J-frame dry-fire- How much is too much?

petepeterson

petepeterson

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I've read alot on here about J-frame actions smoothing out with dry-firing. I have a 442 (w/lock) that has a great trigger, but I bought it used, and have no idea how many rds went through it before I bought it.

My lady friend bought a new 642, and while the trigger is smooth, its heavier than mine, and she has a little trouble pulling all the way through at times.

My question is- I'd like to smooth out her trigger without modifying the gun. Can I do this by dry-firing with snap caps, and can it be overdone? Is there a "magic number" of pulls that is ideal? And a number that will start to wear on the parts?
 
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I dry fired my 642 a whole lot when I first bought it six years ago. Really smoothed out the trigger. Last year the trigger mechanism broke. I sent it back to S&W. Took about eight months to get a new one sent to me. Was it the dry firing? Was it just bad luck? I don't know. At least they made good on it.
 
Dry firing

I have a model 49 that I have carried for over 30 years....I have dry fired that little gun thousands and thousand of times over the decades.....I also have several K frames that I have dry fired for 40 years.....tens of thousands of cycles ( an M-65 and a PPC model 10).....still quite functional. I was a Smith & Wesson armorer for over 30 years and the dry firing question was often asked during the course and recertifications.....factory says dry fire all you want with CF revolvers....some people swear by snap caps....I have never used them. You are not going to hurt your J frame dry firing it.....and there is not a "sweet spot" as far as number of dry firing and action smoothness goes.....the more the better IMO. As a veteran hand gun instructor of over 4 decades....hand strength has always been an issue with DA revolver shooting ( and pistols ) for some shooters, especially with J frames.
 
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I don't think changing out to a lighter spring is that big of a deal, especially if you're going to keep the gun. Why not change it out. I changed mine out the minute I got my 642, and all my other j frames as well. There is nothing like instant results and gratification, which you'll get if you get a good certified gunsmith to change it out for you.
 
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You'll wear out long before you wear out your revolver from dry firing.

Dry fire as much as you like.

Understand that dry firing is for skill development, it is not a method of tuning the trigger.

If you want a better trigger , find a good gunsmith and let him decide what to do to improve the trigger.

Then let him do it.

Trigger work is not DIYS stuff on a sd handgun.

Just my opinion, of course.
 
I'm a firm believer in dry fire and I usually use fired brass with the expended primer in place. However, the only firing pin I ever broke in any gun for more than 50 years was a mod. 60.At that moment I had no expended shell at hand and fired on an empty chamber.
A local gunsmith fitted a carbon steel K frame firing pin and slotted the top of the hammer and pin.[ I had previously bobbed the hammer.] I still have the gun and the firing pin with never another problem. Nick
 
The j triggers lighten up with use & after a while at least to me I have gotten acquainted with their pull weights & they actually feel light now. It may be just fine to have a professional lighten your pull but I don't feel the need to have it done.
 
To maximize the benefits of dry firing, put a Crimson Trace laser grip on the gun and practice blasting the spine of an individual book on a shelf across the room (or some other specific but small target - top of a candle, corner of a picture, a specific mullion on a window, etc.) After recovering from the (probable) initial shock of how wobbly the gun seems through the trigger cycle, it's time to focus on tightening up the grip to keep the point of aim on the desired target. And after a while, you can even switch to "engaging" multiple books in sequence.

This will give a purpose to the dry firing (improving the ablity to hold steady on the target), and the trigger will still get exercised with every "shot."
 
When I first got my 642 I dry fired it probably 2,000 times in the first few days. It took that and two trips to the range for it to really smoothen up.

I'd say when your tendons start feeling sore and carpal tunnel kicks in, then it's too much.
 
I always use snap caps. They cost about $15. Probably unnecessary, but peace of mind. I just get paranoid that I think it's a snap cap and it turns out to be a hornday. Yikes. Boom.
 
petepeterson said:
I've read alot on here about J-frame actions smoothing out with dry-firing. I have a 442 (w/lock) that has a great trigger, but I bought it used, and have no idea how many rds went through it before I bought it.

My lady friend bought a new 642, and while the trigger is smooth, its heavier than mine, and she has a little trouble pulling all the way through at times.

My question is- I'd like to smooth out her trigger without modifying the gun. Can I do this by dry-firing with snap caps, and can it be overdone? Is there a "magic number" of pulls that is ideal? And a number that will start to wear on the parts?
Click to expand...

No worries. Fire away . . .
 
Two alternative suggestions - have her look at a 642 Lady Smith (which will have a slightly lighter pull from the factory), or have 'her' do the few thousand action cycles. I would bet she will have no problems with the pull after that, either from the action or her hand strength improving :).
 
When I do my dry fire practice, I use a shooting hold and "aim" at stuff around the room. My 442 has a Laserlyte side mounted laser, I'll put the red dot on something and try to keep it there through the trigger stroke.
Don't just sit there pulling the trigger over and over, use that time to practice trigger control.
After the onset of my neuropathy, I had to do something to lighten the trigger pull. I installed an 11 pound Wolff rebound spring and an 8 pound Wolff main spring. I can still shoot my snubby and I haven't had any misfires or light primer strikes.
 
I put over 2,000 dry fires on a J-frame for a friend who wondered why my gun was so much easier to shoot than hers. No damage of any kind.
Anything mechanical can wear out, but this won't, not in our lifetimes.

Pulling the trigger is good. Pulling it with a laser sight is better.
 
Thank you for all of the replies. I've cycled it a good bit, and am going to have her take over with the daily practice. It is the CT model, so there's the added benefit of visual stimulation.

Her Glock has made her "trigger-lazy."
 
Is there a "magic number"
Click to expand...
On new guns l like to dry fire at least 1,000 times. In my experience it does help to smooth and lighten the trigger pull. I did this on a Ruger Single-Six recently (a single action, of course) and the results were day-and-night. It went from heavy and creepy, to light and smooth. On the Single-Six it's easy to remove the cylinder, which I did, so as to not put any wear-and-tear on the cylinder, stop stud, or hand.

I have found the benefit with S&W revolvers is not as spectacular, since it's a smother action to begin with. But it does help. I used this technique recently on two NIB J-frames (a M638 and a M63) and I can feel an improvement.
 
Guess I'm just strange, but I don't ever dry fire anything. If the trigger is too hard to pull, I would either get another gun or modify the one I have. I don't want to be responsible for causing my Grand father to roll over in his grave. Or my Dad. I wonder, if in a critical defense situation, if I would ever notice the stiff trigger pull on my 37? I doubt it.
peace,
gordon
 
Try putting some moly paste on the trigger sear. Use the paste or anti Swede moly it has more moly in it. A higher (%) percentage of moly in it.
The gray engine assembly pre-lube or camshaft assembly lube has moly in it.

Moly will smooth out the roughness in the action.

Moly will lessen the trigger pull by up to 50% right away and more as it works into the pores of the metal.

I lube everything were there is metal to metal contact. I lube the star on the cylinder, the indexing lever, cylinder stud. Assemble the revolver install the snap caps and dry fire it 50 to 100 times.

While no two brand new guns can be the same action wise my new m58 and m57 had different feeling actions. One was a tad rougher over the other. I lubed the rougher one with moly and both actions are equal now.
Moly makes every gun feel the same action wise and the sear let off feels the same too. This really matters when switching between guns. Even though the calibers can vary they handle and shoot the same action wise.
I don't having to readjust to a totally different feeling action.

You need to try the moly paste or anti-seeze
 
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