Break in pistol with dry firing snap caps?

[ConditionOne]

Don't have the money for a trigger job--nor the cofindence to do it myself. If I dry fire my S&W revolver with snap caps, will that help break in and smooth the trigger pull some?

 

[Centenniel]

Yes, and if your revolver is in a centerfire cartridge, the snap caps aren't really necessary. You can also "catch" the hammer with your off-hand thumb after it releases to lessen the effect of dry firing.

 

[dfariswheel]

It can help break in the action, but more important, it'll "break in" your trigger finger, which will make the action seem lighter.

 

[jframefreak]

Dry firing won't hurt, but my favorite break in method is plinking. Paper targets, discarded highway signs, old washing machines, you name it.
Have fun whatever you do.

 

[RightWinger]

If you have a small screw driver, and a ceramic media stone you can easily perform a "basic" action job. W/o getting into too many details, the single biggest improvement you can make is by stoning the rebound slide and taking off the sharp corners on it. If I'm not mistaken, there should be a post on here somewhere with pictures and easy instructions to assist you. Dry firing is a great thing and it will help your finger muscles, however I prefer to do both. If I had some extra parts laying around I would take pics of them and make a diagram of what all needs to be slicked up and what you don't want to touch, its really not all that complicated nor intimidating once you start it.

 

[jeffrey]

You might get the Jerry Miculek Action Job DVD. It gave me enough information and confidence to do my own action action jobs -- and have saved a cartload of money in the process. Even if you just learn how to disassemble your guns and swap out springs, it's worth the $20.

 

[500 Magnum Nut]

I'd get a few drops of oil inside, sure would smooth it out for you. New S&Ws are shipped dry as a bone.

Personally excessive dryfiring on a revolver wears them out. The lock up will suffer. The cylinder ratchets will wear. The cylinder stop will get looser. The cylinder stop notches will wear. The best thing to do to prevent the most important stuff from wearing is to open the cylinder and hold the thumb release to the rear. Then dryfire till your hand falls off.