Dry Firing – Is it bad for a gun? by Wayne Webster (top 10 best books of all time TXT) 📕

 Is dry firing a gun bad for it?

This is a question that is often asked, and my answer has always been YES!

This is probably due to my military training, we were always taught never to dry fire, under any circumstances.

But first, what does dry firing mean the those new to firearms?

Dry firing is pulling the trigger of a firearm in an empty chamber, thus letting the firing pin strike an empty chamber. This can cause potential damage to the chamber and damage the firing pin.

The first thing that is dangerous about dry firing is pulling the trigger on a weapon that you have not personally checked to see if it is unloaded!

This sounds stupid I know, but how many accidents have occurred because someone has handed over a gun, says it is unloaded and pulls the trigger on a live round! I personally will not do anything to a gun unless I have personally checked to see if it unloaded, even if it is one of mine that I know is unloaded, I always check first.

Make this a habit.

But what do the experts say?

Here opinions differ hugely!

You can hear the older generation saying never dry fire a gun, sort of like me, and then the younger generation saying its perfectly safe for the firearm.

When it comes down to the wire, it is generally the consensus that most modern center fire firearms can be dry fired safely without causing damage to the gun. 

The key word here is MOST, check your owners manual to see if the weapon is designed to be dry fired safely.

It is also the consensus that MOST rimfire weapons CANNOT be dry fired safely.

This is because there is a chance that the firing pin can strike the wall of the chamber and cause peening, which can result in damage to the firing pin or chamber, or both.

But you can dry fire safely if you want to practice, and a lot of people do. SNAP CAPS, or dummy rounds are available and are not expensive, and can be used over and over, without causing any damage whatsoever.

For example, here is a .22 LR snap cap.

 Far cheaper than having to do expensive work on the chamber and replace the firing pin.

Snap Caps come for every calibre you want.

Snap Caps also have one other huge advantage, you can check if the action of a weapon is working properly, and if the ejection of the round is working if you load with snap caps.

My opinion, snap caps are cheap, and essential tools that every gun owner should have! Don’t dry fire without them!

Publication Date: 04-26-2016

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