Dry Firing Without Snap Caps

38-55 · Nov 24, 2011

I'm sure this has been talked to death, but I don't have good luck with the search feature!

Are snap caps a necessity when dry firing a center fire gun?

I don't see what damage can be done to the firing pin, except on a rim fire gun.

I have dry fired my M&P 40 quite a bit without snap caps and want to do the same thing with my new BG 380.

Thanks!

Dragon88 · Nov 24, 2011

38-55 · Nov 24, 2011

Thanks Dragon

Just as I suspected, there is no definitive answer (is there ever on the internet?)

tlen · Nov 24, 2011

What does the BG manual say ? S&W Manuals I've read all say dry fire is OK in all S&W except rimfire models.
My experience is to don't asking S&W CS. You'll get as many answers as calls and they seldom answer emails. Pretty poor.

Nathan Forrest · Nov 24, 2011

Is it a pistol with an open Firing pin area? Like a colt or CZ? Then bum a cigarette from a smoking friend cut off the filter and slip it in the slot of the hammer drop area. You can then dry fire a thousand rounds w/o a probllem.,

scatterguy · Nov 24, 2011

It probably won't do any damage but snap caps are relatively cheap insurance.

Arizona5906 · Nov 25, 2011

38-55 said:
I'm sure this has been talked to death, but I don't have good luck with the search feature!

Are snap caps a necessity when dry firing a center fire gun?

I don't see what damage can be done to the firing pin, except on a rim fire gun.

I have dry fired my M&P 40 quite a bit without snap caps and want to do the same thing with my new BG 380.

Thanks!

Most center fire guns can probably be dry fired without harm but I can testify that some cannot. I have a Ruger LC9 and the manual did not warn against dry firing. I did quite a bit of dry firing to become accustomed to the fairly long trigger pull. Here is the result:

GeorgeP · Nov 27, 2011

38-55 said:
I'm sure this has been talked to death, but I don't have good luck with the search feature!

Are snap caps a necessity when dry firing a center fire gun?

I don't see what damage can be done to the firing pin, except on a rim fire gun.

I have dry fired my M&P 40 quite a bit without snap caps and want to do the same thing with my new BG 380.

Thanks!

When in doubt, snap cap. Snap caps are so cheap why risk damage of any sort. Plus, they give you the chance to cycle the entire system.

Silversmok3 · Nov 27, 2011

Some centerfire guns are a pain to dry fire with snap caps. When I owned a Ruger SR9 I was forced to rack the slide to reset the trigger , which of course ejects the snap cap.

kbm6893 · Nov 27, 2011

Arizona5906 said:
Most center fire guns can probably be dry fired without harm but I can testify that some cannot. I have a Ruger LC9 and the manual did not warn against dry firing. I did quite a bit of dry firing to become accustomed to the fairly long trigger pull. Here is the result:

Wow. I have an LC9, and I haven't dry fired it a ton, I have dry fired it. I store the gun unloaded, and I always pull the trigger before I put it away so it's not stored cocked. Did the firing pin break on a dry fire, or on actual firing?

scooter123 · Nov 27, 2011

If you want a definative answer I'll give you one. Every firearm I know of uses some means to insure that the firing pin won't fall out of the gun. In most cases this is a cross pin in a cutout or pressed into the firing pin. That cutout or hole creates a "stress riser" in the firing pin that weakens it. In addition, the pins used for retention in most cases are quite small. As a result, excessive dry firing will cause either a failure of the firing pin or the pin that retains it. While it may take several thousands of strikes to do this, do enough dry firing without snap caps and something will break.

BTW, because in most cases it take thousands of strikes to cause a failure most manufacturers don't discourage dry firing. What they don't consider is that it's a widely recomended practice and I've seen posts on the net by people who claim to dry fire one thousand times a day or more. If you ask any firearms designer if snap caps should be used in those cases, the answer will be a resounding yes.

BTW, I've worn out a few sets of snap caps and have seen the effect of the accumulated strikes on those snap caps. On a semi auto snap cap it's normally peening of the edge that headspaces the snap cap in the chamber. BTW, many semi's can be cocked by doing a "press check", you don't need to eject the snap cap to cock the gun. When that peening starts to get extreme you'll find extracting that snap cap can take some effort. On a revolver snap cap, you'll shoot the rim off the snap cap. Think about it, that damage to the snap cap is all due to absorbing the energy of a firing pin strike that otherwise would be delivered to rather small components in your gun.

Bottomline, snap caps are cheap insurance. They protect the firing pin and it's retention pin and don't cost that much.

Arizona5906 · Nov 27, 2011

kbm6893 said:
Wow. I have an LC9, and I haven't dry fired it a ton, I have dry fired it. I store the gun unloaded, and I always pull the trigger before I put it away so it's not stored cocked. Did the firing pin break on a dry fire, or on actual firing?

I am fairly certain that dry firing caused the firing pin to break. I had about 150 rounds through the gun when I discovered the broken firing pin and I have fired about 550 rounds since I replaced the pin. The gun makes a very sharp sound when dry firing without a snap cap. The sound is much softer with the snap cap. The difference is the firing pin not slamming against its retaining pin. I also have a Beretta PX4 SC and the manual for that pistol warns not to dry fire without a snap cap. I am going to be cautious with all my firearms in the future and use a snap cap.

GeorgeP · Nov 27, 2011

Here's a layman's view: Properly designed automatics have a means of stopping the hammer at the end of it path, which is short of the pin's full travel. After striking the firing pin the hammer's travel is stopped and the pin continues under inertia energy, about 1/16". Same sort of thing with a hammer-less striker system, the pin (striker) is released under spring tension and continues under inertia. In both cases the pin's inertia energy is released into a primer. Without a primer or snap cap to absorb that energy the pin will slam as for as it can go, the bottom of it's channel, or full collapse of the pin spring. Is this enough energy to damage the pin? I don't honestly know. I would think, yes. I always use snap caps, spent shells, and in the case of 22s spent shells turned two or three times.

38-55 · Nov 27, 2011

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up making my own snap cap by resizing a case and putting some rubberized sealer in the primer pocket. This appears to be cushioning the firing pin as the pin is leaving a mark on the sealer. Saw this idea somewhere on the net and it seems to work ok. Because the BG has second strike capability, I can keep dry firing without having to work the slide. I'll just have to keep an eye on the sealer and replace it when it gets torn up.

MIST · Nov 27, 2011

I'd read this thread earlier this morning before going to my local indoor range. After a range visit I did a "required" walk around the showroom before leaving. Lo and behold, there's the display of A-Zoom Snap Caps calling out to me. I walked out with dry-fire insurance for my .380, 9MM, .40 S&W, .45 ACP and .357 Magnum.

BobRowe · Nov 29, 2011

When I first got my M&P 9 several years ago, I dry-fired it a lot - about 200 times each evening. After a while, the Firing pin broke. I called S&W and they sent me a complete firing pin assembly, with bushing, keepers, spring, etc., all assembled. Took about 20 seconds to change out. They said that I should use a snap cap when dry firing. They noted that my gun (by serial no.) had the older style firing pin, which is blued. They said that they would be incorporating a new style firing pin in all new M&P pistols, and that one would be bright-colored stainless. The replacement they sent me was the old style, because that's all they had at the time. My M&P 9C also has the blue one. When I purchased my M&P 45 a year or two ago, it had the new stainless firing pin in it, so I don't use snap caps in it.

chuckles46 · Nov 29, 2011

JMHO but A Zoom aluminum snap caps are cheap insurance. Additionally they allow you to load up a magazine, check how it all operates manually and allows safe dry firing. For the cheap price, it's really good insurance. With a gun costing in excess of $500 why skimp? Buy the Azooms and be happy and care for your expensive gun. I have lots, in every caliber from .22 up to 45-70. None of my guns ever get dry fired without a snap cap. Cheap insurance.

Dry Firing Without Snap Caps

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