Dry Fire M44??

[Starpower]

When I picked up my Hngrn M44 right after Christmas, I cocked the bolt and pulled the triger on it, and my buddy looked at me kind of sharp and said not to dry fire a rifle of this type without snap caps.

What are the real dangers? We dry fire all of our semi auto pistols all the time, and the range master recommends lots and lots of dry fire practice between quals to keep up on sight alignment and trigger control. I usually freak out the wife sitting around watching tv dry firing one or the other.

Seems to me the pin is hitting on its tapered shoulder instead of pinging into a primer, so maybe the stress point is different, but am I endangering the pin? Is that the point, to keep the stress off the taper?

 

[PATH]

I always try to use a snap cap on all my firearms but I don't think a few dry fires are going to ruin your firing pin.

 

[Dionysusigma]

Mosin-Nagants have a firing pin spring, which absorbs most (if not all) of the impact. Dry-firing will not hurt it.

But actually firing it is a lot more fun.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Don't worry about it. I've diassembled many old military bolt-guns and given the fact that I could drift the sights with the firing pins, I doubt dry-firing will hurt it. Same thing with 1911s, AR-15s, etc. Some civilian sporter rifles WILL break firing pins (Ruger 96/44 has a firing pin not much heavier than a big toothpick) but mil-surps won't.

 

[DMK]

Mosin-Nagants have a firing pin spring, which absorbs most (if not all) of the impact

Yea, but the spring is behind the FP. It's not going to cushion the impact of dry firing.

That said, the FP on a Mosin is huge and tough. I have no worries about dry firing.

 

[Zeke Menuar]

The Mosin is one of the toughest guns ever made. Dry firing won't hurt it at all.

ZM

 

[RON in PA]

Dry fire away, the firingpin in a Mosin is built like a T-34 tank.

Probably the only bolt action military rifle I'd be concerned about is the 03 Springfield due to its two piece firingpin. The boys at Springfield sure knew how to screw-up a perfectly good Mauser design.

 

[Thrash1982]

I dry fire mine all the time. That firing pin is almost as thick as a pencil. Wouldn't worry about it. Although I did break my extractor

 

[Jim K]

Most military rifles, including the Model 1903, are about as delicate and fragile as a 16 pound sledge hammer. They were made to be dry fired and were routinely "snapped" in training, thousands of times. That goes for the M1, M14, and M16, as well.

Jim

 

[LynnMassGuy]

Take the bolt apart. That thing is TOUGH! You won't hurt it.

 

[cracked butt]

Even though the sound of a mosin firing on an empty chamber is not a pretty sound, it won't hurt anything.