I have heard many different opinions on whether or not it is safe to dry-fire modern guns, from "it's okay to dry-fire any moder

[huntfishtrap]

I have heard many different opinions on whether or not it is safe to dry-fire modern guns, from "it's okay to dry-fire any modern gun", to "never dry-fire any gun, modern or not", and everything in between. So what really is the truth?

[JM]

Rimfire, no.
Centerfire, yes.

[kkok]

DON't lisTEN TO JM HE IS A BIG DUMBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YOIU WILL BRAKE UR FIRING PEN DOING THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


Why would you want to dry fire it? To do that could break the firing pin.


If you want to close the bolt (or whatever) in the fired position, just slowly close it with the trigger pulled back. Of course, just to be safe, you wouldn't want to try that with a bullet in the chamber...!!

[JM]

There is nothing wrong with dry-firing a modern centerfire rifle. I would not do it for hours and hours day after day though. Doing it a handful of times every few weeks to stay sharp will not cause any problems. In fact, many gun manuals now SUGGEST dry-firing the rifle to help get familiar with it(plus read up on how they train people to shoot in the army - plenty of dry-firing). It would probably be safe to dry-fire rimfire rifles, but I would not risk it unless the manual/gun manufacturer says otherwise.

[officerdom1987]

Police train for hours with semi-auto pistols dry firing teaching recruits the trigger reset as well as the value of the steady trigger press. Also, revolvers today really don't use true "firing pin hammers" anymore. Ruger in its instruction manuals specifically state that it will not hurt the firearm. Also, some semi-autos allow you to "drop the hammer" back down when you push the safety lever back on. I can't speak much for rifles but from what you legends on here taught me is just use snap-caps.

[Johnnie]

JM.... looks like your buddy is back under a different name.
DUMBY???? It is 'dummy' not 'dumby' you dumby! DUMBY??? YOIU ????? BRAKE??? FIRING PEN??????
JM might be wrong or right, but at least JM knows how to spell.

[huntfishtrap]

@Bob Hansen, dry-firing is a good practice method for keeping your trigger-squeeze technique sharp. It's particularly useful when you live in an urban area, and can't just go outside and shoot whenever you want.
@kkok, we encourage discussion/disagreement here on the site, but if you want people to listen to your point of view, it helps to be respectful and use proper English that folks can understand.

BTW, what about shotguns, is it safe to dry-fire them?

[charlie elk]

Dry firing helps train your reflex muscle memory including eye alignment for sighting.
JM is right centerfire yes, rimfire no.
You should not dry fire rimfires because the firing pin will hit the side of the chamber potentially damaging the chamber and firing pin.
later,
charlie

[PigHunter]

Rimfire, no.
Centerfire, yes.

In general yes - but that's only in general. There's always exceptions

[PigHunter]

It's always a bad idea with rimfires. Most of the time it's ok with centerfires.

But, the best idea is just use snap caps. They are not expensive and they last a lifetime.