J Frame break in guidance 101

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okarturoq

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I have a new 642, actually it's about 5yrs old. Recently I decided to pull it out of the box and fire it. I have fired 2 boxes of ammo through it. I have read that a good way to "break in" is to dry fire it about 10K times using snap caps. Can I use the same snap caps to dry fire it that many times? Any specific ammo to use or not use to a break in ? I just buy the least expensive that I can find.
I also have heard that it not good to dry fire a gun ?

Besides the trigger, I really enjoyed firing the gun. The rubber grips fit my hand great. I would like to replace them sometime, but that would only be for cosmetic reasons. I would also like to polish the cylinder.
 
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I assume that snap caps would last a long time.

If they don't look obviously worn out, they are probably GTG.

10,000 dry fires sounds like a lot. More than necessary, I would think.
 
I did the 1000 clicks and still wound up getting mine a spring/action job anyway.

Makes all the difference in the world...
 
Step 1: Clean off excess grease, especially in bore and chambers.

Step 2: Carry gun to range or other safe shooting venue.

Step 3: Load gun with appropriate target strength ammo.

Step 4: Fire gun until empty.

Step 5: Eject expended shells then repeat steps 3 through 5 until ammo is exhausted and desired trigger pull is developed.

The additional bonus to the preceding procedure is that you actually become more proficient with the gun as the gun improves! :D

Froggie
 
Just shoot the thing. If the trigger is still not acceptable to you after a couple of hundred rounds, take it to somebody who knows what he's doing for an assessment.
 
What deg said. I have a new gun out for a few days after bringing it home can't resist the picking it up admiring and dry fire. The dry fires add up and don't hurt. Also you get used to the feel of the gun. Hey it's a new gun hard to put down
 
Green Frog said:
Step 1: Clean off excess grease, especially in bore and chambers.

Step 2: Carry gun to range or other safe shooting venue.

Step 3: Load gun with appropriate target strength ammo.

Step 4: Fire gun until empty.

Step 5: Eject expended shells then repeat steps 3 through 5 until ammo is exhausted and desired trigger pull is developed.

The additional bonus to the preceding procedure is that you actually become more proficient with the gun as the gun improves! :D

Froggie
Click to expand...
I have always gone this route^^^
 
Except for a set of Spegel boot grips my 642 is stock. I've put ~1400 rounds through it and probably more than 10x that many dry fire "rounds". I have a couple sets of A-Zoom snap caps that I've used since the beginning and they're still in good shape, aside from finish wear.
 
How I break in all my wheel guns:

I break it down and clean it with de-greaser to remove the factory oil. Then I put a drop of SLIP 2000 EWL on the following spots:

Cylinder release latch
Trigger area
Hammer area
Ejector rod
Cylinder/crane connection

Then I work it with snap caps for about 250 dry fires. I also release and re-latch the cylinder about 100 times

Then I take it apart again. Re-clean it with de-greaser .

Then I Lube only the cylinder/crane connection and the ejector rod.

Then I put 250 rounds, mostly carry ammo through it for reliability testing

Then I consider it broke in.
 
okarturoq said:
...I also have heard that it not good to dry fire a gun?
Click to expand...

Although I generally always use snap caps, S&W says you can dry fire their center-fire handguns and makes no mention of a requirement for snap caps.

See the 5th FAQ on S&W's web page.

Straight from the mouth of the Mothership...

Edmo
 
Last edited:
I appreciate the suggestions and advice. I'll get some type of caps and do some dry fires. Keeping it clean and firing it seems to be the real key. I'll run a few more boxes of ammo through it, and go from there. If I still don't like it, I'll take it to a professional and maybe have a little polishing done.
 
okarturoq,

Be aware that the dry firing of a large # of rounds was basically a way to simulate the years of use that gave the older carbon steel guns that well broken-in feel. Stainless is not as absolutely hard (rather it is sort of tough but "gummy") so a huge # of dry fire cycles will actually accelerate wear of the internals somewhat. My shooting partner wanted to break in his new 686 and would sit in his Barca-Lounger and dry fire at the TV for a few hundred rounds nightly. He was amazed to find that it was seriously worn in its internals by the time he got ready to seriously compete with it! This may be an anomaly, but that was our experience. I'll admit that I do keep a set of snap caps for each caliber I shoot but seldom actually use them for any dry firing, other than function testing. I can guarantee that the steps I outlined in Post #6 will work and will not harm the gun... and besides live fire is a whole lot more fun than just having the gun go "click, click." :D

Froggie
 
For mine, after a clean & lube, five hundred rounds or snap cap equivalent.
The Airweights are shoot a little carry a lot.
After the five hundred if it is still stiff consider replacing the trigger return spring with, oh, a fifteen or fourteen pound one.
Wolff sells kits for this. I went further and replaced the hammer spring with a reduced power hammer spring and an extended firing pin.
This is all I want for a backup carry gun.
Don't worry, when the adrenaline kicks in you won't notice the trigger pull.
 
@Froggie-thank you for the solid advice.
I'm going to dry fire a few times (about 50) and live fire another box of rounds through it this weekend and see if I notice any difference. Since I'm comparing the trigger pull to the mustang and ppk I fired, I think I'm comparing apples to oranges. The trigger work that @chasmatic is recommending is obviously for a professional to handle. Sounds expensive, I wonder costs?
 
I take my J frames out of the box and shoot them. I have never had a failure to feed, failure to eject or a stovepipe. Breaking in is unnecessary.

HiCap
 
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