Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game dry firing

How many people spend time dry firing when the weather outside is just too miserable?

Dad wasn’t exactly proficient with his BAR, so a couple weeks before our deer season I hung his rifle over the door knob in his bedroom so that he could practice scoping things out the window. Fast forward to opening day when he cracked a big 8 point and on the run no less. We teased him that the deer had a death wish, but no doubt that pre-season familiarity with his rifle sure helped.

Only with a snap cap!

I do but the weather is very seldom too miserable here. Dry fire practice is very useful and beneficial IMHO.

I occasionally do with my rifle, more so with my handgun that I want to do some hunting with! memtb

+ 1 on dry firing. Except with a bow

This sounds nuts, but I used to set up a magazine with the photo of a whitetail at the end of the hall, and have them acquire it with the scope. Of course we also practiced shooting with air rifles and other rifles year around. Dry firing is very helpful, and I do it now occasionally.

If concerned about damage, get a snap cap.

Bet you wear a mask too

Pretty much everyday. I have an 1851 Navy replica hanging on the wall and I put some rubber tubing pieces over the nipples and I'll dry fire it often. Sometimes I take a gun out of the safe and dry fire as well.

Nope

all the time.

Every competent shooter that I know dryfires frequently. It is effective, time efficient and will not deplete your ammo reserves.


mike r

x2

Dry firing is a great way to find out your firing pin bushing was set to far back into the bolt!!

Nope never, might not hurt some guns but some will become battered to death like 22's rimfire rifle and revolvers, m93 mausers, 95's &96's . They just aren't made for firing without the pin cushioning of a primer to fall against. Saw a LC Smith dbl once with both firing pin retainers broke out of it from dry firing. First thing I Iook at when buying a used revolver or 22 is the cyl face or barrel face to see if someone has dry fired it , if they have I just walk away. Mb

I dry fire quite a bit and try to use caps, but not always. I like to pause hunting shows on TV and dry fire at the critters on TV.

I think I dry fired 1000's of times at African animals before each of my trips.

It is very good practice, an eraser jammed into the primer pocket makes a great snap cap.

You can make a great snap cap with a hot glue gun

Bolt rifles get dry fired using field images printed and attached to the wall, with an IOTA. No snap cap needed. Striker-fired pistols also get dry fired with no snap cap.

My .22’s get an empty piece of brass in the chamber for dry firing.

I insist that my kids and wife start dry firing 2+ months before their hunts at magazine pictures tacked to the wall and it has paid off for them big time.

Last year I couldn't take a shot at a bear standing broad side with a Contender over crossed sticks because i had not practiced enough before the season. I shot off a sand bagged bench to confirm the zero and that wasn't enough to make an ethical shot in the field. Ill spend time dry firing over crossed sticks this year!

waste of time on modern guns.

I would swear I've dry fired an M16 a million times.. we dry fire handguns all the time. Bolt guns too. I check rimfire for pin infringement first. And I don't own a single gun that isn't safe to, well except the old cap locks. and nipples are pretty cheap if you had to.

The eraser is a great idea, will have to try it.