Dry firing vs Snap Cap

[Johnmuratore]

I apologize if this topic has already been beaten to death but I would appreciate some opinions.
My baby is a .40c. I know that its striker fired, but my understanding of that is its a mechanism to prevent the gun from firing without the trigger being depressed, not something to prevent hyperextension of the firing pin. Is that something to worry about?

 

[Khurrle]

My understanding is there is no real harm from dry firing. Really if you think about how the striker operates, it springs forward against another spring that compresses and stops its travel either by slowing it enough or completely compressing and having no more travel space. You're not really having severe slamming happen like you would with a hammer. (Which is not to say that hammer based guns are more prone to dry fire damage, I was just making an example)

There should be nothing to worry about with dry firing.

 

[robkarrob]

S&W states dry firing is OK. It is a center fire and the only non-issue is the firing pin/striker being stopped at the end of it's travel, as opposed to actually hitting the primer. There are some on this forum that have dry fired many thousands of times with no issues.

Bob

 

[guns and more]

I look at Snap Caps as cheap insurance.
I keep them in all my guns.

 

[Rastoff]

My baby is a .40c. I know that its striker fired, but my understanding of that is its a mechanism to prevent the gun from firing without the trigger being depressed, not something to prevent hyperextension of the firing pin. Is that something to worry about?

No, this is not what a striker is for. It simply has to do with the method of firing the gun. A striker fired gun doesn't have a hammer. Rather than have a hammer hit a firing pin, the striker is held back by a sear and the force of the striker spring is what drives it into the primer and fires the cartridge.

A hundred years ago, the problem wasn't the pin hyper-extending, it was the hammer slamming against the frame. Prior to about 1900, the steel used was a little more brittle. So, a hammer constantly hitting the frame, without the cushion of the primer, could cause the frame to crack. Modern pistols are made from more resilient steel.

Pressing the trigger without a live round in the chamber will not harm your M&P. I have 2,129 round through my M&P .45 full size. I have done at least 50,000 dry fires. My gun has not suffered any damage to date.

 

[loc n load]

Dry firing

I have been dry firing Smith revolvers for over 40 years w/o mishap.....I have a M-65 that has probably been dry fired a million times over a span of ten yrs when I was training with the gun everyday..and a PPC revolver that has been dry fired tens of thousands of times...I have several striker fired & 1911 pistols that have been dry fired thousands of times...I became a certified S&W armorer back in the early 80's and have returned to the "mother ship" several times for recert's and I was told in the 80's that it was okay to dry CF revolvers and pistols and the story was the same in 06, by the folks who designed, manufactured and sold the guns.
I know some folk's think the snap caps are necessary and that is fine....use em if you think it prudent....either way it is a good method of practicing, developing and refining skill sets with your handgun w/o having to go to the range.

 

[Marie13]

I use snap caps in my Shield when dry firing. As a previous poster said, they're cheap insurance.

 

[Saudade]

I read the hype and drank the kool-aid. Bought a bunch of snap caps for my first 9mm. Last step when cleaning was to load a snap cap. Dry fire drills, mag change drills, malfunction drills. They do have a purpose. I don't use them for dry fire anymore.

I would't advise against it. However, I wouldn't claim you need them.

If you go for them, the next controversy will be which ones.

(mine are A-Zoom)

 

[Rpg]

I use snap caps only in double barrel guns.

They are unnecessary in most everything else, and more trouble than they're worth.

Just my opinion , of course.

 

[uechikid]

No, this is not what a striker is for. It simply has to do with the method of firing the gun. A striker fired gun doesn't have a hammer. Rather than have a hammer hit a firing pin, the striker is held back by a sear and the force of the striker spring is what drives it into the primer and fires the cartridge.

A hundred years ago, the problem wasn't the pin hyper-extending, it was the hammer slamming against the frame. Prior to about 1900, the steel used was a little more brittle. So, a hammer constantly hitting the frame, without the cushion of the primer, could cause the frame to crack. Modern pistols are made from more resilient steel.

Pressing the trigger without a live round in the chamber will not harm your M&P. I have 2,129 round through my M&P .45 full size. I have done at least 50,000 dry fires. My gun has not suffered any damage to date.

Great explanation!

 

[Johnmuratore]

Thanks guys.
I guess the bottom line is to do whatever you're comfortable with.
And make damn sure you know what you've got in the tube before you pull the trigger.

 

[walkin' trails]

I had a striker break during dry fire, but it had also busted a lot of live primers before it let go. Furthermore, it was one of the black colored specimens that were allegedly prone to breakage. It was replaced by a new design silver colored striker. S&W still states the M&Ps can be dry fired and doesn't mention snap caps. If they did, a lot of law enforcement agencies that conduct large scale training with the M&P would be in a bind cause them snap caps are kind of expensive.

 

[Rastoff]

And make damn sure you know what you've got in the tube before you pull the trigger.

Well said!

 

[Lincoln9]

I apologize if this topic has already been beaten to death but I would appreciate some opinions.
My baby is a .40c. I know that its striker fired, but my understanding of that is its a mechanism to prevent the gun from firing without the trigger being depressed, not something to prevent hyperextension of the firing pin. Is that something to worry about?

S & W recommends the use of snap caps.

 

[Rastoff]

S & W recommends the use of snap caps.

Can you post a link to that? Or some other reference? I don't see it in the manual, but I could have missed it. Also, I've called and others have too, and S&W told me that dry firing the gun would do no harm and snap caps were not necessary.