Dry Firing...Yes or No

[Ryan H]

I read the instruction manuals to my firearms, and I haven't owned a firearm yet that says dry firing is unacceptable. Every single firearm I own, it is stated in the manual that you CAN in fact dry fire the weapon, one even mentions dry firing to become "comfortable" with the weapon.

[Big Gay Al]

You gotta dry fire a glock in order to field strip it.

Just don't do like that DEA agent did in the class room.

[ronwill]

Jim Casada, author of "The Marksmanship Primer", highly recommends dry firing as a way to increase accuracy. Before reading his book I always thought it was damaging to the guns but after much research decided to add it to my practice schedule. It does help immensely and I have been unable to find any harm to the firearms.

[Big Gay Al]

While in general, I agree, with most modern firearms, dry firing is OK, there are some exceptions. The CZ-52 being one of them.

[Bullitt]

I'm not real clear on this, but here's my understanding:

Guns with conventional hammers can be dry-fired without harming the gun. It's less clear with striker-fired guns. Apparently some say OK, some say don't.

My GF has a Taurus PT 24/7 Pro. If you actually read the entire manual, you can find one sentence that says that dry-firing is not recommended. It's a striker gun. She dry fires it all the time, though. So far, she hasn't done it much, and I haven't said anything about it, because the jury's still out on how "bad" it is.

I've seen snap caps, but don't really understand how they work or how they're supposed to be used. Can someone elaborate on this or point me to where this is explained?

It looks like you can "fire" snap caps many times before they're "worn out". Dunno. Do you load your magazine with them and cycle them manually by racking the slide after each practice fire? They sure seem to be a PITA that discourages practice.

[Glock Fan]

I'm not real clear on this, but here's my understanding:

Guns with conventional hammers can be dry-fired without harming the gun. It's less clear with striker-fired guns. Apparently some say OK, some say don't.

My GF has a Taurus PT 24/7 Pro. If you actually read the entire manual, you can find one sentence that says that dry-firing is not recommended. It's a striker gun. She dry fires it all the time, though. So far, she hasn't done it much, and I haven't said anything about it, because the jury's still out on how "bad" it is.

I've seen snap caps, but don't really understand how they work or how they're supposed to be used. Can someone elaborate on this or point me to where this is explained?

It looks like you can "fire" snap caps many times before they're "worn out". Dunno. Do you load your magazine with them and cycle them manually by racking the slide after each practice fire? They sure seem to be a PITA that discourages practice.

This is a good reason for me to NOT purchase a Taurus semi-auto. Glocks, Sigs, S&W M&P, Sringfield Armory XDs' are all "striker guns" and can all be safely dry fired. The only modern firearms I've been cautioned about dry firing are the 1911 Race Guns.

When in doubt, check with the manufacturer. Never admit that you did something that their manual cautions against. Read the manual and if you're still in doubt, contact the manufacturer. Best method of contact would be by email if possible. This way you'll have written documentation as to what's safe to do with your firearm. Should you have the need to take legal action, you'll have some type of written proof.


gf

[wuzfuz]

Good point, GF. It would be a lot better in the event of an injury to have documentary proof, rather than the memory of a phone conversation. As we had drummed into us in the academy, the palest of inks is stronger than the best memory. Keep up the good work.