[rock321]

When you're done shooting a semi auto pistol, how do you dryfire, to put the gun away or to clean / disassemble ? If I shoot often, I have to dry fire before cleaning / disassemble and I keep hearing how bad it is to dryfire!

[Uchahi]

New guns such as Glock and that type say that it is ok. Now if you are just snap snap snapping, that is a different story. If you are just doing it for cleaning and disassemble you will be fine.

Side note: please stop by the intro part of the forum. We like to know who you are.

[Rick1967]

What type of gun are we talking about? Most modern centerfire guns are fine. Rimfires are a different story. To dry fire a rimfire just to diassemble or clean should be ok. But extended dryfiring can damage the gun. The firing pin hits the chamber because it is on the rim. Snapcaps are a good investment for any gun though.

[jakebrake]

let me mirror rick on this. a snap cap is an inexpensive insurance policy. you may not harm your weapon by dry firing it. why take the chance?

and rimfire? don't even joke about dry fire.

and some of the really old smith revolvers weren't real fond of being dry fired.

[rock321]

I use snap caps for practice, but when I'm done, I have to dryfire again to store the gun, Right? It's a SW40 semiauto, new, and thanks for the help. This is the first time using this forum. I'm looking for for the intro part to add my profile.

[Uchahi]

Originally Posted by rock321

I use snap caps for practice, but when I'm done, I have to dryfire again to store the gun, Right? It's a SW40 semiauto, new, and thanks for the help. This is the first time using this forum. I'm looking for for the intro part to add my profile.

http://www.firearmstalk.com/forums/f2/

[JonM]

the only rimfire i know of designed to be dry fired safely is the ruger mk1, 2, 3.

i dry fire my centerfires a lot practicing trigger control with many thousands and thousands of dryfires over he last 25 years with no problems. im pretty convinced there is no negatives to dry firing centerfire weapons of modern manufacture. the pressure and stress the firing mechanism faces during live fire far exceeds what occurs during a dry fire. with few exceptions i see no logic behind worrying about dryfire damage.

just my opinion others may have different ones.

[KalashnikovJosh]

It really depends on the model of firearm you are talking about.

As a general rule,dryfiring guns is not the best habit to have.There are guns out there that tolerate this kind of thing really well and there are guns that you will literally destroy by doing this.
I keep dryfire to a very bare minimum-with my weapons I will do it perhaps with a new pistol to learn its particular trigger idiosyncrasies,and I will do it with weapons right after they have been cleaned and are being stored.
For weapons with exposed hammers and/or decockers-I use those,preferably decocking the weapon while riding the hammer gently to rest and not letting it slam home.

For practice I prefer and I use snap caps.

+1 to all the guys talking about NOT dryfiring rimfire weapons.My younger brother totally destroyed one of our dads .22 revolvers playing 'cowboy' in the mirror with it.Little wanker.lol.(Hes now a Sergeant or something in the Air Force-but hes still a 'little wanker' to me!)

Dryfire can be bad for some of the milsurp centerfire weapons that you come across as well.Dont ever dry fire a CZ52 for instance.The firing pin is brittle and has a tendency to snap,unless its been replaced by a aftermarket one.

As a general rule-dryfiring is bad manners unless the firearm is yours.Dont go popping off dryfiring guns at shops,or letting slides slam home on empty chambers.Don't do these things to friends guns without first asking.Also,need I say it-always check a weapon being handed to you for its condition.This is a habit you need to develop,and I dont care how silly it might seem to be checking the chambers and/or mag wells of firearms you may handle in gun shops and even one a friend may hand you-just do it EVERY TIME.Develop the habit.Not enough people do.

If your in a gunshop and a particular weapon your looking at is giving you difficulty,don't hesitate to ask for help.
There are literally tons of different designs out there and even very knowledgeable folks sometimes come across stuff that they know nothing about.

Asking is how we learn.

And its better to be the guy who needs a little instruction and has the balls to ask than the jerk who breaks a gun thats not his because he was afraid to ask a simple question.