Ok to dry fire .38 revolver??

[Alpo]

Ruger says that dry firing any of their guns is not harmful. That would include the 22s. Since the hammer must be down on their 22 autos to disassemble them, dry firing is required.

I have heard of cowboy shooters that have broken transfer bars on Vaqueros by dry firing. Although, these are the super competitive guys that dry fire their guns several thousand times a week.

[CampingJosh]

Originally Posted by RunningOnMT

I've always heard to never dry fire a rimfire, but I don't know that that will harm all makes and models.

On every rimfire, the firing pin has to crush part of the rim against the back side of the chamber in order to ignite the primer.

When there isn't a rim there, the firing pin will strike what is supposed to be on the other side of that rim. While this practice will not always cause damage to every rimfire firearm every time, it is allowing two pieces to strike each other with much more force than the designers intended.
Over time, this process will damage one or the other piece (or both) any rimfire firearm. With some models, "over time" may mean hundreds of dry fires; with others, "over time" may be the very first instance.

[johnlives4christ]

i would guess that on your taurus ROMT. that the transfer bar would have failed during firing even if it had not been dry fired. a transfer bar will endure the same stresses during firing as it does dry firing.


on a ruger mark series rimfire the firing pin cannot contact the end of the barrel or chamber when dry fired. it instead has a cross pin that goes through the firing pin to stop its forward travel before it reaches the breech face. the firing pin length is designed so that it is long enough to crush the rim of the casing but, short enough that its foremost travel is not far enough to touch the breechface of the barrel.

on a ruger single six the firing pin is a captured button type and is not long enough to reach the end of the cylinder. i have an early production new model single six, and have dry fired it thousand of times and have not had any ill effect. i occasionally check the spent brass

[3/2 STA SS]

In the USMC you spend an entire week of dryfiring-snaping in. Depends on the weapon. Dont do it with a .22 and get some snap caps. I used to use casings with just a primer in them and press the open end of the shell into Parafin wax and shot wax bullets in my old office. A little noisy and alot more fun. There was a company that offered rubber bullets years ago that you reloaded the same way and could shoot indoors. I would use a heavy Marine blanket and a cardboard box to stop the rounds and they were accurate to about 25 ft.

[fortyluv]

Uh Ohhh. Been dry firing a .45 cal. S&W 1955 for years and years now. Thirty? Is there any way I can check and determine how much damage I have done? Should I just send it to an armorer for evaluation? I have tried to guestimate how many rounds have been fired. Maybe 20,000?
But an awful lot of dry firing. Hundreds of thousands??? Almost sorry I stumbled across this old forum topic. I live fire a .22 S&W 41 now and rarely live fire my .45 anymore. Less than 500 rds. a year.
A comment above singles out hammer mounted firing pins. That's my 1955 !!!! Help !!!!

[johnlives4christ]

fortyluv. i dont think you have anything to worry about. while frame mounted firing pin revolvers are a little more resistant to damage then hammer mounted pins, it should not hurt a smith and wesson

you might contact smith and wesson through their website. they have a customer service email address there

[fortyluv]

Thanks buddy. Should have thought of that myself. But I stumbled onto this thread and went into a panic thinking I had "done my baby wrong". Off to S&W website.

[fortyluv]

As per johnlives4christ's suggestion.

From S&W's customer support faq page:

Can I dry fire my S&W handgun?
Q: Can I dry fire my Smith & Wesson?

A: Yes, except for the .22 caliber pistols which includes models 22A, 22S, 422, 2206, 2214, 2213 and 41.

.22 caliber revolvers such as models 17, 43, 63, 317 and 617 also should not be dry fired.

Q: Why can't I dry fire my .22 pistol or revolver?

A: Dry firing a S&W .22 pistol or revolver will cause damage to the firing pin.

Thanks"john". I have to believe, based on S&W's faqs that I have NOT damaged my 1955 S&W.

But will absolutely NEVER dry fire my model 41.

[johnlives4christ]

fortyluv... by the way, welcome to the forum. were do you hale from?

[fortyluv]

Thank you.

New Jersey until Fort Myers, Fl. for the last 13 yrs.

[johnlives4christ]

ah sweet, there's a few others on here from florida. if'n you ever make it north you're welcome to swing by and let a few rounds out of your 44 on my range

[fortyluv]

Great. But it is a .45 ACP. 1955 model 25-2

[johnlives4christ]

i dont know why i was thinking it was a 44... i do remember you clearly saying it was a 45.

[vytoland]

it MAY be ok....but why take a chance....snap caps (A-ZOOM) are cheap and replacable. hand guns are not cheap and some are hard to replace.

[opr1945]

Originally Posted by UncleFudd

flyfshn;


For the record, if you choose to use your expended brass for such as snap caps, be sure to get some model paint and paint the heads a bright color prior to using them. If the paint becomes worn and it will in time, paint it again. This is a very dangerous practice but it can be made less so with a little paint.

Welcome to the forum.

UncleFudd

What is the HEAD on expended brass? is that the end where the primer goes?

[Alpo]

Yes. That's why the markings on the back end of a cartridge are called the "head stamp". RP 45 ACP, WCC64, LC73, etc. The front end, where the bullet goes, is the mouth. The back end, where the primer is, is the head.

[opr1945]

Thanks, I didn't know that.

[1911 man]

no problem dry firing modern revolvers have at it

[lucky-gunner]

It shouldn't be an issue for a modern revolver. I think the investment of money to purchase or time to make snap caps is worth it though.

I would prefer the peace of mind that using snap caps gives me. I've already collected a handful of them for every caliber I have so it's not an issue for me.

[ozo]

So it is claimed by Ruger after the invention of their 'transfer plate' [since copied by many other mfg's] it is safe to dry-fire arms equipped with it. I understand the physics, and it makes sense. Although..........
First rule is pure safety.....{other than to set trigger pull adjustment, etc.}
Never get in the habit of dry firing any arms, therefore never accidentally pointing in the wrong direction with an unknown round chambered. Mindset will always be 'I pull the trigger and the gun fires'. Margin of error will be much safer.
Second rule is pure physics.....
Any and all firing pins are designed to hit against some semi-soft material,
aka brass, etc. , not air. Steel and other materials used today in and around firing pins are tough and rugged, BUT will wear with abuse. {Got a snow shovel with a steel edge on the blade foremost ? What does it look like at the end of season?}
Question was-is it OK to dry fire? Depends........
OK if it ain't loaded, OK if ??????
My advice is it isn't safe. Not safe on the materials affected, not safe as a practice.
This question is very similar to another thread about cleaning semi-autos........many people clean after every shoot, others after 5000 rounds. None have any problems, some have problems, same question.....is it OK ? I have taught safety for many, many years. Is it OK to do something was asked many times, mostly my response would be
"why would you want to?" Simply, in this case of dry firing, I say NO, it isn't OK because you compromise safety alone by forming a bad habit, and put yourself in a place that you ALWAYS have to know if the gun is loaded. {may I regress to the video of the DEA in the classroom that shot his own foot} Other than a maintenance situation, adopting a 'policy' of NOT dry firing really increases your safety margin and really decreases your accident margin. And no questions if it damages the gun. Respectful.

[johnlives4christ]

i dont think dry firing is dangerous. i think developing bad habits and then blaming them on having dry fired is just trying to excuse yourself of the blame of having a negligent discharge.

i think if done properly, dry firing encourages safety because when taught to dry fire properly you will learn to always check the gun before you pull the trigger, and never point it, even when unloaded, at something you're not willing to destroy. when i dry fire any gun i check to make sure its unloaded... if i set it down and pick it back up, i again check it. that is safety.

why would i want to dry fire? well for one its fun, for 2 it helps build skill when at home. does it hurt the gun, depends on the gun in my opinion.

[vytoland]

if i dry fire any of my revolvers.............the snap caps go in first.