If you're going to dry fire, get some snap caps first.

[Bill DeShivs]

Snap caps made with primers of rubber, silicone, nylon or other plastics are useless-as are spent primers.
None of these offer enough resistance to make a difference. The tip of the firing pin simply penetrates the soft material.
Fired primers offer no resistance at all.
Get quality snap caps with metal primers.

[AK103K]

Are there others besides the Tiptons that have a metal primer? I dont remember ever seeing any.

The AZooms have a hard, silicone/rubbery type striking surface, and so far for me, it has outlasted the aluminium cases that hold it. I dont ditch them because the striking surface is gone.

Besides fit, the main issue with the Tipton type for me has been, that brass "primer" usually gets stuck up inside the snap cap in short order, and renders it useless.

[lee n. field]

Originally Posted by dgludwig

Taurus advises not to dry-fire their double-action revolvers-I have no idea why the reason(s) for said admonition but I'm not going to argue the point.

I had, some years back, a late 80s vintage Taurus Model 66. After 10+ years of ownership, and much dry firing, it mashed a firing pin spring into uselessness. Taurus fixed it. And it (eventually) mashed the next spring into the same condition. At which point I fixed it again, and traded off the gun.

Just my experience.

[johnwilliamson062]

https://smile.amazon.com/Zoom-Luger-...=snap+caps+9mm

I think this is what I have. I have misplaced one or two over the years, but I haven't worn any out. Just a little over $2 a piece.

[arquebus357]

If your hammer fired pistol has a inertia type firing pin AND employs a separate stop pin that rides in a cutout in the pin.....DO NOT dry fire. Spanish Star pistols are famous for breaking firing pins. I know there are others.

[johnwilliamson062]

The spanish star pistols in question are approximately 40 years old and used a design that was dated at time of manufacture. Series 0 and 1. Maybe series two also used.
Lots of older firearms have issues that aren't pertinent to decent quality modern firearms.

I'm not an expert on star pistols having only possessed one for a short period of time for familiarization purposes, but I am certainly under the impression the design was quite dated at time of manufacture, which is before my birth in most cases.

[Bill DeShivs]

Star pistols are less "dated" than the 1911.

[Ibmikey]

I have only 80+ Star pistols of about every style available in the US, shoot them often and keep a snap cap in the chamber. In all my shooting I have never considered the design "dated". Today's Sig, Colt and Kimber Micro pistols are Star DK design altered for today's production methods.
The other day I was shooting my Colt 1911a1 alongside my Star Model P (.45ACP) .....what fun!

[OneFreeTexan]

Just picked up a Star 9mm,, I think it is a BMk, don't have it right in front of me,,I enjoy shooting it, nice heavy gun,

[johnwilliamson062]

In all my shooting I have never considered the design "dated".

I didn't say obsolete, I said dated. Second definitio, old-fashioned. The original 1911 design is also dated. Have any of those upgrades on the derivative pistols addressed the previous cited issue of the firing pins breaking? I've not heard that claimed about the modern derivatives you list, so I assume so. In the context of this issue 60 year old designs are dated as they were not designed to be dry fired. The quality brand modern designs can all be dry fired at least as many rounds as live fired.
I'm not an expert on star and don't claim to be, simply believe citing a 60 year old pistol design as an example does not contradict what I said about modern v. older pistols in relation to dry firing.

[SIGSHR]

I use snap caps in my Mauser 1914 and CZ-27. Years ago an old time shooter showed me how he took a pice of rubber-from an old bicycle inner tube for example-folded it over, it cushioned the firing pine nicely.

[Bill DeShivs]

As I said earlier- rubber, hot melt glue, silicone, nylon, inner tubes, etc. WILL NOT cushion a firing pin. The tip of the firing pin simply pierces the material. Being soft, the material simply closes up around the hole.
Stop fooling yourselves- get real, high quality snap caps.....
Or, don't dry fire.

[thibaultfelix40]

I dry fired my S&W model 34 22 lr kitgun a gillion times with no apparent difficulty.

[reynolds357]

I have dry fired my Glock 34 over 10,000 times. I was assured by a Glock rep in SWAT training that it is perfectly fine to dry fire a Glock. The new recruits at the PD dry fired the heck out of their 23 and 27 Glocks. I never had to repair one due to damage.

The slide that failed was modified. We are discussing a slide failing that has been milled on?

[TailGator]

Stop fooling yourselves- get real, high quality snap caps.....

Do you have one or more brands to recommend?

[Bill DeShivs]

I don't do a lot of dry firing.
All I can recommend is to get caps with a metal primer with a spring underneath.

[johnwilliamson062]

https://www.amazon.com/Tipton-Snap-P.../dp/B0048KFEQI

[Ricklin]

The plastic wall anchors from the hardware store work perfectly for .22 snap caps.
I have dryfired thousands of times with my Taurus 94 using them. You can then reuse them as a wall anchors when you are done.

The polyethylene material does not become damaged for me. If it were being chewed through I would be concerned. It does not show any "wear" at all.

[Bill DeShivs]

That's because the anchor plastic is "self-healing" and closes back up after being pierced.
Plastic can not offer the same resistance as a metal cartridge.

[TailGator]

I have used Tiptons and A-Zooms both. The A-Zooms start getting chewed up and rough sooner than I expected, and the Tiptons qualify under the recommendation for a metal spring-loaded primer. Just wondered if there was another brand I didn't know about.

[Bill DeShivs]

People don't understand the force it takes for a firing pin to crush a primer. That tip can easily penetrate hard plastic. Some people still won't understand.....

[Model12Win]

I do, Bill!

One time I pressed my thumb up against the inside of a S&W revolver at the firing pin window, and held back the cylinder release and pulled the trigger just to see what it felt like.

Felt like a dang bee sting and left a divot in my thumb!! A LOT of force concentrated on that little pin as it whacks the primer.

Stick a pencil in your Glock barrel, eraser side down, and dry fire it with the muzzle up. The pencil will go flying!!

[dgludwig]

That's because the anchor plastic is "self-healing" and closes back up after being pierced.
Plastic can not offer the same resistance as a metal cartridge.

With a rimfire gun, there isn't much else you can do other than use plastic. There are no snap caps that I'm aware of that have a metal rim to cushion the blow of the firing pin.

[Bill DeShivs]

Empty .22 cases work as snap caps. Just make sure they are turned to a fresh spot each time.

[dgludwig]

I guess you could turn the plastic ones as well.