Dryfire

I like to get them just as a good safety habit. If you have to stick a plastic dummy round into the chamber every time you dry-fire practice it's harder to ND.

I believe it's mostly an issue on rimfires, as the firing pin normally pinches the cartridge rim between it and the chamber wall. Dryfiring would cause the pin to strike the chamber directly, possibly damaging the pin.

With centerfire, I can't imagine it to be a problem...

Depends what one calls ''excessive''! Sure, with 22's, even where they say it's Ok - considering pin is likely to impinge on breech face (anvil) then I am not over happy to do this too much.

Good modern centerfires tho - really very little problem. Plus of course, instance say a Ruger SP-101 - a good dose of dry fire does allow trigger to smooth out somewhat!

As for something actually breaking - heck no - I'd sure not expect that. Remember too many very recent designs with revo's have transfer bars - which I reckon ease the stresses on firing pin ........ and with auto's well - again not a huge problem (keep the CZ-52 out of this if it has the cast pin).

Overall tho I still think snap-caps are way to go - can't be bad to be kind to the fine mechanism.

Make your own snap cap for free? Can't beat free.

I made a 12ga snapcap with some sanded down PVC pipe and the brass section of a spent shotshell. Drilled out the primer and replaced it with some durable plastic (HDPE) insert for the firing pin to hit. I did the same with a .223 brass casing. Drilled out the primer, epoxied a length of HDPE inside the brass casing so the firing pin hits it, and capped it off with a bullet I crudely crimped to the case rim so it doesn't get stuck in the magazine when I try to load it (I tried with brass only and the edge gets stuck on the magazine without a bullet).

Not sure on dryfire wear issues as I think that depends on type and model of firearm but I figure they make snapcaps for a reason (maybe snakeoil) but I could whip up some free ones with a few minutes of work and no dollars spent.

Well, I once broke the firing pin on

Mossberg 16 Gauge when dry firing, soit is possible to cause damage...Best homemade snap-cap suggestion I ever saw was to put some RTV sealant in primer hole...They don't last forever, but are certainly cheap enough...

Your question has no one answer, as it's TOTALLY dependent on the firearm being dry-fired.

Some firearms can break parts in as little as a few dozen dry firings. Others can tolerate dry firing indefinitely.

I can tell you this much---the military competitive marksmanship units dry fire for HOURS at a time. I had a friend who was on the Navy team at one time, and he said he dry fired his M1911 on average 300 times per day for a year. This was IN ADDITION to the live firing he did.

At the end of the year, the pistol was still going strong.

All of my guns except a single shot shotgun have been dryfired hundreds of times, and two guns in particular, a bolt action rifle and a 1911, have been dryfired thousands of times. I've never had any damage from it.

Dry Firing

I agree totally with Az Jeff. Although it may appear that dry firing involves the same stresses as live firing, that is not so. The primer cushions the firing pin and greatly reduces the impact. It is possible to design a gun that will tolerate lots of dry firing but it is not necessary- it is just as easy to design one that can't, and probably a bit cheaper. Serious target shooters will tolerate whatever it costs to win, and that includes replacing or repairing guns that are damaged by dry firing, if necessary. They are probably the best group to ask which guns are easily damaged by dry firing and which are not.
Personally, I wish I had enough time to wear out my Ruger Blackhawks, But that is not going to happen any time soon.

Kimber says dryfire all you wont to.Llama (dont lol it is a very good handgun) says do not dryfire at all.

Well I really don't want to spend $6 or $7 on a snap cap if plain dryfire won't hurt anything.. thats enough money for a box of ammo.

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Dummy rounds are a lot less expensive than gun parts and gunsmithing.

The primer area on a dummy round will eventually get enough dents from the firing pin that there won't be enough material there that would prevent overtravel of the firing pin or any cushion to slow it down if the firearm is susceptible to dryfiring damage. My vote goes for high density polyethylene plastic to be placed where a primer would go since it's resilient, cheap and easy to work with (plastic chopping boards are usually HDPE) when making your own snap caps.