Dry Firing - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

zfleebin · 09-15-2003, 05:25 PM

I have heard arguments on both sides of the dry firing debate but I would like to hear some first hand experiences. I have been dry firing a little bit so I can watch my movements more closely as well as get used to the pull of the trigger. So, who does it, how much do you do it, and what are your experiences with it(has it helped your form etc?). Let's keep this flame free unless [B]your gun[/B} was damaged and you had a professional determine the cause.

Lebell · 09-15-2003, 07:37 PM

Depends on the gun.

Some guns can be safely dry fired, others don't care for it.

Use some Snap Caps if you are unsure.

I do.

Save that firing pin!!!

These snap caps are ideal for practice. An internal spring saves your firing pin from repeated shock and a brass "primer" cap makes it feel like the real thing. The bright red color makes sure you don't confuse with live ammo. Formerly ArmSport brand.
9mm - 5 Pack

$11.29

Slims · 09-15-2003, 09:22 PM

Um, basically, don't dry fire any rimfire weapons, most revolvers, and some old double barrel shotguns and rifles.

Just about every centerfire rifle and pistol is perfectly fine to dry fire. And it builds up lots of good habits. Worst case you will just have to replace the firing pin.

hrdwareguy · 09-16-2003, 06:45 AM

Snap caps rock. I have one for every firearm I own.

MSD · 09-16-2003, 04:56 PM

I have a 12-gauge single shot shotgun from 1901 and a .22 w/ octagonal barrel from around the same time. I've cleaned them up and repaired them, but I've been afraid to dry-fire them. I might have to get some of those.

I also have the ammo for them, but I don't think it would be safe to fire them anymore. I have to take them down to the gun shop sometime soon.

mtsgsd · 09-16-2003, 05:41 PM

With rim-fire guns there is the risk of having the firing pin strick the breech face at the edge of the chamber and peen it. This can be bad enough to keep a cartridge from seating into the chamber properly and it will have to be swaged out by a gunsmith. Some guns, like Ruger make the gun in such a way that it's impossible for the firing pin to do this. You can dry-fire them all day.

Older center-fire guns couldn't be dry fired because the inertial forces acting on the pin suddenly coming to a top without hitting anything would slowly stretch and finally snap the pin. With modern metalurgy this is supposedly not a problem, but with tapered pins, you still run the risk of slowly enlarging the firing pin hole and causing problems there.

Snap caps are a cheap way to be safe no matter what.

vanbeast · 09-17-2003, 08:49 AM

An alternative to snap caps is to simply use a piece of empty brass. Some people fill the casing with rubber or other similar material and cap it with epoxy.

If you can, pop out the the primer and stuff a piece of rubber in the primer socket... otherwise the hole in the primer will get deeper and deeper and eventually you won't be gaining anything.

Dry fire often, I do almost every day. It's the best way to build good habits. However, there are some simple precautions to take while practicing.

Always always ALWAYS clear the gun every time you pick it up. Even if you set it down to pick up the remote and change the channel, clear it when you pick it back up. It's just good safety practice.

Try not to have any live ammo in the same room. It's all too easy to get careless and end up with a loaded gun.

When dry-firing, the four rules still apply (this one's obvious). Personally, I don't do stuff like aim at the bad guys on TV, but some people do. Makes good quick target acquisition practice.

With any training regimen, it's good to make a plan. Decide what you want to work on and trim it down to essentials. For instance, I wanted to learn my trigger reset, so that's all I did for a week. Then I practiced drawing, acquiring, and firing the first shot for about two weeks, then I worked on reloads, etc.

Of course, I'm training for IPSC, so your priorities may well be different.

Fire · 09-18-2003, 07:00 PM

what about the AK-47- safe to dry fire or not?

numist_net · 09-23-2003, 11:06 PM

should be ok, but its always good to use the snap caps, just for the sake of keeping the weapon in perfect order.

Peace of mind, you know

viejo gringo · 09-25-2003, 09:25 PM

Man, wish they had those snap caps around when I
dry fired my rifles---broke both firing pins...

Moonduck · 09-25-2003, 10:53 PM

Snap caps should be used, just to be safe.

Redlemon · 09-26-2003, 01:57 PM

Sorry to jump in here, but I read the TFP by looking at "New Posts", and every time I see this thread title I think it is about male orgasm without ejaculation.

Just thought I'd share, carry on.

WarWagon · 09-29-2003, 06:52 PM

Depends on the quality of your gun. I can dry fire my Anschutz competiton rifle all day and all night and it'll be fine. If I want to use something in the chamber, I use a piece of brass.

Dry firing is one of the single most effective ways of improving your shooting. It allows you to focus on your hold and follow through without having to worry about recoil, and without thinking about sight compensation and conditions. Visualization of the shot is one of the most important things to improving your scores or shooting ability.

Just to give you an idea, the Army Marksmanship unit will dryfire for a full 3 weeks without putting a shot down range at the beginning of every season, and they are perhaps the single best smallbore rifle team in the world. I incorporate dry firing into my practice routine, and do it during my prep period of every match. Every good shooter I know does it, including national and international champions. Granted I haven't achieved that status, but I've won several Junior and Senior championships in CT in both air and smallbore over the past 6 years, won national championships as captain of the CT All State team, and am currently shooting for the Ohio State rifle team.

G5_Todd · 10-06-2003, 11:46 AM

good dry fire drill....take a penny put it on the far sight and slowly squeeze the trigger so it doesnt fall off the end.....

Nachtschleicher · 10-10-2003, 08:19 PM

I dry fire my .22 rimfire target rifles all the time. I'm on a smallbore team, and my coach showed me how to dry fire without hurting the gun.

This works on a bolt-action gun only. First, open the action; visually and physically clear the chamber. Then close the action and close the bolt halfway down, so that the bolt handle is around the 3 to 4 o'clock position (if it's a right-handed gun. For lefties, it needs to be at the 9 to 8 o'clock.) Just repeat as needed.

Works for me, and I have not seen any visual damage to the barrel. But to be absolutely sure, read the instruction manual. That should tell you if it's okay or not.

09-15-2003, 05:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
zfleebin Addict	Dry Firing I have heard arguments on both sides of the dry firing debate but I would like to hear some first hand experiences. I have been dry firing a little bit so I can watch my movements more closely as well as get used to the pull of the trigger. So, who does it, how much do you do it, and what are your experiences with it(has it helped your form etc?). Let's keep this flame free unless [B]your gun[/B} was damaged and you had a professional determine the cause.

09-15-2003, 07:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
Lebell Cracking the Whip Location: Sexymama's arms...	Depends on the gun. Some guns can be safely dry fired, others don't care for it. Use some Snap Caps if you are unsure. I do. Save that firing pin!!! These snap caps are ideal for practice. An internal spring saves your firing pin from repeated shock and a brass "primer" cap makes it feel like the real thing. The bright red color makes sure you don't confuse with live ammo. Formerly ArmSport brand. 9mm - 5 Pack $11.29 __________________ "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis The ONLY sponsors we have are YOU! Please Donate!

09-15-2003, 09:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
Slims Eccentric insomniac Location: North Carolina	Um, basically, don't dry fire any rimfire weapons, most revolvers, and some old double barrel shotguns and rifles. Just about every centerfire rifle and pistol is perfectly fine to dry fire. And it builds up lots of good habits. Worst case you will just have to replace the firing pin. __________________ "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence

09-16-2003, 06:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
hrdwareguy "Officer, I was in fear for my life" Location: Oklahoma City	Snap caps rock. I have one for every firearm I own. __________________ Gun Control is hitting what you aim at Aim for the TFP, Donate Today

09-18-2003, 07:00 PM	#8 (permalink)
Fire Warrior Smith Location: missouri	what about the AK-47- safe to dry fire or not? __________________ Thought the harder, Heart the bolder, Mood the more as our might lessens

09-16-2003, 04:56 PM	#5 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	I have a 12-gauge single shot shotgun from 1901 and a .22 w/ octagonal barrel from around the same time. I've cleaned them up and repaired them, but I've been afraid to dry-fire them. I might have to get some of those. I also have the ammo for them, but I don't think it would be safe to fire them anymore. I have to take them down to the gun shop sometime soon.

09-16-2003, 05:41 PM	#6 (permalink)
mtsgsd Addict Location: Wisconsin, USA	With rim-fire guns there is the risk of having the firing pin strick the breech face at the edge of the chamber and peen it. This can be bad enough to keep a cartridge from seating into the chamber properly and it will have to be swaged out by a gunsmith. Some guns, like Ruger make the gun in such a way that it's impossible for the firing pin to do this. You can dry-fire them all day. Older center-fire guns couldn't be dry fired because the inertial forces acting on the pin suddenly coming to a top without hitting anything would slowly stretch and finally snap the pin. With modern metalurgy this is supposedly not a problem, but with tapered pins, you still run the risk of slowly enlarging the firing pin hole and causing problems there. Snap caps are a cheap way to be safe no matter what.

09-17-2003, 08:49 AM	#7 (permalink)
vanbeast Tilted Location: Corvallis, OR	An alternative to snap caps is to simply use a piece of empty brass. Some people fill the casing with rubber or other similar material and cap it with epoxy. If you can, pop out the the primer and stuff a piece of rubber in the primer socket... otherwise the hole in the primer will get deeper and deeper and eventually you won't be gaining anything. Dry fire often, I do almost every day. It's the best way to build good habits. However, there are some simple precautions to take while practicing. Always always ALWAYS clear the gun every time you pick it up. Even if you set it down to pick up the remote and change the channel, clear it when you pick it back up. It's just good safety practice. Try not to have any live ammo in the same room. It's all too easy to get careless and end up with a loaded gun. When dry-firing, the four rules still apply (this one's obvious). Personally, I don't do stuff like aim at the bad guys on TV, but some people do. Makes good quick target acquisition practice. With any training regimen, it's good to make a plan. Decide what you want to work on and trim it down to essentials. For instance, I wanted to learn my trigger reset, so that's all I did for a week. Then I practiced drawing, acquiring, and firing the first shot for about two weeks, then I worked on reloads, etc. Of course, I'm training for IPSC, so your priorities may well be different.

09-23-2003, 11:06 PM	#9 (permalink)
numist_net Banned Location: UCSD	should be ok, but its always good to use the snap caps, just for the sake of keeping the weapon in perfect order. Peace of mind, you know

09-25-2003, 09:25 PM	#10 (permalink)
viejo gringo Registered User Location: Deep South Texas	Man, wish they had those snap caps around when I dry fired my rifles---broke both firing pins...

09-25-2003, 10:53 PM	#11 (permalink)
Moonduck Junkie Location: SE USA	Snap caps should be used, just to be safe.

09-26-2003, 01:57 PM	#12 (permalink)
Redlemon Devoted Donor Location: New England	Sorry to jump in here, but I read the TFP by looking at "New Posts", and every time I see this thread title I think it is about male orgasm without ejaculation. Just thought I'd share, carry on. __________________ I can't read your signature. Sorry.

09-29-2003, 06:52 PM	#13 (permalink)
WarWagon Loser	Depends on the quality of your gun. I can dry fire my Anschutz competiton rifle all day and all night and it'll be fine. If I want to use something in the chamber, I use a piece of brass. Dry firing is one of the single most effective ways of improving your shooting. It allows you to focus on your hold and follow through without having to worry about recoil, and without thinking about sight compensation and conditions. Visualization of the shot is one of the most important things to improving your scores or shooting ability. Just to give you an idea, the Army Marksmanship unit will dryfire for a full 3 weeks without putting a shot down range at the beginning of every season, and they are perhaps the single best smallbore rifle team in the world. I incorporate dry firing into my practice routine, and do it during my prep period of every match. Every good shooter I know does it, including national and international champions. Granted I haven't achieved that status, but I've won several Junior and Senior championships in CT in both air and smallbore over the past 6 years, won national championships as captain of the CT All State team, and am currently shooting for the Ohio State rifle team.

10-06-2003, 11:46 AM	#14 (permalink)
G5_Todd Junkie Location: Reichstag	good dry fire drill....take a penny put it on the far sight and slowly squeeze the trigger so it doesnt fall off the end..... __________________ "....and when you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." -General Franks Last edited by G5_Todd; 10-12-2003 at 06:30 AM..

10-10-2003, 08:19 PM	#15 (permalink)
Nachtschleicher Tilted	I dry fire my .22 rimfire target rifles all the time. I'm on a smallbore team, and my coach showed me how to dry fire without hurting the gun. This works on a bolt-action gun only. First, open the action; visually and physically clear the chamber. Then close the action and close the bolt halfway down, so that the bolt handle is around the 3 to 4 o'clock position (if it's a right-handed gun. For lefties, it needs to be at the 9 to 8 o'clock.) Just repeat as needed. Works for me, and I have not seen any visual damage to the barrel. But to be absolutely sure, read the instruction manual. That should tell you if it's okay or not.