870 Dry Fire/Storage

[Packman]

Hey everyone. My first post here, but I've been reading for a while now. I'm coming here from Warrifles, where I've gotten fed up with the politics. Maybe someone here will remember me from there, perhaps ferFAL? Great board here.

At any rate, I have a question about my Remington 870 Express. I just got it a few weeks ago. It's my first shotgun, so I'm doing everything I can to learn about it. What I'm wondering about is this: after cleaning, in the process of reassembly, the hammer winds up being cocked. Is it OK to dryfire this gun? What I've been doing is chambering a Snapcap, dryfiring on that and then just leaving it in there.

Will dryfiring empty hurt anything? Is it better with the snapcap? I have the owner's manual, but I haven't seen anything addressing dryfiring in it.

Thanks everyone.

Packman

 

[IDriveB5]

Dry fire is ok. Welcome to THR!

 

[Pete409]

Dryfiring won't hurt it. In fact, shucking the slide back and forth will help smooth the action. Dryfiring will help familiarize you with the feel of the trigger.

Just be sure that the chamber is actually "Dry" before pulling the trigger, or you will have a hole in the wall to repair.

 

[rantingredneck]

Yep, Dryfire is fine. In fact, two of my 870's stay loaded and "cruiser ready" in the safe. Magazine is full but firing pin is down on an empty chamber and the safety is off. Pretty much rack and go. Only way to do this, of course is to dryfire the weapon, then load the tube. Like Pete said, though, make sure the weapon is truly dry before firing it.

 

[mugs79]

I actually had this same question, about the same gun! I know some people will attack a piece of rubber to a wooden dowel or something similar, and hold it tight down the barrel to dry fire. Is there any reason at all to do this?

 

[rantingredneck]

No. 870's are workhorses. Dry fire them without worry.