Dry firing your military rifle

[30calflash]

Been thinking about this for a while. I've a several of bolt guns of various designs and a couple semi's that fit in this category. I can't get to the range as much as I'd like and dry fire practice is one way to keep decent and even improve.

I know some snap caps are available, but are they really needed? I can make some from milsurp cases if snap caps if needed.

What experiences have you with broken parts, did you stop dry firing because of this? Please list model of rifle and part that broke.

[Adam Helmer]

30 cal,

I suspect no military rifle will be hurt from dry firing. Military arms were built to take lots of soldier time snapping. I recall hours of dry fire with an M1 Carbine in 1962. I got my trigger pull down pat and suspect I helped the War Effort.

Adam

[Texas by God]

I dont dry fire rim fires, shotguns, or muzzleloading guns of mine, I dont dry fire guns that I dont own. My center fire rifles and handguns get dry fired a bunch.

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[BK7saum]

Most centerfire firearms have a stop or shoulder on the firing pin to limit travel. They are usually fine to be dry-fired. If the pin tip does snap off, replace it. Dry-firing is wonderful practice for trigger control and maintaining sight picture through the firing process.

A lot of rimfires do not have a stop on the firing pin and use the rimfire casehead to stop/slow the firing pin. If such a rimfire is fired, then you will end up peening the chamber edge and have to removed the peened edge with a reamer or judicious use of a round file.

I have had a rossi pump 22LR with a peened chamber. It was not intentionally dryfired, but occasionally was inadvertently dryfired when shooting and not counting cartridges or verifying there was still ammunition in the rifle.

So.. the general rule is that centerfire firearms are "OK" to be dry-fired, but rimfires are not.

I do not think you could damage a robust military bolt action rifle by dry-firing it.

[SSGOldfart]

Some of the old BP guns like rolling blocks didn't take to dry firing. My old trapdoor 45/70 didn't have a problem with dry firing But my Sharps 1874 snapped the end off the firing pin.your mileage may very...

[Winger Ed.]

Military weapons are dry fired about a ga-zillion times in training.
It won't hurt them.

The ones that it will hurt is rim fires. The pin will hit the rear of the chamber and dig itself up.

Another possible dry fire damage I've heard of but never seen is revolvers with a floating/two piece firing pin.
They have a flat faced hammer, and a little 2nd piece of pin in the frame.

Rumor has it the return spring on the frame part can break, and possibly cause it not to retract, and jam the cylinder's rotation

[Der Gebirgsjager]

The above advice about not dry firing rim fires is good.

Dry firing the older double barrel shotguns with side hammers is not good either. The firing pins are short and usually of a conical wedge shape. Most have weak return springs, some made weaker by the passage of time, and when dry fired the pins are forced farther forward than in normal firing and the firing pin holes can become enlarged as well as the pins themselves broken or damaged.

As pointed out by TBG, it's very bad practice to dry fire muzzle loaders, including black powder pistols and revolvers, as the hammer hits the unprotected nipple and will ruin it in short order.

While it is true that most military rifles were designed to be as soldier proof as possible, and dry firing is a widely accepted practice with military arms, it is wise to remember that replacement parts for many of them are becoming scarce and expensive, so what's to lose by using snap caps?

The best snap caps are the commercial versions that have a false spring loaded primer made to withstand multiple strikes by the firing pin, but you can make your own. One method is to use a trimmed down chunk of pencil eraser in the primer pocket, or a substance like rubber cement that is not completely hard and has some give to it. All home made versions that I've seen required periodic replacement of whatever is used as a cushion in the pocket. One can also use once fired cartridge cases a couple of times as snap caps until the primer becomes so indented it is no longer effective.

Whatever version of a snap cap you use, it's best not to leave them in the chamber of your firearm, especially in humid climates.

As for my personal policy, I do not dry fire most firearms unless necessary to un-cock them before storage, the trade off being the dry firing vs. possible weakening of hammer/firing pin springs if they're left cocked over long periods of time. Most bolt action rifles can be un-cocked by holding the trigger back while closing the bolt. Visible hammer guns like the Win. '94, most revolvers, and some pistols can be un-cocked simply by pulling the trigger and carefully lowering the hammer.

DG

[30calflash]

Tx for the replies thus far. I've not worried about dry practice with my M1 or 03, but some foreign examples I was unsure about.

Some older & somewhat common like a Mosin, Krag or 91 Arg. Mauser is what I'm concerned about.
.

[higgins]

While firing pins for some military rifles are readily available, a replacement may not have correct protrusion from the bolt face, and correcting too much or little protrusion may be a chore. I just don't dry fire them.

[LAGS]

IMO, Dry Firing is not a good Idea on any firearm.
No, if you have to drop the hammer to put it in a safer mode, that will not be harmful.
But to sit there and " Click , Click, Click , thinking you are going to improve your trigger pull is nonsense.
If I swing a Baseball Bat 100 times a night, will that make me the world champion home run hitter.
NO, you have to have the full impact or function of the bat hitting the ball, or the anticipation of the gun firing as well as the recoil to complete the process.
You don't know the number of firearms I have repaired because people thought they could just click away with no harm to the firearm.
The parts hammering together with no resistance will eventually cause some damage.
And every firearm is different.
Some will Peen over the end of the firing pin.
Some will Waller out the hole where the firing pin travels.
Others will peen the Firing pin Stop so the firing pin will protrude more.
And on some guns, the unsupported firing pin Tip will Fatigue and break over time.
Bottom Line.
Excessive or unneeded Dry Firing is not a good Idea.
Besides,
It is a Safety Issue.
You get comfortable Dry Firing your Gun.
Then that one time you forget, and you do it on a live chamber.

[GhostHawk]

I have made my own mostly for pistols. Take an empty case, punch the primer out, fill with hot melt glue.

Offers some cushion, springs back pretty well. If it gets too beat out I just dig it out and redo it.
Costs next to nothing.

[country gent]

We did a lot of dry firing on the state team and working with juniors. A quarter ( in a m14 mag) across the follower allows a 2 person team to even dry fire rapids.
This allowed working on positions flinches and trigger control. One big plus is it shows flinches jerks and grabs in the trigger pull. It allows you to see results of changes in position or grip. My M1a M14 NM rifles have been fired way more than live ammo, with no broken parts or damage. My AR match and service rifles the same. I don't dry fire the model 70 match rifle since I put the speed lock in with titanium firing pin though.
One plus to the dummy rounds/ snap caps besides cushioning the firing pin blow is if one is in the chamber then a live round cant be. Never have live ammo in the same area as where your dry firing. Also set the gun down and walk away for awhile before loading it again.
I think in an AR 15 mag a nickel might work. But hitting the op rod isn't as easy as the M14.
Dry firing is a tool that can improve skills but does need to be used in conjunction with live fire to reinforce and prove.

[30calflash]

I'll most likely do a short run of snap caps from fired berdan primed ammo. Once the primer is out a urethane sealer will be tough enough to withstand a lot of dry practice.

Tx for your input.

[shadowjames]

unless it is a side hammer, open hammer or rimfire, dryfire is not a problem