Why is dry firing bad?

[EGGMAN240]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the rookie question, but why is dry firing on an empty chamber bad? Does it put too much stress on the firing pin? Rimfire is pretty obvious, but what about centerfire?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[451 Detonics]

On centerfire, some guns it can be hard on, others it makes little difference. It all depends on if the parts can peen if the hammer hits nothing but air. On a revolver with a hammer mounted firing pin dry firing will never cause a problem. On a striker fired gun it can peen the firing pin. I always use snap caps because it doesn't hurt to use them on anything

 

[rcmodel]

Think of it as wrecking your car and hitting your head or the steering wheel, or an air bag.

A round in the chamber or a snap-cap is the "air bag" that slows & stops the firing pin,
before it has to stop itself against something much harder then a primer.

On a revolver with a hammer mounted firing pin dry firing will never cause a problem.

Maybe, maybe not?

But I have replaced two S&W hammer noses (firing pins) on friends guns this summer that broke during dry-firing.

rc

 

[EGGMAN240]

Thanks RC! That was a wonderful analogy. So, is it safe to say that all guns should have snap caps if they are gonna be dry fired? I know there's always exceptions, just in overall theory.

 

[jmr40]

Depends on the gun. Some can be easily broken by dry firing, others can be dry fired, but it should probably be done sparingly. On most modern gun designs it won't hurt a thing. I've been dry firing almost every gun I have ever owned for close to 40 years with no problems. Some guns I've owned for most of those 40 years and they have easily been dry fired many tens of thousands of times. Never owned a snap cap.

I'm of the opinion that with most guns dry firing will do no more damage than live firing. If the gun breaks while being dry fired, it would have broken at exactly the same round count from live fire.

 

[AJumbo]

I always use snap caps when dry-firing my revolvers. I am told by a lot of experienced shooters and smiths that dry-firing a 1911 is perfectly fine. I use snap caps anyway. On a lot of rimfire autos the firing pin may contact the rim of the chamber, so snap caps are in order there, too.

 

[rcmodel]

In theory, snap-caps cannot hurt a thing.
On the other hand, they have been known to prevent broken firing pins or damaged chambers on Rim-Fires's.

Well, you see where I am going with this?
There is no reason NOT to use them, and plenty of reasons TOO use them.

I have dry-fired 1911 Colts so much the firing pin spring wadded up in a ball without breaking a FP.

On the other hand, I have broken 100 year old Winchester 92 FP's just snapping it one time.

I must admit, I don't use snap-caps very often, but I don't set around and dry-fire my guns for hours on end anymore either.

And I always let the hammer down slow when uncocking real old guns.
First, parts are hard to find, and second, they are very old steel of questionable pedigree!

rc

 

[Pyro]

I've seen too many peened firing pins/hammer faces to ever dry fire a firearm.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

But I have replaced two S&W hammer noses (firing pins) on friends guns this summer that broke during dry-firing.

Years ago, there was a fad among target shooters to lighten the hammer of S&Ws -- it supposedly reduced lock time. I've seen at least one such hammer break while dry firing -- which is not to say it wouldn't have broken in live fire.

One gun that is safe to dry fire is the M1911 -- the inertia firing pin is well-protected. (Added) and, of course, you can replace the firing pin and firing pin stop yourself.

 

[F-111 John]

ALL GUNS can be safely dry fired occasionally.

It is constant dry firing that damages some guns.

 

[Jim Watson]

Do not dry fire.
If you do your trigger control will get good and you might beat me at a match.

 

[Japle]

The only guns that are harmed by dry-firing are old ones, especially .22s. Modern centerfire and rimfire guns can be dry-fired as much as you like with no danger of hurting them.

I can't imagine how many tens of thousands of times I've dry-fired my guns in the last 40 years. Nothing ever broke. The actions certainly got smoother, though!

 

[bergmen]

ALL GUNS can be safely dry fired occasionally.

It is constant dry firing that damages some guns.

Not true. I have a Marlin 1936 in 30-30 that will snap the firing pin right off if you accidentally dry fire it once.

Since this was the rifle that me and my brother strarted deer hunting with when we got old enough, the first thing my Dad told us was "don't dry fire it, the firing pin will break". By golly, he was right.

Dan

 

[45_auto]

I have a Marlin 1936 in 30-30 that will snap the firing pin right off if you accidentally dry fire it once.

Maybe you need to get a gunsmith to look at it, or post on the Marlin Collectors Forum and see if anyone knows what's wrong with it. I have a Marlin 1936 that's been in the family since new and has probably been dry-fired thousands of times by 4 generations of shooters. Still has the original firing pin (unless it broke prior to the mid-60's when I got it).

 

[TexasRifleman]

I don't know about some gun designs but I have a 1911 that's had untold thousands of dry fires done to it over the years, with no snap caps and no damage.

There is no more damage done to the hammer, firing pin stop, and firing pin in a 1911 when dry firing than there is when shooting it.

So no, you can't say that dry firing is always bad or always safe. Just depends on the design. High quality snap caps are probably the best route to go if unsure.

 

[F-111 John]

Not true. I have a Marlin 1936 in 30-30 that will snap the firing pin right off if you accidentally dry fire it once.

I stand by my statement. I'm sure there is some firearm somewhere out there that will break with a single dry fire, but the vast, vast majority of firearms from the first flintlocks to today's polymer wonders can withstand the odd dry fire to either demonstrate 'clear' or caused by shooter error or a failure to feed.

Some firearms can be dry fired all day every day, and some do so to smooth out the action and to practice trigger control. Other firearms can be damaged if dry fired too often. I have a Marlin 336C that I do not dry fire, a Remington 721 that I do not dry fire, a Ruger 10/22 that I do not dry fire, and a Winchester 250 that I do not dry fire.

But they all have been dry fired a few times over the past 30 years.

 

[PT92]

For me it's simple--My Kel-Tec P11 manual explicitly says not to. I take the manufacturers word on this and don't dry-fire (and yes, there is recorded evidence of dry-firing harming this particular model). As a general rule for all guns, just use snap-caps and don't worry about it.

-Cheers

 

[Drail]

My experience has been that anytime a firing pin breaks it would have broken whether the gun was being dry fired or live fired. I have dry fired all of my DA revolvers and 1911s pretty constantly for many years and never had anything break. But if snap caps make you "feel" better dry firing it certainly isn't going to hurt anything as long as you can keep them separated from the live ammo. As for rimfires, some of them are built so that the pin cannot strike the actual chamber's corner. Some others can be damaged so I would always use a snap cap or empty casing for dry fire.

 

[fatcat4620]

Its only bad if your over 60 and dont know what a modern firearm is.

 

[HDCamel]

Glocks need to be dry fired to field strip.

 

[mljdeckard]

My Ciener .22 conversion kit says not to dry-fire it but.......I dry fire it at least once every time I drop the hammer on an empty chamber with an empty magazine.

 

[mgmorden]

On older guns it can be a problem, but on a modern gun dryfiring is not really an issue. As a matter of fact just due to the safety procedures if you shoot any type of competitive pistol (USPSA, IDPA, etc) you'll end up dry firing your gun at least a half-dozen times per match (and snap caps are not an option - it has to be a dry fire on an EMPTY chamber).

 

[Prodigalshooter]

Do not dry fire.
If you do your trigger control will get good and you might beat me at a match.

__________________




That's so funny (and true)

 

[bergmen]

Maybe you need to get a gunsmith to look at it, or post on the Marlin Collectors Forum and see if anyone knows what's wrong with it. I have a Marlin 1936 that's been in the family since new and has probably been dry-fired thousands of times by 4 generations of shooters. Still has the original firing pin (unless it broke prior to the mid-60's when I got it).

Well, I'm not going to argue with anybody about this. The 1936 I have was bought new by my Mother as a gift to my Dad before they got married in 1941. At some point, the gun was dry fired once (my Dad did not tell me the exact circumstance) and the firing pin broke.

My Dad was adamant about not dry firing guns, felt it was abusive. He replaced the firing pin with a new one and was careful not to dry fire it again. When me and my younger brother started deer hunting, this was the rifle we started out with, my Dad having moved to a .308.

There was an accidental dry fire when my younger brother was familiarizing himself with the rifle. The broken end of the firing pin exited the muzzle. My Dad took the rifle to a gunsmith friend of his and had him make a replacement firing pin. It has not broken since. I cannot say it has (or has not) been dry fired since the replacement pin was installed, all I can say is it is in my gunsafe and pulled out regularly for plinking and hunting duties. I would guess that Tom (the gunsmith) used a metal alloy that was more forgiving or he made some adjustments to the fit of the parts (or both) to prevent another failure.

Dan

 

[makarovnik]

On a Kel-Tec P32 or P3AT dry firing a lot can damage the "Frankenbolt" that among other things serves as a stop for the firing pin.

It causes the firing pin to slam against the stop bolt and peen it so bad the bolt will not be able to be removed without damaging the threads.