Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Dry-fire a rifle

Hi there friends,
I was thinking about dry firing rifles and the effect it has on mecanism of firing pin f. example. I have read in some resources that dry firing is reccomended in order to get in gear at the bench before firing the ammo. In other writings I have read that dry fire the rifle could harm the firing pin. What is the truth here. Can anybody lighten me up on this one?
Regards,
kakali, Iceland <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />

I can not recall ever reading anything to the effect that dry fire will hurt that was put out by a rifle manufacturer.

If dry fireing would hurt I'd think there was something wrong with the design.

If it is a concern just use snap caps. They are easy to make.

BCR

FWIW, I dry-fire my centerfires, and it's caused them no harm so far.

I don't dry-fire rimfires, however. RF firing pins hit more than air; they hit the end of the chamber, and steel on steel could cause damage, including to the pin pin itself. Other conceivable damage could be to the chamber, possibly creating an indentation of the area under which the firing pin strikes, potentially cushioning the impact in the future and causing misfires. It's easy enough to gather up some of my thousands of fired rimfire cases to use as snap-caps, so I do that instead.

Jaywalker

I've been wondering if it will harm my Savage Model 99 rifles, the later ones. I have an older one that will allow the firing pin to be released by a certain procedure of partially lowering the lever for long term storage. Thanks...

I have dryfired all my centerfires for years, including my Savage 99. On the older guns I use snapcaps just to be safe. Mid-South has them for a lot of calibers, including .300 Savage.

FWIW,I remember reading that WDM Bell dryfired his rifles constantly.

The correct answer is that it depends on the rifle. You can dry fire a Remington 700, Mauser 98, or Winchester Model 70 about as much as you can and will never hurt it.
Dry fire a Sako TRG-22 too much and you'll get a sheared firing pin retainer. Dry fire a Dakota Model 10 and you'll get a broken firing pin and need a new breechblock. I've had both happen.
I agree that you should be able to dry fire any firearm as much as you want but it ain't that way in the real world.......DJ

I`ve dry fired all my centerfire rifles but don`t make it a regular habit. I`m not sure it hurts but, I usually put a fired case in to act as a snap cap if I plan on more then a few snaps.
Rimfires I believe shouldn`t be dryfired. I might be wrong but I am under the impression the striker on a rimfire is designed to crush the rim between it and the back of the barrel. Dry fireing can allow the striker to peen its tip on the barrel and can cause damage. Again I`m only relating my ideas / beliefs....

Dry firing a Winchester Model 88 will also damage it. Been there/Done that.

I dry fire my 700's all the time. It's great for your hand to eye coordination.

Fairly simple to make up a dummy round for your centerfire rifles..
Resized spent brass, a bullet and a bit of silicone caulk to fill the primer pocket..and some markings for the stupid so they can tell the dummy from a real round.

Good practice if you make three to five and have the student-new shooter practice cycling the bolt or working the action and getting used to the trigger and his breathing..while maintaining sight alignment..

A five inch tall picture of your favorite big game animal on the wall in the garage will give you or the aspiring hunter good practice...and give you a clue that a good sling is a good thing, sitting means hitting..and not to drink tooo much coffeee..:)

A nickel balanced on the barrel near the front sight will tell you about your hold and maybe about the staginess of the trigger, and force of the firing pin spring and lock time ..:)
Heavy rifles rock..:)jim

Thank you all for the answers. I think it�s ok then to dry fire my Weatherby Vanguard as needed. Jim - the nickle on the barrel sounds like a slick idea.
Kakali