Dry Firing wear & tear

[zenbreath]

I have dummy rounds with no powder and a spent primer, loaded with FMJ-RN bullets. I have used them as dry fire but mostly I mix 5 or 6 into my loads for the range. This way I randomly get "clicks" and have to do a clearing drill.

I STRONGLY encourage you to put some paint in the extraction groove.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

Any modern non rimfire worth a damn can handle dry fire all day long

Do at least 100 reps a night

People who don't dry fire don't get enough practice in - period.

cz-52 are not modern, but notorious for breaking firing pins from dry firing.

 

[Mykael]

cz-52 are not modern, but notorious for breaking firing pins from dry firing.

That's why I said "any modern non-rimfire worth a damn"

Old design guns and rimfires are the things I don't dry fire

 

[leadcounsel]

I think there's significant benefit in safely dryfiring in a safe direction.

I've never really understood the physics of a how a steel part can "break" by dry firing.
Analogy. A firing pin "punches" a primer, and is at least momentarily exposed to an explosion. Or it dry fires and just pokes out and retreats. How is it *more* damaging to have it hit nothing versus the primer? If I punch the air 100 times it's a lot less damaging to my wrist than if I punch a heavy bag 100 times...

But I accept it and tend to use snap caps.

The only issue I've ever had was breaking the coil trigger spring on my 44 year old Ruger revolver. Annoying but I figure 4 decades of use, it held up quite well.

 

[gryghin]

From a energy transfer point of view, think of the bow. You never dry fire a bow because without an arrow there is no proper energy transfer and the potential tension energy is kept in the bow arms which will cause them to break.

In the firearm, the potential energy of the main spring transfers through the hammer to the firing pin and if there is nothing at the end, the energy is absorbed in the end of the pin. Which enough times will cause metal fatigue and eventual failure.

 

[zenbreath]

Another solution is to have an identical weapon for training. When your primary weapon is down because of a broken firing pin, you carry your identical backup until your weapon is back on line.

 

[leadcounsel]

From a energy transfer point of view, think of the bow. You never dry fire a bow because without an arrow there is no proper energy transfer and the potential tension energy is kept in the bow arms which will cause them to break.

In the firearm, the potential energy of the main spring transfers through the hammer to the firing pin and if there is nothing at the end, the energy is absorbed in the end of the pin. Which enough times will cause metal fatigue and eventual failure.

I can accept that if it's correct but it's never made sense to me. Can you cite any examples of how hitting something is less damaging than not hitting something? The bow example, I've never understood and it doesn't seem equal either because a bow string isn't striking anything, it's pushing an arrow.

I'm thinking that if I'm driving and slam on the brakes to stop, it's less damaging than hitting a wall. Same with punching a heavy bag, versus punching the air. If I slap the air, it doesn't hurt. But if I slap the concrete it stings. Etc.

 

[Ownerus]

.....Can you cite any examples of how hitting something is less damaging than not hitting something? ......

You have a misconception that a firing pin not hitting a primer is "not hitting something". It's hitting the retainer pin or the inside of the bolt face or something depending on the design. It doesnt launch down the barrel so it's stopped by *something*. That stop may be dramatically more abrupt than denting a primer surface .010-.030". If there are sharp corners (instead of radii), they act as stress risers that say "break here". About the only gun I dont mind dry firing much are those like the 1911 that have a relatively long travel past the breech face that gives time for the return spring to absorb dome of the energy rather than coming to an abrupt stop.