Dry Firing Safe?

aterry33 · Aug 21, 2009

True or false: You won't damage a handgun through dry firing, so long as the gun is not a rimfire or does not have a hammer-mounted firing pin.

This is what I've always heard, and I'm curious what you guys think.

twaits · Aug 21, 2009

I've dry fired most of my newer S&Ws (by newer I mean from 1950s up)
on occasion without any problems. Oh and an old Victory model that I dry fired like crazy when I was a kid and it still works fine.
I don't dry fire my really old ones however. I'd cry if I broke the hammer on my .44 DA Frontier.

john traveler · Aug 21, 2009

It's true. Any quality centerfire revolver (S&W, Colt, Ruger, etc) is safe to dry fire extensively. For guns that are excessively dryfired, and by this I mean several hundreds of cycles each day, EVERY day, there will be the rare broken hammer nose (striker) or deformed frame-mounted firing pin. Other than that, it is not worth worrying about.

Semi auto pistols generally are also not damaged by dry firing. There are a few exceptions, however. The old Star Model A, B, and BM series have firing pins retained by cross pins hidden under the rear sight. This design will break firing pins with regularity if dry fired. The constant impact with the cross pin is what does the damage.

Even with the sturdy M1911 and Browning M1935 designs, pistols used for extensive training commonly suffer from peened firing pin heads, which can cause the fp to stick in the fp retainer plate.

GARMASTERS · Aug 22, 2009

Fwiw

Mauser HSC's don't like dry firing and new pins are expensive.

gunlovingirl · Aug 22, 2009

I don't dry fire any of my guns without snap caps.

Dale53 · Aug 22, 2009

In fifty years of serious shooting, I have broken two firing pins. One was in my Model 14 PPC revolver which had been dry fired (without snap caps) a LOT.

The other was a revolver which had not been dry fired (or fired) hardly any. Both were hammer mounted firing pins (they apparently are NOT fail proof). Things do break when used a lot. Snap caps are probably a good idea.

However, I don't believe that broken pins in S&W revolvers are common (as in, "hear of them a lot", but it does happen on occasion).

If you have a number of different S&W revolvers and dry fire a lot it might be a good thing to have a spare, along with the spring (some models) and the rivet. They are not hard to replace in the hammer guns and actually easier with the "in the frame" models. You just have to pop the side plate, pull a cross pin, and replace the firing pin and re-assemble.

Dale53

Class III · Aug 23, 2009

Let's not forget the CZ-52. Although it's a semi, if you dry fire it it WILL break the fireing pin. I did this TWICE (Guess I was a little bit slow on the uptake). I finally found hardened steel replacements at makarov.com. But, since they are no longer selling anything I am really leary of dry firing my CZ-52's. What's the saying, "One bitten, twice shy". In my case it was twice bitten third time shy.

Class III

wraco · Aug 23, 2009

I'm old school and don't dry fire any my guns. It may not hurt, as some have said, but I don't like it and if someones wants to handle one of my guns , I'm polite, but make it clear not to dry fire.

Rod

Smitty500Mag · Aug 23, 2009

The main thing to watch out for is to make sure when you dump the ammo from the cylinder and start dry firing that you dump ALL the rounds out! Look through each chamber and make sure they're empty don't just count the rounds.

The reason I say this is for instance say someone has been dry firing a J frame several times one day before he picks up a K frame that carries 6 round instead of 5 but when they dump the rounds out they count 5 rounds and forget they're dry firing the K frame now instead of the J frame. That means they still have one in the cylinder that they've forgotten about and if they don't look through each chamber after that it's gonna get ugly!!

Not that I've ever done anything like that but I can see how that might happen.

Smitty

RainDodger · Aug 24, 2009

I have a very nice K38 manufactured in '53. When I was growing up in the 1960s, my dad taught me about revolvers with it.... we dry fired that revolver thousands of times over the years. Today it is just as tight as it ever was and it has a smoothness to the action that you rarely see today.

I have also dry fired my M60 and M66 many, many times since the 80s and they're fine too.

So... speaking from that experience alone, I am fine with dry firing those revolvers. Generally I don't do it much anymore, but I don't see it as a problem. Other designs have other issues - of course you likely don't want to dry fire a rimfire of any sort, and I personally don't dry fire my rifles or shotguns unless there's no way around it.

BobM · Aug 25, 2009

Those are wise words from Smitty500Mag. Many years ago I killed my television with a 125gr hollow point fired from a 36. Seems a round caught on the frame mounted cylinder stop that holds the cylinder when opened. No one was in danger as I have never pointed a gun at anyone ever. Bullet stayed in the TV as advertised. I was the butt of many jokes for a long time after that. Bob

10xatten · Jul 13, 2013

That's ok Bob. I heard Elvis killed his TV with a .357.

Richard

bjornolf · Jul 13, 2013

BobM said:
Those are wise words from Smitty500Mag. Many years ago I killed my television with a 125gr hollow point fired from a 36. Seems a round caught on the frame mounted cylinder stop that holds the cylinder when opened. No one was in danger as I have never pointed a gun at anyone ever. Bullet stayed in the TV as advertised. I was the butt of many jokes for a long time after that. Bob

Best story ever. Only thing that would make it better is if you had shot a certain person right between the eyes. On the TV, of course.

DWalt · Jul 13, 2013

Dry firing I-frame Colt revolvers (Python, .357 Magnum, etc.) is strongly discouraged. The I-frame Colts have a frame-mounted firing pin, and they will be damaged as a result of extensive dry firing. And it's an expensive repair. I avoid dry-firing any gun if possible, mainly because Daddy always drilled that into me when I was a kid.

tlay · Jul 13, 2013

If you are going to dry fire any gun get in the habit of going to a room without any ammo. Triple check to make sure it is empty. Find something to aim at that WILL stop a negligent discharge. Use snap caps if you have them.

Göring's S&W · Jul 13, 2013

I have dry fired many S&W and Colt revolvers many times, and never had a problem. I think when talking DA swing out cylinder revolvers, this topic is a bit of a myth. It should not hurt the firing pin, the frame, or the hammer, on a center-fire swing out cylinder revolver. If you broke a firing pin on say a S&W M&P, I would have to think its a coincidence, and that the firing pin already had an issue which made it weaker. Firing wears the same parts, when you think about it.

DWalt · Jul 13, 2013

"Firing wears the same parts, when you think about it."

Not exactly. When firing a live round (or a dummy round made for the purpose) the blow of the firing pin is somewhat cushioned and the inertial effects are lessened compared to dropping a pin on an empty chamber. Therefore there is a difference on the stresses the firing pin is subjected to. Now the question is how many dry firing cycles will it take to result in firing pin (or other) damage vs. how many live rounds? I think it is a safe assumption to make that dry firing is likely to result in some degree of diminished lifespan of the firing pin. Whether that degree is 5% or 95% no one knows.

Virtually every trap and skeet shooter I have ever known uses snap caps with their shotguns, as most strongly believe snapping on an empty chamber reduces firing pin life. Hunters may not worry so much, as they shoot far fewer rounds than serious trap and skeet shooters. Just to be sure, it wouldn't hurt to always use snap caps if you want to dry fire a lot.

Göring's S&W · Jul 13, 2013

Not exactly. When firing a live round (or a dummy round made for the purpose) the blow of the firing pin is somewhat cushioned and the inertial effects are lessened compared to dropping a pin on an empty chamber.

I know that already. I was attempting to say that all of the same parts and areas are used when firing. The other consideration here is that the "cushioned" use still places stress on those parts involved. In other words, what if a person rather than dry fire a gun (say 20k times), instead FIRED it 20,000 times, can we really say that would not break the firing pin anyways? If a gun had that many rounds through it, and I dry fired it 100x and broke the firing pin, does that tell us anything about dry firing? Round count is a factor.

FWIW, I'm not sure that OU shotguns are similar enough to offer up as evidence regarding handgun dry firing. Its safe to say that different gun designs will place different amounts of stress on the gun parts involved in dry firing. Some guns mentioned, such as the Mauser HSc, have a higher degree of stress on those parts than say a S&W M&P. Best to stick with apples, unless oranges are being discussed.

shawn mccarver · Jul 13, 2013

Won't hurt even if your firing pin (hammer nose) is hammer mounted. S&W recommended it in its owner's brochure that used to be enclosed with the guns before the current "legal document" owner's manuals.

dangt · Jul 14, 2013

A Model 14 I bought a few years ago had the edges of the hole in the hammer nose bushing extruded outward so that when loaded with cartridges, this lip would drag on the cartridge rim. It was sticking out far enough that when loaded, the cylinder would be stopped by it. The gun would not function when loaded with ammo. This could not have happened by normal firing or it would have started dragging on cartridges but this condition went so far as to actually tie up the gun. The gun came to me this way so I cannot prove what caused it but after stoning off the lips from the firing pin hole, the gun has worked flawlessly for years with no indication that the condition is returning. I feel confident that it was probably excessive dry firing that led to the problem.

Dan T.

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