Dry Firing Question

[ancient-one]

I posted this question in semi-auto section but no one cares to answer.
I just got a 6906. Is dry firing OK or something that should not be done?
Would appreciate any input. Thanks!

 

[handgunner356]

There shouldn't be any problem dry firing your gun, if you have concerns use a snap-cap.

 

[oldRoger]

I read your post before and hoped that someone with a 69xx series would answer. I don’t have one.
I can only give you general centerfire advice. Dry fire is OK, but a snap cap is preferred.
I dry fire frequently sometimes without a snapcap, but I have caps for several calibers and use them if I plan a long practice.
Rimfires are generally a no-no because the firing pin will hit the edge of the chamber, this could result in a burr or worse.

 

[MKT]

You'll be fine dry firing your semi-auto. The S&W semis have a decent weight firing pin spring. I have several S&W autos I competed with and have dry fired literally thousands of times without any ill effect.

 

[Alk8944]

I posted this question in semi-auto section but no one cares to answer.
I just got a 6906. Is dry firing OK or something that should not be done?
Would appreciate any input. Thanks!

The 6906 has a bobbed hammer. Does it have a safety or de-cocker, or just the firing pin retained? This will make a difference. Comments are based on extensive experience with the Model 39 as a police dept. armorer when we had these guns. The 39 and 6906 have basically the same slide design.

On the Model 39 the only problem observed with dry-firing had nothing to do with the firing pin itself. What would happen is the safety is the firing pin retainer, and the safety is struck directly by the hammer when it falls. The same applies when the safety is applied and the gun de-cocks, the hammer strikes the safety. I had to replace several safeties as they wold break through the firing pin cut which has a very thin cross-section. If the gun does not have the safety/de-cocker the firing pin retainer may be more durable as it doesn't have to have so much material removed to allow it to rotate around the firing pin.

The safety was the most frequently replaced part on the M-39 because of breakage. This is the first part I would want as a spare for any of the S&W automatics, especially if I were going to dry-fire at all.

 

[MKT]

Good point on the safety ALK. I think S&W had beefed the sfaety by the 59XX seires because all of my 5906's have a beefy diameter to the safety. Only two of these have the decocker, the rest are single action PPC9 / 5906's.

 

[oldman45]

Why not read the manual to see what it says? If you do not have one, you can find one on-line for free.

Also you might want to call S&W and they will be happy to give you the correct answer.

 

[JcMack]

I always use snap caps. Despite the general opinion, they cushion the FP. Also the reassuring "thunk" produced on hammer fall lets me know everything is functional.

 

[bk43]

I always thought either way, doesn't matter. Then I noticed in Kuhnhausen he recommends always using snap-caps when test firing a revolver. I now use snap-caps in everything, revolver or pistol, as he "wrote the book" as they say.

Bob

PS: He recommends limiting dry firing in 1911s "no matter who says it's OK".

 

[deanodog]

The manual says it's o k for dry fire sigmas but mine is gone right now to S&W with broken striker/spring whatever. They sent me a shipping label to ship it.

 

[G.T. Smith]

I have read a lot of these posts in the past about dry firing a weapon, and if it is OK or not. What I would like to know is why in the world would anybody wanna dry fire a gun to start with? Wouldn't it be better to test fire a gun with a round in the chamber. I hate to see/hear a gun being dry fired. When I was a kid I screwed up the edge of the chamber on my .22 rifle doing that. My dad had to file the little ding off that the firing pin made so the ejector would catch firmly enough to eject the shells. Snap caps sound like they would help, but my question is, why dry fire a gun anyway? I'm sure that there is a reason or people wouldn't wonder if it's OK or not. Maybe I'm just not that knowledgeable about firearms, but I am wondering.
Peace,
gordon

 

[Bullseye 2620]

I have read a lot of these posts in the past about dry firing a weapon, and if it is OK or not. What I would like to know is why in the world would anybody wanna dry fire a gun to start with? Wouldn't it be better to test fire a gun with a round in the chamber. I hate to see/hear a gun being dry fired. When I was a kid I screwed up the edge of the chamber on my .22 rifle doing that. My dad had to file the little ding off that the firing pin made so the ejector would catch firmly enough to eject the shells. Snap caps sound like they would help, but my question is, why dry fire a gun anyway? I'm sure that there is a reason or people wouldn't wonder if it's OK or not. Maybe I'm just not that knowledgeable about firearms, but I am wondering.
Peace,
gordon

For practice, and to train muscle memory, Gordon. At least in bullseye, learning how to break the shot without disturbing the perfect sight picture is a critical skill. You can practice this skill without live ammo, by dry firing. After thousands of repetitions, your trigger finger becomes directly connected to the unconscious (subconscious) part of the mind that recognizes perfect sight picture before it registers in your conscious mind. What you are striving for is the feeling that the shot has broken itself, and that the conscious you had nothing to do with it.

Every bullseye shooter I know dry fires, incessantly. I have never heard a match armorer tell a competitor not to dry fire. In fact, the opposite is the case. Of course, it is mandatory to use snap caps or a chamber plug like those Hammerli issues when shooting rimfires, but I have never heard anyone say it is mandatory to do so with with a centerfire 1911.

I practice dry firing against a plain white wall. I am not so much concerned with the alignment between the sights and the target (a blank space on a blank wall) as I am focused on achieving a perfect sight picture (perfect alignment of front and rear sights with each other, only) just as I complete my trigger squeeze. The steady pursuit of this practice will improve your groups no matter what your shooting discipline.

Hope this helps.



Bullseye

 

[ancient-one]

Thanks to all for your input. I do want to dry fire and to be on the safe side I will use snap cap.

 

[enidpd804]

I have read a lot of these posts in the past about dry firing a weapon, and if it is OK or not. What I would like to know is why in the world would anybody wanna dry fire a gun to start with? Wouldn't it be better to test fire a gun with a round in the chamber. I hate to see/hear a gun being dry fired. When I was a kid I screwed up the edge of the chamber on my .22 rifle doing that. My dad had to file the little ding off that the firing pin made so the ejector would catch firmly enough to eject the shells. Snap caps sound like they would help, but my question is, why dry fire a gun anyway? I'm sure that there is a reason or people wouldn't wonder if it's OK or not. Maybe I'm just not that knowledgeable about firearms, but I am wondering.
Peace,
gordon

Hello, Mr. Smith. When I was a kid, they called the 'don't dry fire rule' the 'rimfire rule.' Rimfires can be damaged from dry firing due to the position of the firing pin. Generally, centerfires don't have that problem. I dry fire all of the time. I've only broken one firing pin by dry firing. It was my dad's Raven .25 when I was a kid. Draw your own conclusion as to why it broke. Stuff breaks. That's just the way it is. I've heard of firing pins/strikers breaking during live fire. Having said that, snap caps may make life easier on the gun. I don't pretend to know. I don't think it could hurt.

The reason to dry fire is free practice with no recoil or muzzle blast so that you can see what you're doing wrong. Trigger control is a difficult skill to master and it made all of the difference in the world for me. I went from shooting low 80s to high 90s and 100s on our qualifications when I started dry firing regularly.

 

[Alk8944]

Why not read the manual to see what it says? If you do not have one, you can find one on-line for free.

Also you might want to call S&W and they will be happy to give you the correct answer.

Remember that S&W makes the guns, and parts! Guns are just like any other mechanical device, if used long and hard enough something will break. The problem with guns is the nature of their use, and never discount Murphy. They will quit most often during a match, a self-defense situation, or whenever else is most inopportune. Dry-firing does cause accelerated wear compared to actually shooting so you will be repairing it more often. You just have to accept this as normal and expect to replace more parts.

 

[G.T. Smith]

OK,
I don't shoot in any competition or anything, but now I understand why dry firing is a practice. And I did learn about the rim fire rule the hard way. Thank all of you for your enlightenment. I guess I could have saved a lot of ammo had I known.
Peace,
gordon

 

[JcMack]

Just for jollies: Take any LW Centennial style Smith produced since the lock. Unload it and dry fire it in the dark. See if sparks originate around the firing pin area. I've had a few of these produce sparks without snapcaps. Doesn't seem good.

 

[Cyrano]

I just tried it with my 638 Bodyguard; I didn't get any sparks. Wonder where they come from?

 

[JcMack]

I've only had the issue with Centennials. The internal hammer is a different style than Bodyguards/