and told my friends it's okay to do so.

However, the people who told me not to dry fire are competition shooters with $3000 1911s.

To be frank, I think the old geezers with $3000 1911s know more than a kid working at Turner's.

But I really have to ask some of the experienced shooters here:

Is there any reason not to dry fire your gun?

Or is it just one of those practices we do but don't really question?
 
If I can't find a document that tells me that a firearm is designed to be dry fired, then I don't dry fire it. if I look, for example at my 1911, I can push the firing pin in flush with my finger, but it doesn't protrude into the chamber. This gives me pause on dry firing, and makes me want somnthing besides hearsay to tell me it's OK

In other words, if the gun was deisgned for it, then OK fine
 
Most competitive shooters dry fire their guns all the time. That is part of their practice regiment. The only reason not to, is if the manufacture says not to.

(Turners) is a outdoor sporting goods store is Southern California for most who don't know!
 
Old revolvers with fixed firing pins should not be dry fired as it can break the pin off of the hammer. My gunsmith told me that a gun with a floating firing pin (mounted in a spring) can be dry fired with out worry.

You have to dry fire a Glock to take it apart.

The IMI Baby Eagle manual recommends dry firing to get used to the trigger pull.

The Beretta 92 FS manual said not to dry fire the gun.

I gave my Redhawk .44 mag a DIY trigger job by dry firing it a few thousand times.

I think it depends on the gun. Some manufacturers say not to do it, some say it is ok... Some of my guns I'll let you dry fire till you are blue in the face. Some of my guns I will punch you in the throat for dry firing one time. Each one is a rule unto it's self.
 
Chris; I believe in the contrary. If a gun doesn't specifically say to NOT dry fire it, then I dry fire them. There are very few guns that can't be safely dry fired. There isn't anything wrong with dry firing the vast majority of guns. The firing pin is spring loaded. The hammer, or sear in striker fired, can only exert so much force. It's not like the firing pin is going to extend too far and go into the chamber. There are a few guns, like some 22's, the CZ-52, and a couple others where dry firing can be an issue. But the vast majority of centerfire guns have absolutely no problem. And the "Old Timers" who say NOT to dry fire, are usually the same people, or told by older people who were around when motor oil was single grade and in fact DID require your cars to have an oil change every 3,000 miles. Today, a large percentage of people still get oil changes at 3,000 miles because they are ignorant. Their dad, grandfather, etc... told them they had to. Even when you show them the owner's manual that says 5000 miles, or some say 7500 miles. They still won't believe you. And of course their "IGNORANT" response is: "It's better to be safe than sorry". Same with dry firing. "It's better to be safe than sorry". Sorry, but I despise such attitude. Ignorance is fine. It means you don't know. But when someone PROVES and shows you proof that it's ok to do oil changes at 5000 miles, or that the manufacturer tells you directly in an email that it's ok to dry fire the weapon; and these people still don't because of OLD non-related reasons, then that isn't ignorance. That's simply stupid. But the declaration gives us the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And unfortunately, that includes a person's right to be stupid.

When in doubt for a firearm; read the manual. If the manual doesn't say not to dry fire, and you still don't trust it, then email the manufacturer of the weapon and ask them. Then you'll know first hand. If you DON'T WANT to know, and prefer to be ignorant and simply not dry fire it; then that's your choice. If you want to know the truth, and the manufacturer tells you, and you STILL don't want to dry fire; that too is your choice. But ignorance is no longer an excuse.
 
depends on the gun and its features

rimfire, i wouldnt, esp old rimfires

for newer guns and centerfire guns, theres no harm

target and competitive shooters dry fire their guns 1,000s if not 10,000s times to work on grip and trigger pull

me however, i use snap caps every time i dry fire

except to take my glock apart....
 
Get a small rubber o-ring that wedges inside the cutout on the back of the slide around the firing pin. You can dry fire all you want and the hammer never even impacts the firing pin, just bounces against the o-ring. I do that on my SIG P226, CZ P-01 and my Colt 1991a1.
 
Typically I don't dry fire anything without snap caps (though with snap caps I'll do it til the cows come home :)).

Just an old habit really. The exceptions I make are for some of my semi-autos without a hold open feature. Since I only end up guessing when I'm out of ammo about 50% of the time on those, I typically will end up snapping on an empty chamber after the last shot.
 
I recently got a high end Springfield 1911 off of buds. when I picked it up, as the gun dealer was processing my ffl, i was playing with it, and checking its actions and inspecting it, and i had racked the slide open, and when i was done, i pressed the slide release and let the slide slam shut on an empty chamber.

now remember this is not the dealers gun, it was no sweat off his back, but he let me know not to release the slide and slam shut on an empty chamber cause it would mess up the internals, and make the trigger heavyer, as well as other bad consequences.

BS or not?
 
the people who told me not to dry fire are competition shooters with $3000 1911s
Click to expand...

Don't let the price of the gun fool you into thinking they know what they are talking about.

Just about any competition shooter worth his salt will be dry-firing a lot. Sometimes 100+ times a day; it's a critical part of a serious training schedule.
 
I usually go by what the manual says and also end up clicking a .22 when it is empty sometimes although I try to count the rounds.
 
I dry fire all of my 1911's ...even the ones from Wilson Combat that are at least valued at $3,000 .... They're all center fire calibers / so it doesn't hurt them a bit.

Now, if I hand a gun to someone for inspection / I would appreciate it if they ask first before they dry fire it ...but that's just courtesy(after they make sure its empty of course) / not anything to do with the gun ... I always ask a shopowner if I can dry fire a gun - if I'm a serious buyer for that gun - and want to check the trigger / again its courtesy ( its not my gun ..)..
 
I recently got a high end Springfield 1911 off of buds. when I picked it up, as the gun dealer was processing my ffl, i was playing with it, and checking its actions and inspecting it, and i had racked the slide open, and when i was done, i pressed the slide release and let the slide slam shut on an empty chamber.

now remember this is not the dealers gun, it was no sweat off his back, but he let me know not to release the slide and slam shut on an empty chamber cause it would mess up the internals, and make the trigger heavyer, as well as other bad consequences.

BS or not?
Click to expand...

That is pure BS and a mighty big pile of it to boot. The only difference between an empty chamber and picking one out of the mag is a very slight resistance moving the cartridge, and the case slipping into the ejector. The gun gets a lot more beating from being fired. That's just silly.

I would however suggest you release the slide differently than you are. Take the empty mag out and pull the slide back to release it. That will prevent wear to the slide lock notch as well as the slide release.
 
Just got off the phone with the head gunsmith at CZ-USA. I raised the question about dry firing my NIB CZ PCR,. His recommendation was that I use snap caps. So shall it be:)
 
As a rule, I do not dry fire anyone elses guns and I sure as h-ll don't let anyone else dry fire mine. I've had guys say to me, to go ahead and dry fire their guns and I just won't do it. I usually find a better way to work around this practice. Some folks do, some don't and I won't. It's your gun and you can do whatever you want with it. ... ;)



Be Safe !!!
 
I recently got a high end Springfield 1911 off of buds. when I picked it up, as the gun dealer was processing my ffl, i was playing with it, and checking its actions and inspecting it, and i had racked the slide open, and when i was done, i pressed the slide release and let the slide slam shut on an empty chamber.

now remember this is not the dealers gun, it was no sweat off his back, but he let me know not to release the slide and slam shut on an empty chamber cause it would mess up the internals, and make the trigger heavyer, as well as other bad consequences.

BS or not?
Click to expand...

I was told not to do this as it is hard on the sear. With a 1911, hold the trigger back if you want to release the slide on an empty chamber (as it would be if actually firing it). That way the sear won't get battered.

I'd imagine it doesn't do the extractor any good either.
 
Not dropping a slide on an empty chamber is NOT BS. Do you slam the door on your car as hard as you can? Why not? Ask Bill Wilson what he thinks about it.
 
greyson97 said:
depends on the gun and its features

rimfire, i wouldnt, esp old rimfires

for newer guns and centerfire guns, theres no harm

target and competitive shooters dry fire their guns 1,000s if not 10,000s times to work on grip and trigger pull

me however, i use snap caps every time i dry fire

except to take my glock apart....
Click to expand...

Good post greyson97, succinct and accurate.

I've dry fired my center fire handguns, revolvers and semi-autos alike, thousands upon thousands of times, without a problem. If you still aren't sure, use snap caps like greyson97 does.

Here is one word of caution regarding safety though. Always make double sure your firearm is unloaded and even then do not dry fire at something you would not want to destroy.
 
Last edited:
Hank15:
"you know what, it's fine to dry fire YOUR gun, but don't dry fire MY gun."...or in some occasions, they try to dry fire my gun.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you need some new and more intelligent friends. Ones that won't disrespect your wishes on how your pistol should be treated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top