Dry fire = bad?

[MarkSBG]

Is it harmful to dry fire a modern handgun or rifle?

One of the guys at the "Security Store" snapped at a customer for dry firing a gun. I heard similar comments at other shops.

I can only guess that shops don't want you dry firing because it might make wear marks on a gun and make it look used. But wouldn't switching the safety on and off do the same thing?

I dunno...

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[Rugerbub]

In my experience must places let u dry fire so u can get a better feel for the gun but i dont know if it is actually bad to dry fire a weapon?

 

[gunnoob75]

Security Store should fade away.

 

[PDXGS]

Is it harmful to dry fire a modern handgun or rifle?

One of the guys at the "Security Store" snapped at a customer for dry firing a gun. I heard similar comments at other shops.

I can only guess that shops don't want you dry firing because it might make wear marks on a gun and make it look used. But wouldn't switching the safety on and off do the same thing?

I dunno...

It depends on the firing mechanism...some can be dry fired all day while others cant.
BTW, any employee who snaps at a customer is an a$$. If he had told the customer explicitly not to dry fire the gun and the customer did so anyway, then I suppose he's entitled to be upset but he's not doing his employer any favors by snapping at anyone-particularly customers.

 

[thelendog]

I usually ask before dry firing, and I always get the go-ahead. I don't think it does any damage to a modern gun, though I do use snap caps when practicing trigger pulls on a revolver.

 

[Muddman]

Most employees at that store either know everything or have a crappy attitude or both.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

It depends upon the weapon being dry fired. As a personal rule I NEVER dry fire a .22 rimfire weapon and I ALWAYS use snap caps for the rest of them.

 

[warnerwh]

Almost all .22s should not be dry fired. That being said I have had a Remington Nylon 66 semi auto since 1973 and there is no bolt hold open when you run out of ammo. It has probably a good 40-50 thousand rounds through it and has been dry fired numerous times. It's as accurate as new and fires every time. The theory is that the firing pin on a .22 is hitting the chamber edge and will damage the firing pin.
With centerfire guns it shouldn't be a problem unless you do it thousands of times like dry fire practice. Then you need to use snap caps to be safe. I think it's Ruger who says dry firing is perfectly safe in their revolvers.

 

[coctailer]

you can dry-fire most guns.

Never dry-fire .22s or anything in rim-fire calibers.

 

[toys]

Is it harmful to dry fire a modern handgun or rifle?

One of the guys at the "Security Store" snapped at a customer for dry firing a gun. I heard similar comments at other shops.

I can only guess that shops don't want you dry firing because it might make wear marks on a gun and make it look used. But wouldn't switching the safety on and off do the same thing?

I dunno...

Dry firing a gun in a store is a big NO NO. even at gun shows or other peoples guns. I ALWAYS ASK FIRST.

even when i ask, if they say okay, i will drop the hammer on my thumb.

it comes down to being respectful of other peoples stuff. obviously there are people out there that dont care. i even see people handling guns at the gun show where they have signs rignt next to the gun stating "dont handle w/o permission"

 

[Brandon44647]

Question about snap caps, can they be reused or once you "dry fire" are they ineffective ?

 

[PhysicsGuy]

Question about snap caps, can they be reused or once you "dry fire" are they ineffective ?

They can be used for quite a while, they do break or get lost, and some of them do wear out, and some last damn near forever, just depends on the design.




Also to answer the OP, dry firing can be bad on certain firearms, rimfires being one, but also depending on if there is a firing pin block incorporated, there can be issues, such as the documented issues with the CZ-75b dry firing, but these usually take tens of thousands of dry fires before it becomes an issue.

 

[Jdub22]

i've heard of .40 and .45 caliber handguns actually having mechanical damage caused by dryfiring. but usually the instruction manual will tell you if your gun can be dryfired without damage.

if you want snap caps, i know the brand A-Zoom is a well-known quality snap-cap. the quality of snap caps is dependent on the material used to make it i believe. bad quality snap caps won't withstand as many firing pin hits as the higher quality ones. i bought some A-Zooms and i think they're rated at like 500 or 1000 hits before replacement.

 

[MarkSBG]

Dry firing a gun in a store is a big NO NO. even at gun shows or other peoples guns. I ALWAYS ASK FIRST.

even when i ask, if they say okay, i will drop the hammer on my thumb.

it comes down to being respectful of other peoples stuff. obviously there are people out there that dont care. i even see people handling guns at the gun show where they have signs rignt next to the gun stating "dont handle w/o permission"

I agree about asking first. I always go out of my way to be respectful whenever handling anybody's property.

It was the freakout of the Security Store clerk that got my question machine going. In my mind, the clerk shouldn't have reacted badly, but the shopper should have asked...

 

[ZombieAssassin]

Never dry-fire .22s or anything in rim-fire calibers.

Why not?

 

[MarkSBG]

The theory is that the firing pin on a .22 is hitting the chamber edge and will damage the firing pin.

Sounds reasonable to me...

 

[CharlesAFerg]

Most employees at that store either know everything or have a crappy attitude or both.

I've had an excellent experience speaking with them.

 

[NoAim]

Why not?

Since the firing pin hits the edge of the case rim, rather than the center, think about if there's no case in there.

Some .22s allow the firing pin to go all the way and smack into the edge of the breach face. Do this enough, and it can deform the edge, causing issues with seating, etc.

Some have a firing pin block (like recent Ruger 22/45s) that prevent this. Others, like the Buckmark, will start peening the breech face. The cheap way (but theoretically unsafe) is to use a spent .22 case. Otherwise, get a snap cap/rubber protector to prevent damage.

 

[Leif Runenritzer]

I've read a Walther P38 manual that says not to dry-fire it. I've seen a Glock that has to be dry-fired to fit it in its original case. Who knows.

 

[NoAim]

I've read a Walther P38 manual that says not to dry-fire it. I've seen a Glock that has to be dry-fired to fit it in its original case. Who knows.

A Walther P38 doesn't have a firing pin block.

A Glock does.