Dry firing

[fernie kazam]

I have heard that if you dry fire a rifle with nothing at all in the chamber you can damage the firing pin and even cause it to break. Would it damage your rifle if you had a spent round in the chamber?
Thanks

 

[possum]

I have heard that if you dry fire a rifle with nothing at all in the chamber you can damage the firing pin and even cause it to break. Would it damage your rifle if you had a spent round in the chamber?
Thanks

alot of folks use snap caps for this, it really depends on what rifle it is. if it is an old rimfire, or anything old for that matter, not a modern day production gun then i wouldn't ie. mausers, milsurps, andything rim fire etc. i dry fire my ar/m4. ak all the time and i have never had an issue with them.

 

[fernie kazam]

Thanks just so you know its a brand new weatherby vanguard synthetic in 243win and i want to get used to the trigger.

 

[Chipperman]

Most modern centerfire rifles are fine to dry fire, but using a snap cap is never a bad idea.

 

[WAID]

Some rimfires are designed to take dryfiring too. The only one that I know off the top of my head is a 10/22, which is good since it lacks a last shot hold open. However in some cases the hole in the firing pin is a little to long and it can still damage the chamber.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

CZ USA recommends to dry fire their 452 series to take the tension off the f/p spring.

 

[AK103K]

I used to shoot a good bit of high power and dry fired my M1's and M1A's constantly. In all the years I did it, I only ever broke one firing pin in one of my M1A's. GI pin to boot.

I use a snap cap in most everything these days. They are cheap enough. If your going to spend the money, go with the A ZOOM's. They are the better snap cap. The red plastic ones dont last near as long, and I had a lot of trouble with a couple in .308 in my Remington 700. Tight closing the bolt, and I had to practically beat it open to get it out.

 

[HOLY DIVER]

i would get A ZOOM like AK103K said
i may not hurt your rifle?????why take that chance

 

[rcmodel]

A fired case is only going to last two or three "snaps" before the firing pin beats the primer dent so deep it isn't doing any good.


rcmodel

 

[eliphalet]

If you worried about it, pop out a primer in a fired case, replace it with a pencil eraser whittled down to fit the primer pocket and use that. Saves buying "snap caps", but dry firing is fine.

 

[fernie kazam]

Yeah i replaced a primer with a small piece of eraser but after the first "fire" it left a big indentation that didn't pop out. I'll look into Snap caps
thanks

 

[Blackfork]

Dry firing practice.

Dry firing is as good a practice as shooting with ammunition.

Rimfires are a little worrisome because the firing pin actually hits the edge of the chamber and can damage itself or the chamber.

Really expensive custom triggers with very light breaking weight might change over time with dry firing.

Everything else, which is just about everything, is safe to dry fire. I wouldn't bother with snap caps.

I dry fire all my rifles except the .22s. I dry fire a little when I first get in the deer blind. I dry fire at deer I'm not going to shoot. I dry fire at the range. Dry firing helps your trigger technique.

 

[AK103K]

They do make snap caps for .22's if your needing them.

 

[gyp_c2]

...hmm...

...22 rimfire...
Practicepracticepractice...

 

[Uncle Chan]

Next time you reload, don't put a primer in. Rather, put some silicone in instead. There you go, snap caps for pennies.

 

[Franco2shoot]

I've tried to make a snap cap for our 7.62x54 MN. The eraser idea worked for one firing then as pointed out there was a big hole. Next I went to a harder eraser (white) still made a hole. Then I put a push pin with the head flatened in. The pin just went further down. I'm now on a small screw head that I ground flat to dissapate the energy. This seems to be working. I think the goal is to get something that will absorb the shock of the firing pin striking and then move back. I'll let you know when I find the right combination.
KKKKFL

 

[eliphalet]

Interesting the results I read here on the pencil eraser's. I had one I made years ago that was hit hundreds of times and was still OK. Plane ol' pink eraser was what I used but there is apparently some of a much different quality.

 

[mp510]

I wouldn't worry about it in a centerfire. With a rimfire, I wouldn't dryfire a gun unless it was designed to not be harmed by dry-firing, since the chamber could get peened.