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Old January 22, 2011, 05:39 PM   #1
jcvibby
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Do you Dry Fire???

How much and how often do you dry fire your weapons. Obviously not your rimfires because it is bad for it. Bolt guns and handguns. How much and how often?
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Old January 22, 2011, 05:44 PM   #2
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Bolt guns.... I dont.

... handguns... usually not...
..but I have before..not very often.
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Old January 22, 2011, 05:46 PM   #3
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I dont like to dry fire my bolt guns but Ive drie fired the mess out of my glock and airweight. its good practice for muscle memory. Never used a snap cap or nothin like that.
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Old January 22, 2011, 06:10 PM   #4
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I've been dry firing my whole life and have failed to damage a single firearm yet, including rimfires. I don't know how this no dry fire myth started. Maybe from the very cheapest or old brittle firearms which I tend to stay away from.
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Old January 24, 2011, 12:09 AM   #5
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Sometines but not much, no need to do kit anymore. I used to dry fire in the first few years I shot but I got to the point where I did not need it anymore. I still do kit with a new gun to get used to the trigger but then again the best way to get used to a trigger is to go shooting.

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Old January 24, 2011, 08:30 PM   #6
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I dry fire a lot. For me it let's me know how I'm moving the gun when I pull the trigger. With revolvers i usually lose count of my shots and end up dry firing at the end.
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Old January 24, 2011, 08:40 PM   #7
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A lot (and I consistently make dime sized groups at 200 yards with my P229 everytime
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Old January 24, 2011, 09:25 PM   #8
bigfatton
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I end up dry-firing at the end of my magazine on my BL-22. It holds 15 long rifles and I don't always keep track. can sometimes tell based on how it feels when i work the action weather or not it feeds a cartridge, but I end up dry firing plenty.
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Old January 24, 2011, 09:34 PM   #9
beex215
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i do on my pistols. i dont mind

yea. i bet we all have done the accidental dry fire when we empty the mag.
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Old January 24, 2011, 09:44 PM   #10
Pahoo
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Quote:
How much and how often do you dry fire your weapons.
Mine; Seldom
Others; Hardly ever and always ask permission. ...

Last Saturday looked at a 10/22 and asked permission. One, I knew it was safe and two, I asked two more times so he was confortable.


Be Safe !!!
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Old January 24, 2011, 09:48 PM   #11
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Often..... at least once a week, all my pistols and most of my rifles.
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Old January 25, 2011, 12:23 AM   #12
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Constantly, rilfe, pistol, revolver..............everything.

Excluding 22 rimfires of course but I dry fire them with snap caps.
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Old January 25, 2011, 03:48 PM   #13
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I have been dry firing ever since Marine Corps boot camp. I do it alot with all weapons. I feel you get to know your weapon better by doing this. If you dont dry fire do it and you will see your trigger control increase.
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Old January 25, 2011, 08:31 PM   #14
Diabolus
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I dry fire all the time as well.
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Old January 27, 2011, 11:30 AM   #15
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Depends on what it is. Most things it won't hurt.
I don't dry fire AKs because the hammer whacks against a receiver support member and I doubt it's hurting it but I don't want it repeatedly hitting that thing on the same spot.
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Old January 27, 2011, 11:42 AM   #16
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SSSDF.... ****, shower, shave, dry fire
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Old January 27, 2011, 12:35 PM   #17
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I dry fire regularly (including my rimfire guns–see http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=438316) I prefer to use snap caps with my centerfire guns as well–just cautious. Dry firing is important practice for gaining trigger control. I don't put limits on the amount I dry fire. As much as I want.
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Old January 27, 2011, 12:58 PM   #18
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Quote:
How much and how often do you dry fire your weapons.
Daily dry fire drills.

My primary match gun has tens of thousands of dry trigger pulls on it. Quality dry fire fine-tunes trigger control, but helps gun handling and perhaps more importantly, vision skills as well, so the actual trigger pull is sometimes skipped when I want primarily work on gun handling and "seeing more".

Just as I'm my wasting time & ammo at matches if I haven't spent quality time at the range, I'm wasting time & ammo at the range if I haven't done my dry fire "homework". In the end, then, it all comes back quality dry fire practice. And, it's free, for Pete's sake!! Why anyone who sincerely wants to become a better shooter wouldn't dry fire is beyond me.
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Old January 27, 2011, 03:09 PM   #19
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Everything but the rimfires.
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Old January 27, 2011, 05:04 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by microgunner
I don't know how this no dry fire myth started.
My dad had a FIE .380 years ago that he dry-fired just once. It made a "tink" sound when he did, and the tip of the firing pin fell out. Snapped right off. But that kind of event aside, I think the concern comes mostly from .22 rimfire guns that don't have a practical firing pin stop or have one that allows tolerances to get loose. These can break or slam the firing pin nose into the chamber's rim recess and peen the metal in and out into the chamber. Brownells even sells a special tool for ironing these damaged chambers out, because if that happens it interferes with chambering and fails to support the rim well enough for consistent ignition. It's just inherently easier for a centerfire not to strike anything, even when parts wear loose. The rimfire has only a few thousandths to play with.

So, it's not a bad practice to use snap caps. particularly on rimfire guns. Even in 1911's, which can usually take one heck of a firing pin beating, those orange snap caps make a good quick way to identify a safe chamber or a magazine filled with dummies for clearing exercises.


Jcvibby,

When I was still active in bullseye pistol match shooting, the rule of thumb was to dry fire three times for every live round you put down range. In those matches, with a couple of relays, you can spend most of a day just getting 270 rounds down range, so it didn't take much doing to triple that count during the week at home, while waiting for next weekends match day to roll around.

In later years, when I starting visiting Gunsite, they taught a whole dry fire gun handling procedure that involves not only emptying the gun and or/using dummies, but locking your ammunition in a box so you can't get confused about the condition of the firearm. When you start working dryfire practice into presentation practice and magazine speed change practice, the feedback you get on front sight movement at hammer fall is especially useful to avoiding developing a bad trigger yanking habit.
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Old February 15, 2011, 09:41 AM   #21
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The manuals for two of the guns I own (Ruger SP101 and T/C Venture) both state "dry firing will NOT damage the weapon). Both of these get dry fired w/o snap caps. All the other center fires get dry fired with snap caps. It has improved my trigger control and shooting accuracy many times over.

The question in my mind after a session has always been, Is it worse to dry fire a weapon before putting it away or leave it cocked over a long period of time?

Now, If I can release the trigger without dry firing (as in the case of a hammer gun) I usually do that.
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Old February 15, 2011, 10:07 AM   #22
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I'll normally get one dry fire a week right after cleaning. Its a Savage Mark II. I cringe every time too. But I'm OCD about having a cocked gun. Maybe someone can tell me its ok to leave my 22 cocked after I clean it and put it away...lol
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Old February 15, 2011, 12:57 PM   #23
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Cowboy_mo,

There's nothing to stop you from leaving a plastic snap cap chambered after dropping the hammer. In general, both mainsprings and magazine springs can take a set over time, losing strength, but how much time depends on the spring design and how compressed it is. Also, obviously, it depends how much extra strength margin was designed into the spring.

I've never had either the mainspring or magazine springs in my 1911 take a set, despite spending extended periods of time cocked and locked. My old Ruger Mk I bull barrel pistol had a magazine spring that got weak and had to be replaced. I got that gun used for $68 in 1968, and the spring only went south about 5 years ago, so maybe that gives you some idea of the time required. I've probably put 25,000 rounds through it, and have no idea what went through it before I got it. At one point in the middle of its service life for me, I had to chamfer the back of the bolt tunnel because it had finally battered enough to drag on the bolt. So it's seen some wear. I normally only put 5 rounds in those magazines at a time, but it's like 6 because of my extended followers. The followers consume one round of capacity, so they make the magazines rest with the equivalent spring pressure of one round being in them all the time.
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Old March 5, 2011, 09:31 PM   #24
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I have an 03A3 spfld set up with a dry fire device specifically for inside practice. This neat little piece replaces the firing pin tip making it impossible to fire a round while preventing damage to the bolt or striker/firing pin. Just watch hunting shows and take as many shots as you want while practicing your action operation to speed up followup shots.
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Old March 5, 2011, 11:30 PM   #25
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I do a lot of dryfiring with my handguns, not nearly so much with my rifles.
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