carsmovies
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Mississauga, Ontario
Dry firing centrefire rifles, pistols and revolvers will not harm the firearm. Doing the same continuously on a rimfire will damage it over time.
Broke my gun dry firing
- Thread starter AK
- Start date
I was taught that dry firing a 22 will break the firing pin and/or peen the chamber edge so that extraction will be difficult. I bought a 22 revolver once that had been dry fired and each cylinder had a peen mark. I toched the chambers with a cone shaped dremel bit and now it shoots just fine.
As for centre fire, i am taught that dry firing is the best form of practice. I have never used a snap cap, but it does seem like a good idea.
As for centre fire, i am taught that dry firing is the best form of practice. I have never used a snap cap, but it does seem like a good idea.
i would guess that the best types of snap caps are the ones where the "primer" is spring-loaded, instead of the whole "cartridge" being a single piece of aluminum or whatnot.
like these from Marstar:
http://www.marstar.ca/ac-Snap-Caps/Main.shtm
like these from Marstar:
http://www.marstar.ca/ac-Snap-Caps/Main.shtm
I dry fire all my guns, with the exception of some rimfires. For instance, the Ruger MK II .22 rimfire pistol's manual says that there is a firing pin block in the gun that makes it fine to dry fire.
I have never had any kind of equipment problem as a result that I know of...
Jeff.
I have never had any kind of equipment problem as a result that I know of...
Jeff.
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
This is my policy as well.
In this day and age, with harder to acquire spare parts for some firearms & progressively stricter border controls it's a good idea.
Besides snap caps are so cheap and available, so why bother dry firing?
Someone already came to my shop with a NP34 with a broken firing pin so I can install the new SIG firing pin for him.
I had to drill the firing pin hole out because I think he kept on dry firing after his firing pin broke and it created a burr inside the hole which made impossible to insert the new firing pin.
I've never heard of any SIGs breaking their firing pins while dry firing. I do it all the time on my P220. It looks like Norinco's firing pins are made out of a very crappy material. Get a SIG firing pin to replace it and you'll never have that problem again.
I had to drill the firing pin hole out because I think he kept on dry firing after his firing pin broke and it created a burr inside the hole which made impossible to insert the new firing pin.
I've never heard of any SIGs breaking their firing pins while dry firing. I do it all the time on my P220. It looks like Norinco's firing pins are made out of a very crappy material. Get a SIG firing pin to replace it and you'll never have that problem again.
If you know how to use a hammer and a punch and how to follow instructions there shouldn't be any problem. I don't remember if the NP34 slide is one piece or two piece design. If it is two piece, just don't take out the block after you remove the cross pin.
-Clear the gun
-Remove slide
-Remove barrel and recoil spring from slide
-Punch out the cross pin that goes across the center of the rear part of the slide
-Push on the firing pin safety pawl to release the firing pin. It will spring out backwards.
-At this point the firing pin safety pawl can come out but I recommend you keep it in so you don't risk putting it back in with its spring improperly placed.
-Put down the slide and carefully remove the spring from the broken firing pin. Don't just tug on it or you might stretch it and break it.
-Put the spring on the new firing pin.
-Insert the firing pin and make sure the flat parts machined in the middle of the firing pin are pointed up. You might have to push down on the firing pin safety pawl to allow the firing pin in.
-*THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT* As you are punching the cross pin back in, you have to push the firing pin forward a little bit so its flat part can line up with the cross pin hole otherwise you will damage the firing pin. (look through the cross pin's hole and you'll see what I mean. As you look through the hole, also make sure everything is lined up properly if it was a two piece slide design).
And there you go.
If there is any problem, difficulty or hesitation, ask here before you continue so you don't risk breaking anything. If you are not comfortable in doing this, you can still ask someone with experience on this gun to do it for you. It's a quick fix.
-Clear the gun
-Remove slide
-Remove barrel and recoil spring from slide
-Punch out the cross pin that goes across the center of the rear part of the slide
-Push on the firing pin safety pawl to release the firing pin. It will spring out backwards.
-At this point the firing pin safety pawl can come out but I recommend you keep it in so you don't risk putting it back in with its spring improperly placed.
-Put down the slide and carefully remove the spring from the broken firing pin. Don't just tug on it or you might stretch it and break it.
-Put the spring on the new firing pin.
-Insert the firing pin and make sure the flat parts machined in the middle of the firing pin are pointed up. You might have to push down on the firing pin safety pawl to allow the firing pin in.
-*THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT* As you are punching the cross pin back in, you have to push the firing pin forward a little bit so its flat part can line up with the cross pin hole otherwise you will damage the firing pin. (look through the cross pin's hole and you'll see what I mean. As you look through the hole, also make sure everything is lined up properly if it was a two piece slide design).
And there you go.
If there is any problem, difficulty or hesitation, ask here before you continue so you don't risk breaking anything. If you are not comfortable in doing this, you can still ask someone with experience on this gun to do it for you. It's a quick fix.
i would guess that the best types of snap caps are the ones where the "primer" is spring-loaded, instead of the whole "cartridge" being a single piece of aluminum or whatnot.
like these from Marstar:
http://www.marstar.ca/ac-Snap-Caps/Main.shtm
that's the kind I use, works very well...
use them in all my pistols, rifles and shotguns which needs to be dry fired in order decock the action (Luger, Garand, Over-under Shotguns).
BTW, why would there be snapcaps on the market, and why would there be shooters buying them (and they are not cheap), if they are completely useless?
Marketting, business, money.
If you can convince the masses that there is a need for it, you can make them buy the most useless stuff you have to offer and you'll make a fortune out of it.
Think of all the useless crap that is available on the market that people are naive enough to buy.
elimsprint
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Kelowna, BC
I dry fire all my guns and the only one I ever had a problem with was an Ithaca 37, broken firing pin just like yours. Did the dry firing cause it? I have no idea but I bet it was the 1000's of rounds it had fired up to that point that weakened it.
Kim
Well, I called Marstar to see about getting the firing pin replaced under warranty. I purchased the gun from a dealer in another province. I was told that since it came from a dealer and not Marstar themselves, I had no warranty. I was told that I needed to contact the dealer, have them contact Marstar, and IF the gun was sold less than a year ago then MAYBE they would strip apart another gun to fix the firing pin.
Needless to say I was rather irritated. Marstar imported this gun, Marstar sold this gun, and the only rounds it's fired (if any) were at the factory before it left. I can appreciate the thought that once it's in a dealer's hands it's out of their control, but I chose a Norinco firearm based on the fact that Marstar purports to warranty them. Apparently this only applies if you give your money directly to Marstar, not indirectly though a dealer that bought the gun from them. "Ironclad"? More like "just a fad!"
Think I'll just get a real SIG firing pin from Questar, do the work myself, and cancel the five other firearms I've preordered with Marstar. To go through this kind of rigmarole on a BRAND NEW firearm with a defective part is ridiculous.
Needless to say I was rather irritated. Marstar imported this gun, Marstar sold this gun, and the only rounds it's fired (if any) were at the factory before it left. I can appreciate the thought that once it's in a dealer's hands it's out of their control, but I chose a Norinco firearm based on the fact that Marstar purports to warranty them. Apparently this only applies if you give your money directly to Marstar, not indirectly though a dealer that bought the gun from them. "Ironclad"? More like "just a fad!"
Think I'll just get a real SIG firing pin from Questar, do the work myself, and cancel the five other firearms I've preordered with Marstar. To go through this kind of rigmarole on a BRAND NEW firearm with a defective part is ridiculous.
i do not think it is fair the way you are pinning blame on marstar. from a business perspective, if marstar sells to other dealer's then they have their own agreed upon warranty between themselves, if at that.
when someone buys directly from marstar, marstar in all likeliness makes more money (profit), and they offer a warranty to their clients. they are the middle man in your situation and no blame should be directed at them. you do not know what business arrangement marstar had with the company you bought from. go after the company you bought it from....it is their job to go after marstar if they have a warranty service from them.
wherermykeys
Regular
- Location
- Whitby, ON
Right off Marstar's website:
While we do support dealers who carry our products, clients who purchased product from any such dealer should contact them directly for warranty service if applicable. This statement of warranty shall not supercede the ‘returns’ or ‘after sales service’ policies or agreements of any firearms business or individual who has resold a Norinco firearm they originally obtained from Marstar Canada.
Maybe you should do a little research before publicly bashing Marstar...
Do you really expect them to deal with every single warranty claim for every single Norinco sold to every single Norinco dealer in Canada? I cannot think of any product distributor that would do this. If you bought it from a dealer, why would you approach Marstar instead when there is a problem with it? Do you even know who the distributor is for any of the other products you own? Probably not...you would take it back to the place you bought it if you had a problem, not the place that supplied them with the product.
