Dry firing in a gun shop

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runningfast

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Hi!

I'm mostly new to this all (guns), and I have a question about etiquette. Is it impolite or inappropriate to dry fire a gun when trying it in a gunshop? Meaning, not your own weapon you carried in... theirs, that they gave you to examine, and which they themselves verified is unloaded.

I'm looking at making my first purchase and I want to feel out some different trigger before shelling out $ to actually rent the gun and get range time, but I want to make sure this isn't a social misstep or anything.

Sorry for the dumb question. I'd rather ask then have a staff flip out on me.
 
I just ask them if they mind if I dry fire once to test the trigger.
I've never had anyone say no.
 
It's always been fine for me at the shops I frequent - BUT....

ALWAYS ask first, don't just pull the trigger assuming it is alright with them.
 
Personally, I would ask the person who's showing you the gun. That's what I've done in the past and they were always nice and let me. However, I really don't appreciate it when my friends dry fire my guns without permission. If they ask to try it out I toss them some snap caps.
 
Yeah, I would ask first, some shops have actually said no. I personally have never had a gun I didn't dry fire many, many times. I haven't broke one yet.
 
The exception to me would be a gun of high collector value that was unfired or old and the owner had no intentions of shooting himself.
 
Generally I ask everything. "May I check the slide? May I dry fire the gun?" etc. I'm sure they appreciate that.
 
I ask first & only if I am almost to the point of buying it. It is a good idea to ask befor field striping on also. I was getting ready to field strip one one time when the guy started to talk about how he hated when people would come in & just take then apart. I just handed it back & bought one from someone that didn't mind. I'm glad I didn't pull the slide off right as he was saying that.
 
I once took a cz52 into a national chain sporting goods shop, thinking of trading it in. The clerk didn't ask, simply cocked it and dropped the hammer after which the back end of the firing pin fell out in his hand.

I always ask, and would hope people would ask me before dry firing.

I realize the CZ deal is a bit of a unique experience; I was aware the of the brittle nature of the CZ firing pins, evidently the store clerk was not.

Needless to say, it was embarrassing for the clerk....
 
I ask to open the bolt or slide. I NEVER dry fire a gun in a shop because I know that personally, I don't like to dry fire any gun without snap caps. While some might not have that stipulation, I know that I buy only a small percentage of the guns I look at. Most of them end up going to a different buyer. I know if I was buying a gun from a shop I wouldn't want it to have been dry fired by goodness-knows how many other customers, so I like to return the favor.
 
ask. some places don't care, some places do. I got chewed out today for checking the cylinder on a blackhawk to make sure it was unloaded too fast (no, I was not free spinning it, just running the cylinder across my hand) said it would mess up the timing. some people just have a bug up their butt. but their gun, their shop, their rules.
 
i've always asked. i've also brought my own snap caps with me before when looking for a specific gun in a specific caliber. i must say, the guy at the gun show table seemed pretty appreciative of that. i just told him that i knew what i came for.
 
I never drop the slide on an empty gun. I don't dry fire at the shop when i'm looking. But when I find a gun that passes my inspection that I'm about to buy. Then i dry fire it.
So if I'm serious, I dry fire. But if the gun isn't for me, I don't bother.
 
I always ask before I pull the trigger, and I gently close the slides. I've never had anyone tell me no. However one guy responded, "That's what its there for!"

I don't think dry firing a center fire pistol or dropping the slide is particularly harmful, but if I don't own it, it isn't my decision.
 
I don't dry fire at the shop when i'm looking. But when I find a gun that passes my inspection that I'm about to buy. Then i dry fire it.
Click to expand...

Same for me. Its a functional check before the purchase. Otherwise, only if someone invites me to ("Hey, you really gotta feel how sweet this trigger is").
 
Fat Boy said:
I realize the CZ deal is a bit of a unique experience; I was aware the of the brittle nature of the CZ firing pins, evidently the store clerk was not.
Click to expand...

"Brittle firing pins"????

I have not heard of this before. I have a CZ 75 SP01 that I dry fire relatively regularly. Is this something I should be concerned about?
 
Anytime a shop employee hands me a gun, I always open the cylinder or yank back the slide to make sure it's not loaded. Since I have no interest in striker-fired pistols, it's a simple matter for me to keep a thumb on the hammer as I try the feel of the action. 90% of the time, that's as close to dry-firing as I come. If I am down to the point of purchase and deciding which gun will be going home with me, I might ask if I can dry-fire the candidates. Never had a clerk say "No."

At home, I have the plastic insert from a box of cartridges that is loaded with snap caps for every caliber of handgun I have. I still make it a practice to hand a gun to someone else with the action open.
 
Leonard Pone said:
"Brittle firing pins"????

I have not heard of this before. I have a CZ 75 SP01 that I dry fire relatively regularly. Is this something I should be concerned about?
Click to expand...
Tip: For guns with hammers, take a small oring and place it between the hammer and the slide around the firing pin. Get a oring that is sligthly bigger than the gap in the slide (so that it will hold itself there) and dry-fire away. The oring will cushion the impact of the hammer to the slide and also keep the hammer from striking the pin. Way cheaper than a snap cap and easier to get.
 
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