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Dry firing


hambone
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It does depend what sort of gun you're talking about (love these posts where people just assume we all have what they have and only that)

 

Shotgun - BAD

PCP Air rifle - FINE

Centrefire Rifle - FINE

Rimfire Rifle - BAD

Spring Air Rifle - BAD

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It does depend what sort of gun you're talking about (love these posts where people just assume we all have what they have and only that)

 

Shotgun - BAD

 

Why?

 

You'd think there'd be more stress on the firing pin when it's being hammered into the

back of a cartridge.

 

Do most firing pins not have a big 'step' to stop them when dry fired?

 

(Or is it the _different_ stress that isn't supposed to be good for them?)

 

 

Nial.

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Surely dry firing a shotgun can't be that bad? Dont most people pull the trigger before storing it after closing the action on an o/u or semi?

 

Ive seen this discussion on a lot of forums and its always the same. There are two camps:

 

"If you dry fire a shotgun the firing pin will explode, your legs will fall off and your dog will die"

 

vs

 

"Back in the day when the metal was not as good etc etc but now with modern mettalurgy it wont damage anything"

I'm in camp 2

Edited by pbickerd
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Why?

 

You'd think there'd be more stress on the firing pin when it's being hammered into the

back of a cartridge.

 

Do most firing pins not have a big 'step' to stop them when dry fired?

 

(Or is it the _different_ stress that isn't supposed to be good for them?)

 

 

Nial.

 

 

I gathered that it was because the firing pin would over extend if it has nothing to strike on... remember reading on here about someone dry firing an old shotgun indoors and the pin flying down the barrel and embedding itself in the skirting board.

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I was raised to fire a round after cleaning to make sure nothing dries or clogs where it shouldnt....However i would be interested to hear what others think/do.

 

There really is no point in cleaning then is there?

 

What would happen if something had clogged where it shouldn't have? Your cleaning regime should ensure that NOTHING is left in the barrel. If you do oil the bore after cleaning then you should religiously swab it out with a dry patch before using.

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After cleaning my center fire I all dry fire it to make sure its ok then take take it out and re zero it ,But I did read that you should never dry fire a rim fire? as it can damage the fireing pin.

 

And the chamber! I saw a rimfire a few years back, i've no idea what the guy had been doing to it, but there was a 3mm deep channel at the top of the breechface in the exact shape of the firing pin :good:

 

Mark

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I think it does depend on what gun we're talking about, as previously stated.

 

I never dry fire my B525, because firing that cocks the ejector springs. Taking the tension off the hammer springs mean putting tension on the ejector springs. Ejector springs are dearer than hammer sprigs to replace, so I prefer to risk breaking hammer springs than ejector springs. It's the logic of the cheapskate :good:

 

My rimfire's pin isn't able to hit the breech, because it's stopped short by a crosspin, so dryfiring shouldn't be an issue, however it's a 10/22, so hammer spring tension can be let of gently for storage by sliding the bolt back about half an inch, pulling the trigger, then sliding the bolt slowly forwards again.

 

My centre fire is a Rem700, so striker tension can be let off by holding the trigger back whilst closing the bolt.

 

Just my .02

 

Klunk out

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Shotgun, 2 words - Snap Cap.

 

Good point on the 525 though, suppose I shouldn't fire mine either then as the action is identical to my MK70.

Edited by Guest
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I think it does depend on what gun we're talking about, as previously stated.

 

I never dry fire my B525, because firing that cocks the ejector springs. Taking the tension off the hammer springs mean putting tension on the ejector springs. Ejector springs are dearer than hammer sprigs to replace, so I prefer to risk breaking hammer springs than ejector springs. It's the logic of the cheapskate :good:

 

That isnt true. The ejector springs on your B525 are cocked when you close the gun and then stay cocked until the gun is fired and opened. Dry firing will not cock the ejectors only set the mechanism to release the springs next time the gun is opened.

 

The ejector springs on a Beretta are compressed when the gun is closed.

 

I cant think of any shotgun that cocks the ejectors when firing the gun.

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I thought they all did.

 

Try loading your gun and firing one barrel, now open it. Does it throw both cartridges at you or just the one you fired?

 

The springs are cocked on closing on both ejectors. When you fire 1 barrel all you do is set the mechanism for that ejector to release the spring when the gun is opened.

 

If you have a Browning, Miroku type gun take the forend off and look at the ejector kickers. The springs behind them are compressed meaning the ejectors are cocked. In the fore end iron is a sear type arrangement that releases the kicker when ejection is needed. Firing the gun simple sets this mechanism to release the relevant ejector spring when the gun is fully opened.

 

The ejectors are cocked when the gun is closed and stay cocked until the ejector is needed, then are re-cocked as soon as you close the gun again.

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I would not dryfire a rimfire rifle or an O/U or SBS to much, but Semi auto & Pump action shotguns will be fine.

 

For what its worth I have a Benelli pump gun for PSG & it has been dry fired & cycled in practice well over 15,000 + times with no ill effect what so ever, my M2 semi auto has also been dry fired a hell of a lot, but not so much as the pump, I strip them regularly inspecting for wear due to the heavy use the guns get during shooting & dry fire practice, but there are no signs of peening on the firing pins or hammer faces at all & the firing pin springs that surround the pins themselves have never broken.

 

I also have Remington's 1187/870 that have seen similar use & never broken a firing pin, the Remington's will however occasionally snap an extractor claw, not a big deal as they are cheap & only take seconds to fit.

 

The Browning Gold I once had also showed no signs of wear after a lot of dryfire.

 

 

Hope that helps.

 

N

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Thanks for the replies lads, i was thinking about rifles when i posted the thread. Magman posted a reply to another thread which (when i got it) made me think about decocking a firing pin after cleaning, at the moment i don't. Snap caps are commonly used in shotguns but i haven't seen them for rifles.

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Thanks for the replies lads, i was thinking about rifles when i posted the thread. Magman posted a reply to another thread which (when i got it) made me think about decocking a firing pin after cleaning, at the moment i don't. Snap caps are commonly used in shotguns but i haven't seen them for rifles.

 

 

Think your confused mate i was talking about dropping the bolt not dry firing it :unsure:

 

As for de cocking after cleaning i always remove the bolt from the rifle before cleaning and stored in a separate cabinet ?

Edited by magman
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It does depend what sort of gun you're talking about (love these posts where people just assume we all have what they have and only that)

 

Shotgun - BAD

PCP Air rifle - FINE

Centrefire Rifle - FINE

Rimfire Rifle - BAD

Spring Air Rifle - BAD

 

 

Colster, Help me out on the Rimfire, WHY??

 

Cheers

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Think your confused mate i was talking about dropping the bolt not dry firing it Your probably right, if you lift the bolt hold the trigger and drop the bolt then you get what you called a dead bolt, is this good for the gun to store, or as i do now (what you do and remove bolt to ammo safe) a better option for springs/pins etc. By the way i tried your safety method last night and it was a lot quieter than chambering a round though it meant ejecting before climbing gates etc. :unsure:

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Think your confused mate i was talking about dropping the bolt not dry firing it Your probably right, if you lift the bolt hold the trigger and drop the bolt then you get what you called a dead bolt, is this good for the gun to store, or as i do now (what you do and remove bolt to ammo safe) a better option for springs/pins etc. By the way i tried your safety method last night and it was a lot quieter than chambering a round though it meant ejecting before climbing gates etc. :unsure:
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How do you quote bits of replies. When i thy i get the whole thread :good:

 

First hit the reply button on the post you wish to reply to, then remove the text you dont want, but be sure to leave whatever is in between the [ ] like below.

 

I have left the [ off the very begining & the ] from the very end so you can see what I mean, without the [ brackets ] the quote will not work

 

 

quote name='hambone' post='1140718' date='Jul 29 2010, 09:47 PM']

 

Leave the part of the message you want to reply too here

 

[/quote

 

 

 

 

Then simply type your reply below that & post it.

 

Simples

N

Edited by neil smith
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Colster, Help me out on the Rimfire, WHY??

 

Cheers

 

Ah now you have me, always seen it said that it's bad but couldn't even begin to explain the whys and whatsits as to why.

 

 

How do you quote bits of replies. When i thy i get the whole thread :good:

 

Delete the bits you don't want.

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