You said I can do what?!
- Thread starter Kalgalath
- Start date
I bought a used Ruger Mach 1 semi auto. It wouldn't fire. Sent it back to Ruger and they said the damage was due to dry firing the weapon. There was noticeable damage to the face of the bore where the bullet seats. The gun was replaced at cost. Very cheap for a new discontinued model.
Mike Irwin
Staff
"I wonder if "don't dry fire" is even older than cartridge guns. I would think dropping a hammer on a percussion cap nipple wouldn't be good for it."
Quite correct. I've seen more than a few percussion guns with nipples smashed flat from dry firing.
Quite correct. I've seen more than a few percussion guns with nipples smashed flat from dry firing.
FrankenMauser
New member
Yep. I used to own one.
I had a set of nipples for shooting, and a set for dry-firing. The dry-fire nipples were pretty hammered, by the time I sold it. (No pun intended.
)As for general dry-firing... every firearm I've ever owned has been dry-fired. For some of them, dry-firing is avoided (like the WWII-era Winchester shotgun). Others are dry-fired to decock them, for storage (even rimfires like the Browning Buckmark). And, others have seen many thousands of dry-fire cycles, for practice, trigger work, or finger exercises.
One of the high dry-fire-count firearms is even a Taurus - a PT138 (Gen I).
It was a pile of crap when I bought it, and required a significant amount of tuning, polishing, and tweaking, to run reliably. In the process of doing that work, I dry-fired it several thousand times. And, since then, I've dry-fired it at least 500 more times. It's doing just fine.
Rainbow Demon
New member
I've replaced too many firing pins to believe that dry firing is a good practice with any fire arm.
On a Ruger rimfire revolver with separate frame mounted pin I found the pin stuck fast in the forward position. The metal of the frame had been beaten down enough to upset the metal tightening the hole.
This Ruger also showed signs of having been fanned with the hammer dropping between chambers.
A small round jewelers file was used to open the hole in the frame slightly, then due to the pin being battered and shortened by impact between chambers I made a new pin. Works fine now.
Broken firing pins are rare, but they would not make replacement pins if they weren't needed every now and then.
On a .22 rimfire pocket pistol with hammer mounted pin I found all chamberes deformed enough by pin strikes that no cartridge could be put in a chamber. Out came the jewelers files again, this time a slightly larger half round.
Snap away if you like, but the hammer or striker fall is meant to be cushioned by impact on the primer cup, not a steel to steel impact.
Awhile back a European shooter posted photos of a primer blow out with his newly purchased SMLE rifle. Even the manuals allowed dry firing but after many decades of abuse by generations of cadets the pin hole edges can turn up and the shaft become cracked or weakened at the collar. A slight bend in the pin can rub the pin against the side of the hole with the pin becoming sharper, I've seen this on a 95 Mauser.
Anyway, his primer blew out with a nice cookie cutter hole that poured gas straight into the firing pin hole, far more high pressure gas than the relief hole in the bolt head could handle. The firing pin was forced back, the weakened collar let go, and the cocking piece slammed him in the face near his shooting eye.
When Military weapons are in service they are inspected on a regular basis, and if theres any sign of undue wear parts are replaced.
Since Uncle Sugar is not going to pay for my search for a new firing pin, I think I'll continue to baby my pistols.
On a Ruger rimfire revolver with separate frame mounted pin I found the pin stuck fast in the forward position. The metal of the frame had been beaten down enough to upset the metal tightening the hole.
This Ruger also showed signs of having been fanned with the hammer dropping between chambers.
A small round jewelers file was used to open the hole in the frame slightly, then due to the pin being battered and shortened by impact between chambers I made a new pin. Works fine now.
Broken firing pins are rare, but they would not make replacement pins if they weren't needed every now and then.
On a .22 rimfire pocket pistol with hammer mounted pin I found all chamberes deformed enough by pin strikes that no cartridge could be put in a chamber. Out came the jewelers files again, this time a slightly larger half round.
Snap away if you like, but the hammer or striker fall is meant to be cushioned by impact on the primer cup, not a steel to steel impact.
Awhile back a European shooter posted photos of a primer blow out with his newly purchased SMLE rifle. Even the manuals allowed dry firing but after many decades of abuse by generations of cadets the pin hole edges can turn up and the shaft become cracked or weakened at the collar. A slight bend in the pin can rub the pin against the side of the hole with the pin becoming sharper, I've seen this on a 95 Mauser.
Anyway, his primer blew out with a nice cookie cutter hole that poured gas straight into the firing pin hole, far more high pressure gas than the relief hole in the bolt head could handle. The firing pin was forced back, the weakened collar let go, and the cocking piece slammed him in the face near his shooting eye.
When Military weapons are in service they are inspected on a regular basis, and if theres any sign of undue wear parts are replaced.
Since Uncle Sugar is not going to pay for my search for a new firing pin, I think I'll continue to baby my pistols.