Dry fire w/out snap caps?

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ELavertu

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Hello all,

I just picked up a beautiful Sig226 in .40sw. I tried to pick up some snap caps from the ONLY local sporting goods store that sells firearms related equipment, but was told they would be sold out for the next couple weeks. :runaway:I tried making my own snap cap with a used piece of brass and a fresh bullet but realized it wouldn't work since I don't have the tools to resize the casing.

Here's my question: Can I field strip the gun and dry fire the lower frame safely? I mean, the firing pin is in the slide, but is it still damaging to the gun to just dry fire the lower frame?

Thanks guys,
Etienne
 
I wouldn't bother stripping the gun to dry fire. It has come up many times here and the concensus is that it's okay to dry-fire centrefire pistols.
When I get a new gun I learn how to change firing pins and it makes me feel better but I have yet to have to change one.
 
For serious?

It has been ingrained in me that to dry-fire a pistol, aside from glock style guns, is sure to damage your firing pin. Does any one think this would be a bad idea?
 
Ive dry snapped my USP maybe 10K times.. dont worry about it... Snap caps are ok to.
 
ELavertu said:
Here's my question: Can I field strip the gun and dry fire the lower frame safely? I mean, the firing pin is in the slide, but is it still damaging to the gun to just dry fire the lower frame?
Click to expand...
Don't do it :eek:

It would be okay to dry fire the gun without snap caps if the is slide on. The only thing that could break is the firing pin (and it would take a while), which is cheap and easy to replace. On the other hand, dry-firing without the slide beats the hell out of the frame and would eventually ruin your gun .
 
Dry firing a .22 or othe rimfire is bad, but it won't hurt a centrefire. Dry firing is an old training technique for both cf rifles and handguns. It's great practice for trigger control, breathing and sight picture.
 
dryfiring any gun IMHO with out the top end on is a no -no! Snap caps are cheap. Buy some and use them. You can practice loading and mag changes, practice clearing jams, etc....
 
Thanks guys for all your input!!

So, I guess I'll dry fire it, assembled..... But I just might grab some snap caps in the future since I intend to put in a lot of dry firing practice!:50cal:


Cheers,

Etienne
 
I once bought a 1911 that someone had dry fired a lot. The firing pin hole became burred, so when I loaded a magazine, pulled back the slide, released it, the next thing that happened was BANG! The pistol functioned normaly for the rest of the mag. However when I loaded another mag, and released the slide, BANG!
 
yeah definitely don't try to dry fire the gun with the slide off. when I clean my guns I make sure I manually lower the hammer when it's disassembled...

it's not hard to make snap caps; just take a case remove the (spent) primer and place something like an eraser in the primer pocket. It works just fine :)
 
Dry fire with the slide on, not off. The old adage about not dry firing had to do with rim fires. Centerfire handguns....no problem. It's a rebounding firing pin, so it just shoots to the end of its travel and returns.
 
IM_Lugger said:
yeah definitely don't try to dry fire the gun with the slide off. when I clean my guns I make sure I manually lower the hammer when it's disassembled...

it's not hard to make snap caps; just take a case remove the (spent) primer and place something like an eraser in the primer pocket. It works just fine :)
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YES!!! Good thinking! An eraser, why didn't I think of that?

Just made one a few minutes ago and it works great!:D

No need for snap caps now. Awsome-O
 
ELavertu said:
YES!!! Good thinking! An eraser, why didn't I think of that?

Just made one a few minutes ago and it works great!:D

No need for snap caps now. Awsome-O
Click to expand...

I'd still get the snap caps - dry firing is not the only thing they're good for. Personally, I like using snap caps while shooting. I like mixing 5 snap caps in with 25 rounds and loading three mags with my eyes closed. I know they're there, but I don't know where they are. When you hit one, you know for sure if you're heeling or anticipating - if your muzzle moves off target, you're doing it wrong! They're also good practice for IDPA-style shooting: if it goes "click" instead of "bang", you tap it, rack it, and re-acquire without wasting a whole bunch of time.
 
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