Is dry firing bad?

[Acrow264]

Neophyte here. Is drying firing a center fire bolt action rifle detrimental to the rifle? Second, what training exercises are good with dry firing, and what exercises can’t you do well while dry firing? Thanks!

 

[Slo cat]

On many .22 lr firearms, dry firing can be bad because the firing pin strikes the top of the chamber, peening the top of the chamber. Some .22 firing pins have a block to keep this from happening. But for center fire firearms, this is not an issue. But some might recommend using a snap cap in the chamber to cushion the firing pin strike anyway. Not a bad idea, especially if you do thousands of dry fires. Few shooters dry fire this much, so I wouldn't worry about it for occasional dry fire practice.

Practice your shooting positions with dry fire. Call each shot. Try to practice any position or situation you will encounter in real life, culmination with a dry shot. Practice for perfect. Don't get sloppy just because it is dry fire.

 

[Subwrx300]

Many top level shooters across multiple disciplines say you should dry fire 10 shots for every 1 actual shot. That doesn't mean just click away though: if means perfect dryfire practice to simulate every aspect of real shot and position other than bang/recoil.

• Preshot routine (muzzle device tight, scope caps open, elevation/windage set, parallax set, diopter set, chamber flag removed, round in mag, mag in gun, bolt picked up rounds)
• Position set (NPA correct, relaxed, bags adjusted, etc)
• Consistent trigger finger placement and steay pressure rearward
• Breathing correctly (breaking shot on natural respiratory pause)
• Following through on trigger press and hold
• Aquire target and stay on target while cycling bolt
• Repeat above a few thousand times.

On 22LRs, most modern 22s can be dry fired (I know that most Savage and new Rugers definitely can) but it's good to check with mfg to make certain.

And extra benefit of dry firing: your bolt and trigger will become much smoother very short order after 3000-5000 dry fires.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

Dry fire is crucial for trigger control. You'll muscle memory creep, break, and reset. Useful for breathing exercise and can help with recoil anticipation.

 

[5pins]

I took the Remington 700 armorers course this past summer and two of the engineers came in and answered some questions. They said you can dry fire the 700 as much as you want without issue.

 

[myronman3]

you can always deprime a case and replace the primer with a pencil eraser.

the longer answer is....you SHOULD be able to dry fire most guns, but in some firearms, it might not be advisble....like my FA 44.

if you have any doubt, do like i said above and make a eraser primed empty case.

 

[308pirate]

Is drying firing a center fire bolt action rifle detrimental to the rifle?

No

what training exercises are good with dry firing

Everything except learning recoil control

what exercises can’t you do well while dry firing?

Recoil control

 

[Blue Sky Country]

You need to invest in some good SNAP CAPS......Every serious shooter should:

https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/category/ammunition/dummies-and-snap-caps.do

Those things have spring loaded shock absorbent "primers" so they can take all the punishment that you can dish out and your firing pins will not be damaged.

I got a shitload of them chambered in every caliber of gun that I own. And I practice dry-firing A LOT. This especially helps me get used to the let-off on the trigger of every gun that I am using. I prefer to be well familiarized with the trigger pull BEFORE I go to the range and burn off live ammo. Takes much less actual ammo to sight myself in and more time to actually shoot and make consistent hits.

When I got my Pietta 1858 revolver and placed the cartridge converter in, snapping the hammer on a couple of dummy rounds also let me find out that the trigger pull and duration of travel on this particular gun was just a little too rough for my liking. So I did a bit of polishing on the firing notch of the hammer cam and now the trigger is as smooth as a competition pistol with an adjustable pull.

The empty casing with the pencil eraser in the primer pocket is also good advice and works well for those who need a makeshift snap cap right away. And also allows you to be sure that your firing pin is actually striking dead center on that round. Pull the trigger, eject and look at where the pin made the indent...I do this before I purchase any gun.

 

[thaifighter]

Your rifle will be fine... perfect your form away from the noise and recoil and distractions you get at the range...

cheap too...

 

[Dthomas3523]

You need to invest in some good SNAP CAPS......Every serious shooter should:

https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/category/ammunition/dummies-and-snap-caps.do

Those things have spring loaded shock absorbent "primers" so they can take all the punishment that you can dish out and your firing pins will not be damaged.

I got a shitload of them chambered in every caliber of gun that I own. And I practice dry-firing A LOT. This especially helps me get used to the let-off on the trigger of every gun that I am using. I prefer to be well familiarized with the trigger pull BEFORE I go to the range and burn off live ammo. Takes much less actual ammo to sight myself in and more time to actually shoot and make consistent hits.

When I got my Pietta 1858 revolver and placed the cartridge converter in, snapping the hammer on a couple of dummy rounds also let me find out that the trigger pull and duration of travel on this particular gun was just a little too rough for my liking. So I did a bit of polishing on the firing notch of the hammer cam and now the trigger is as smooth as a competition pistol with an adjustable pull.

The empty casing with the pencil eraser in the primer pocket is also good advice and works well for those who need a makeshift snap cap right away. And also allows you to be sure that your firing pin is actually striking dead center on that round. Pull the trigger, eject and look at where the pin made the indent...I do this before I purchase any gun.

The only reason to use snap caps with modern weapons is to have a surprise dummy round. This is a good thing to have to make sure you don’t have a flinch or other fundamental issue.

Zero need for them anymore to protect the firing pin and such.

 

[Sheldon N]

In my experience a firing pin seems to last around 10k dry fires with no snap caps. The pin costs about $30 to replace.

 

[DeftSystems]

Snap caps certainly reduce impact energy on firing pins while dry firing. The necessity of that is up for debate. I use them. They are also good for practicing mag changes.

Dry firing is great practice. It's a good way to keep flinching at bay. It's much more convenient for most of us than the range.

 

[Blue Sky Country]

Snap caps certainly reduce impact energy on firing pins while dry firing. The necessity of that is up for debate. I use them. They are also good for practicing mag changes.

Dry firing is great practice. It's a good way to keep flinching at bay. It's much more convenient for most of us than the range.

Same here. I have been using them since I found out that they commercially made them. Before that, I made my own using spent casings with rubber filling the primer pockets.

One thing that dry fire practice helped me a lot is that it allows me to see how much of my hold on the target is affected by the trigger pull itself. You'd be surprised just how much your POA can move before the bullet leaves the muzzle, all because of a crummy trigger. I'd say 90% of any accuracy related issues I have had are due to rough travel / excessive travel and stiff let-off's on factory triggers. Once I identified the problem and did the necessary modifications, I can drive tacks up 200 yards away with even the puniest handloads out of my pistols.

 

[morganlamprecht]

In my experience a firing pin seems to last around 10k dry fires with no snap caps. The pin costs about $30 to replace.

this^ ...i havent dry fired anything 10k times to verify an actual number, but pins will break sometimes dry firing

ive broken 1 personally, and ive seen at least 4 others break in the last couple years...a guy's surgeon firing pin broke on the zero line this past sunday at the match...he went to dry fire a couple times before checking zero, and snap

its a simple fix if you have a spare part, but it can end your day if you dont

 

[Sheldon N]

this^ ...i havent dry fired anything 10k times to verify an actual number, but pins will break sometimes dry firing

ive broken 1 personally, and ive seen at least 4 others break in the last couple years...a guy's surgeon firing pin broke on the zero line this past sunday at the match...he went to dry fire a couple times before checking zero, and snap

its a simple fix if you have a spare part, but it can end your day if you dont

For sure. I had that happen to me at a match once, first stage and “click”. Was able to share a bolt with a fellow shooter who had the same action so the day wasn’t a loss. Now I carry a spare firing pin assembly with me. Have broken three pins so far, this latest one has been going strong for quite a while.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

Where would one find a firing pin for a Tikka Tx3 action? I found, out of stock, firing pin assemblies for $115.95. Do I need the whole assembly?

 

[Blue Sky Country]

this^ ...i havent dry fired anything 10k times to verify an actual number, but pins will break sometimes dry firing

ive broken 1 personally, and ive seen at least 4 others break in the last couple years...a guy's surgeon firing pin broke on the zero line this past sunday at the match...he went to dry fire a couple times before checking zero, and snap

its a simple fix if you have a spare part, but it can end your day if you dont

That is the reason why I make all necessary preparations when dry fire practicing.

It may be a nuisance if a firing pin breaks when you are at the range, and a real annoyance if it happens during a competition...But if one breaks during a SD situation, that can be the very last thing you hear and feel.

Firing pins are one of the essentials in the spare parts kits that goes with each gun that I own and I periodically do detail-strips on my carry pieces to make sure they will not fail on me during a critical moment. Understand Murphy's Law and prepare around it.

 

[Dougie308]

Neophyte here. Is drying firing a center fire bolt action rifle detrimental to the rifle? Second, what training exercises are good with dry firing, and what exercises can’t you do well while dry firing? Thanks!

It may be an overstatement. However, I think I have learned more about techniques at my dining room table than at the range

 

[PRiNCiPia]

Good thread all! Also, this sounds stupid - but i cant stress enough how helpful it is. Use your phone or camera to film yourself dry firing from different angles then watch back and critique yourself through each stage of your process. Find poor habits and remove them.

 

[Bugzlife19]

Dry firing on a daily basis has improved by shooting tremendously. Practice as if every round is live focusing on fundamentals. Practice positions. Try new ways find what’s stable. And do it over and over until it fells like second nature. Don’t rush 10 good pulls are better then a hundred rushed.

 

[PRiNCiPia]

Dry firing on a daily basis has improved by shooting tremendously. Practice as if every round is live focusing on fundamentals. Practice positions. Try new ways find what’s stable. And do it over and over until it fells like second nature. Don’t rush 10 good pulls are better then a hundred rushed.

Wish i knew that when i was a teenager