"dry" firing

[Gaz]

Random snippet, the unload drill for the cadets' .22" No.8 rifle involves pulling the trigger on an empty chamber.

Never understood why, as the very next action in the drill was to open the (cock-on-opening) bolt.

I'd guess the service No.8s have been dry fired tens of thousands of times. Never seen, or heard of, a broken or damaged striker from a No.8 either. That said, the bolt head is set up with a couple of millimetres' clearance between the striker and the edge of the chamber.

[etprescottuk]

Dry Firing on certain firearms will break the firing pin, the CZ 52 for example. I had an instructor at Gunsight In Pauldon Arizona tell the class he has dry fired his 1911 perhaps 30,000 times with no ill effect,

[R.G.C]

Dry Firing on certain firearms will break the firing pin, the CZ 52 for example. I had an instructor at Gunsight In Pauldon Arizona tell the class he has dry fired his 1911 perhaps 30,000 times with no ill effect,

Centrefire rifle bolts have a 'dry firing shoulder' which prevents the FP to travel further forward than the normal protrusion. This shoulder accomplishes what its name implies, and snap caps are of no need at all.

One can also wonder about the efficiency of such accessories after some use??.

If a ill-adjusted or bent firing pin is going to break,it will mpst certainly be while percuting a primer and receiving the shock in return from the backthrust against the weak primer cup.

For . 22, the protrusion is LESS than the rim recess in the chamber, or the case head recess in the bolt(normal, as in firing it has to abut against 2 case sheet metal thickness acting as an anvil). It can then not hit the bottom of the recesss (unless protrusion not correctly set). In fact, I have never seen a barrel rear face damaged by striker hammering, and I ever wonder if the FP spring of a .22 could deliver enough enerdy to do so?.


My point, FWIW
R.G.C

[dromia]

I have never seen a centre fire firing pin damaged by dry firing, but I have seen rimfire firing pins peened by dry firing.

As you intimate that may be because they have gone out of spec, but to be on the safe side especially with older out of production rifles I advise against dry firing rimfires.

[Chuck]

Dougan, I just did it with my GSG5 for the reasons you mention, didn't do it any harm but I would not make it a dry fire practice habit. If it really worries you get some .22snap caps they are available - pop one in via an empty mag, fire then remove the mag.

[Dougan]

The snap cap wouldn't be a solution for me, as I like to keep safety simple...i.e. the rifle is either clear, or not...and wouldn't want to introduce a third category of cleared but with a snap cap still in (as you can't remove the cap without cocking the rifle again)...

...I've just tried with my 10/22, and it is impossible to ease the bolt forward with the trigger pulled in the same way I do with my full-bores when I want to case them with the bolt in - I'm not that worried about the 10/22 as I'm sure Ruger have accounted for this...but I'll heed the advice given with my bolt action rim-fires, especially my 1922 Winchester...

As an aside - It was interesting (for a civvie) to see how the army do it on base...by removing the mag, checking clear, then dry firing it down a safety tube into a sand-bagged hole in the ground...

[Charlotte the flyer]

Not a snap cap as such but my .22 GSG came with a breech flag that had a soft plug which could be inserted into the breech. This allows me to fire off the action without damaging the firing pin and then put the rifle away for storage.

For an AR type I open the action using the rear pin and release the hammer with my thumb against it, I've heard through hearsay that you can damage an AR hammer by dry firing because of the design.

[Chuck]

breach flag seems a plan too - soft plastic too so what's the worry.

. Oh and if you

treat every gun as if it were loaded

you will not have a safety problem dougan, no confusion. A bright orange plastic thing is quite visible. Methinks you are overcautious a tad. That's what snap caps and inert ammo are for.

[450 Martini]

At a WW1 re-enactment events at the end of the day before everyone puts thier rifles away i like to do the old "for inspection port arms" to ensure nobody has one up the spout. One time i gave the order to a group of six and one shell clattered to the ground, it was a snap cap. Apparently the owner of the snap cap was "concerned about his spring" now as the appointed armourer for my group i have over the last few years come across a lot of lee enfields some over 100 years old, i have yet to see a mainspring so weakened by normal use that it required special treatment. I asked the owner to keep his snap caps at home as he was keeping them clipped with his issued blank ammo and it could have caused him to have a misfire. I also said that if he managed to wear out his mainspring i would buy him another.

[Chuck]

Maybe the fact that military grade firearms are designed with abuse in mind as opposed to sporting firearms that are designed to be shot occasionally has something to do with this.

Anyway, surely a snap cap is the last thing to go in, after checking all live / blank ammo is removed. Mixing snaps with any other form of ammo is silly and IMO dangerous. Not so much for the potential misfire as the loud bang instead of a click.