Can I dry fire my Uberti .45?

Dmanbass · March 5, 2008, 11:45 PM

You can tell by my question I am fairly new so please bear with me. I have heard it is a very bad idea to dry fire and to use dry fire caps instead. I make it a habit to NEVER place my finger on the trigger unless at the range and ready to fire. But I would like to practice at home so is it ok to dry fire with caps? Will it hurt the firing pin? Can I just use a spent cartridge? Thank you in advance.

Raider2000 · March 6, 2008, 05:21 AM

Snap Caps are relatively inexpensive, & to me are the safest way to practice without live ammo but spent rounds are OK to use as well just I'm not sure how many times you can keep hitting the old fired primer.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...209&t=11082005

Hawg · March 6, 2008, 06:18 AM

Punch out the primer and fill the hole with silicone.

Steve499 · March 6, 2008, 09:55 AM

I dry fire my Uberti .45 all the time. If and when something breaks, I'll just get another one of those somethings from VTI gun parts. I'm not going to deprive myself of a hundred dollars worth of practice to prolong the life of a two dollar gun part. So far, after many hundreds, maybe thousands of times of being dry fired, I've had to replace the trigger/bolt spring. I don't really think it knows whether the gun's loaded or not, so it failing was caused by the number of flexes alone. Granted, that number was much, much higher than it would have been without the dry firing, but snap caps wouldn't have protected it any.

Years ago I was a member of a pistol team. We used S&W revolvers and were encouraged by our armorer, who was trained by S&W, to dry fire as much as we could. No snap caps, empty cases, nothing. I have no information whether that policy was S&W's or the armorers alone, but I have a S&W model 14 I have owned since 1972 and dry fired bazilloins of times. Still all original and going strong.

I'm not necessarily encouraging you to dry fire your .45, just giving another perspective from the more commonly heard "never dry fire" wisdom, which has a lot of validity for rimfire and percussion arms. as far as I'm concerned though, centerfires are a whole 'nother ball game.

Dmanbass · March 6, 2008, 11:16 AM

Hmmm, that's what I love about this forum, different experiences and opinions that help me decide what it is I want to do with the benefit of your experience.

Another thought..... if the firing pin doesnt strike anything how can it get damaged (if it does at all)?. It would seem (logically) that if it is unloaded the pin gets a free ride home and doesn't pass "go!" ??

Any other comments are welcome.
Thank you.

Hawg · March 6, 2008, 03:29 PM

What might happen is the firing pin hole in the frame could get wallowed out by the firing pin. Colts have a bushing that can be replaced. CLones can have a bushing installed but it takes some machine work to do it. With a cartridge loaded the firing pin doesn't protrude as much as it will dry firing without one.

CraigC · March 6, 2008, 07:12 PM

I agree with Hawg. The firing pin hole in the recoil plate can develop burrs because the firing pin may travel a mite further than it would if you were shooting. Unlike Colt's and USFA's, the Italian replicas don't have replaceable firing pin bushings. If the hole gets enlarged and starts allowing the primer to flow into it, it will be expensive to fix. Use snap caps and watch for burrs. I dryfire my traditional single actions very, very little.

March 5, 2008, 11:45 PM	#1
Dmanbass Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2008 Posts: 128	Can I dry fire my Uberti .45? You can tell by my question I am fairly new so please bear with me. I have heard it is a very bad idea to dry fire and to use dry fire caps instead. I make it a habit to NEVER place my finger on the trigger unless at the range and ready to fire. But I would like to practice at home so is it ok to dry fire with caps? Will it hurt the firing pin? Can I just use a spent cartridge? Thank you in advance.

March 6, 2008, 05:21 AM	#2
Raider2000 Senior Member Join Date: July 23, 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 719	Snap Caps are relatively inexpensive, & to me are the safest way to practice without live ammo but spent rounds are OK to use as well just I'm not sure how many times you can keep hitting the old fired primer. http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...209&t=11082005

March 6, 2008, 06:18 AM	#3
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,189	Punch out the primer and fill the hole with silicone.

March 6, 2008, 09:55 AM	#4
Steve499 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Central Missouri Posts: 533	I dry fire my Uberti .45 all the time. If and when something breaks, I'll just get another one of those somethings from VTI gun parts. I'm not going to deprive myself of a hundred dollars worth of practice to prolong the life of a two dollar gun part. So far, after many hundreds, maybe thousands of times of being dry fired, I've had to replace the trigger/bolt spring. I don't really think it knows whether the gun's loaded or not, so it failing was caused by the number of flexes alone. Granted, that number was much, much higher than it would have been without the dry firing, but snap caps wouldn't have protected it any. Years ago I was a member of a pistol team. We used S&W revolvers and were encouraged by our armorer, who was trained by S&W, to dry fire as much as we could. No snap caps, empty cases, nothing. I have no information whether that policy was S&W's or the armorers alone, but I have a S&W model 14 I have owned since 1972 and dry fired bazilloins of times. Still all original and going strong. I'm not necessarily encouraging you to dry fire your .45, just giving another perspective from the more commonly heard "never dry fire" wisdom, which has a lot of validity for rimfire and percussion arms. as far as I'm concerned though, centerfires are a whole 'nother ball game.

March 6, 2008, 11:16 AM	#5
Dmanbass Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2008 Posts: 128	Hmmm, that's what I love about this forum, different experiences and opinions that help me decide what it is I want to do with the benefit of your experience. Another thought..... if the firing pin doesnt strike anything how can it get damaged (if it does at all)?. It would seem (logically) that if it is unloaded the pin gets a free ride home and doesn't pass "go!" ?? Any other comments are welcome. Thank you.

March 6, 2008, 03:29 PM	#6
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,189	What might happen is the firing pin hole in the frame could get wallowed out by the firing pin. Colts have a bushing that can be replaced. CLones can have a bushing installed but it takes some machine work to do it. With a cartridge loaded the firing pin doesn't protrude as much as it will dry firing without one.

March 6, 2008, 07:12 PM	#7
CraigC Junior member Join Date: November 28, 2001 Location: West Tennessee Posts: 4,300	I agree with Hawg. The firing pin hole in the recoil plate can develop burrs because the firing pin may travel a mite further than it would if you were shooting. Unlike Colt's and USFA's, the Italian replicas don't have replaceable firing pin bushings. If the hole gets enlarged and starts allowing the primer to flow into it, it will be expensive to fix. Use snap caps and watch for burrs. I dryfire my traditional single actions very, very little.