Dry firing? When is it BAD--when is it Okay?contd
in certain competitions where dry firing is required, odds are those people have enough money to replace their race guns when they break. oods are too, many of those shooters are sponsored and can afford to abuse guns. (i/e: stock car sponsored by budweiser vs family car maintained on a family budget.) for everyday people, its a bad habit to dry fire. ask any gunsmith who makes a living repairing them. it cost me 250.00 to repair my 3200 o&u after the firing pins protruded out so far they caught the breech as it swung into battery, bending them down and in turn, failed to retrack into the pin hole, causing potential AD's. when closed.[;)] previous owner dry fired all the time. and being stupid, i believed him for it to be ok. he didnt pay the gunsmith, i did. it was a good lesson.[;)]
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I was taught the old rule of thumb that dry firing is usually ok in centerfire weapons but not in rimfire.In my case a firing pin in a Garand is cheap and easy to replace.Cant comment on high end comp guns.
Just when I thought I had gotten away it pulled me back in.0 -
If a gun can withstand the forces of a gun powder charge going off within it, it can withstand dry firing. 0 -
if you dry fire the gun, the hole in which the pin protrudes gets bigger, allowing blowback thru the gap. it can cause buldged primers and if the pin protrudes too far, you can puncture a primer causing catastrophic igition in the brass. follow me? 0 -
In addition to the firing pin problems that dry firing can cause, I have had a couple of hammer spurs crack or break completely off while dry firing. Never had one break while live firing. 0 -
I have regularly dry fired all of my very well maintained revolvers, pistols, rifles and shotguns, both center and rim fire, for over 20 years and have never encountered any appreciable wear or tear on any part. If a hammer or firing pin or any other gun part breaks from dry firing (or for that matter from letting a slide or bolt go into battery without a cartridge in place to go into the breach) then the broken part would have failed anyway and required replacement. The whole dry firing is bad thing is a myth perpetuated by the overly picky who just seem to need to have something to nitpick about. 0 -
I agree! I have been around many guns and have lived along time without seeing the harm of dry firing..But then again I have never seen anyone get cramps from swimming right after they ate! 0 -
Good one cartod. 0 -
I always put away my shotguns with the hammers down, but I use snap-caps to do this. The firing pin springs are stored in a relaxed condition and should last a little longer.
But hey, that's just me.
Your mileage may vary.
"Every time a system is made foolproof - a new class of fool emerges."
Prod Harris
"If you ain't got pictures, I wasn't there."0 -
It really depends on the gun, some firing pins can take it, some can't, ask your gun manufacturer and your ? will be answered.
Monkey says:
crowded elevator smells different to a midget0 -
ANYBODY that "Dry Fires" a Rim Fire, either Doesn't Know
Any Better or Doesn't Care.
Even a junk gun doesn't deserve it.
Most anybody that appreciates and cares about their Rim Fire
already knows this.0 -
I appreciate and care for all my guns. I just simply have not experienced any of the much hyped damage the anti-dry fire crowd always claims occurs and neither has anyone I personnally know, which is what leads me to believe it's largely a myth. More than 20 years of dealing with all kinds of guns and I've never seen it yet, not even with some pretty cheap guns. I have however seen all kinds of damage caused by live firing crappy guns. None of my guns, but others I've actually seen first hand, including a brand new gun that got a bullet stuck in the barrel on it's first firing, a burst barrel on an old poorly maintained revolver, a brand new revolver that one of the chambers was apparently two narrow and the empty case would not eject from it and had to be tapped out with a tool, a firing pin rebound spring which broke on the first shot of a out of the box pistol which had never been dry fired, a rotating bolt locking lug which snapped off the edge of the bolt face of a rifle that had only been fired a few times and had never been dry fired, among many others. I've seen many damaged guns but I've not yet seen one damaged by dry firing. 0 -
i smell an arguement so im backing off. just let me know if any of you that dry fire have auctions on GB so i can avoid them.[B)] just like dogs shouldnt be kicked, horses put up wet, windows left down in a car during a rain storm, not feeding your livestock, not milking your cow, or not changing oil in a car, any responsible gun owner should never dry fire a gun intentionally. 0 -
The pope has spoken 0 -
I repent! 0 -
This is what is great about this site. I will buy the leftover guns that have been dry fired. 0 -
Cartod, I'm with you, buying all the leftovers. Of all the parts in most guns, firing pins have to be some of the cheapest, right? Bobski, I was still with ya up untill the oil changeing. I know several people that never change the oil in their vehicles! We're not talking 5,000-7,000 miles either, try 150,000. Seriously, my cousin is one of those. I think he made the mistake of doing it all himself once and figured that's too much work, screw that. But I digress, sorry go on folks![8D] To the rich, everything is a neccessity. To the poor, everything is a luxury0 -
Dry Firing as a rule of thumb is a bad habit to get into....In almost 55 years in the business I've replaced over 100 Firing pins due to Dry Firing...My Dear Old Pappy always taught Me never to Dry Fire...I taught My Kids Not to Dry Fire....The only exception is when it requires the Pin to be in the Fired position for dismanteling the Action...The day comes when You need to have a seviceable Firearm and it don't do anything but CLICK when the Trigger is pulled....I hope you have the Time to reflect upon the reason it won't go Bang........
Captain Kirk, Tech Staff0
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