dry firing. is it harmful?

[eljimbo142]

i like to practice trigger control by dry firing. dozens of times per day between range trips. i have 5 dummy rounds but picking up and reloading dummies can be a pain. am i doing any harm to firing pin or hammer by dry firing so much? thanks in advance.

[Army Chief]

I would be more concerned about damaging the lower receiver (or bolt catch), but as long as you're dry-firing with the upper and BCG installed, you're doing no harm. I would still prefer to do it with snap caps or dummy rounds, but incurring actual damage from dry-firing is more of a rimfire (.22LR) problem.

AC

[RMiller]

I would be more concerned about damaging the lower receiver (or bolt catch), but as long as you're dry-firing with the upper and BCG installed, you're doing no harm. I would still prefer to do it with snap caps or dummy rounds, but incurring actual damage from dry-firing is more of a rimfire (.22LR) problem.

AC

Agreed. I dry fire my AR all the time

[eljimbo142]

thank u kindly 4 the peace of mind gents.

[Sentaruu]

it doesnt cause damage per say, but it is still wear and tear on the springs and other mechanical parts of your lower

[GunnutAF]

Sentaruu
Which if are of good quality -installed and lubed properly can and should withstand hundreds of thousands of cycles with out damage!:rolleyes:

[Sentaruu]

agreed

[MelloYellow]

The firing pin may take an increase in stress due to the void of primer impact/"cushioning". There's no increased wear to other parts. Keep a spare firing pin just in case, but you should be good to go.

[Safetyhit]

The firing pin may take an increase in stress due to the void of primer impact/"cushioning".


Which as stated is easy to overcome with snap caps, although the "primers" don't last forever.

[Samson1]

i usually dry practice with snap caps. recently i read a comment here about increasing extractor wear though. so whats the opinion? is having a snap cap bad for extractor wear?

[MelloYellow]

Which as stated is easy to overcome with snap caps, although the "primers" don't last forever.

I don't see where it is stated that possible damage to the firing pin is overcome with snap caps. Drive on Safetyhit.

[skullworks]

Which as stated is easy to overcome with snap caps, although the "primers" don't last forever.
A firing pin is cheaper than snap caps and will probably last as long if not longer than the snap caps' "primer".

However, having a spare firing pin and cam pin on hand should be mandatory (regardless of any dry firing. )

Tapatapatapatalk

[Safetyhit]

I don't see where it is stated that possible damage to the firing pin is overcome with snap caps. Drive on Safetyhit.

What are you talking about? You made the comment about the lack of a primer being an issue and I clarified that snap caps alleviate that issue, which is relevant to both what you said and the overall topic.
You'd rather concern yourself with replacing the pins have at it, doesn't mean the caps don't have other advantages as well or that you need to come off so poorly.

Lose the wise guy attitude. It won't serve you well here.

[halfmoonclip]

There is a plastic gizmo that fits inside the bolt carrier; when you dry snap, the hammer strikes the underside of said gizmo, rather than the firing pin.
This contraption also only requires a very short tug on the charging handle to recock the hammer for the next dry fire.

Midway markets it as the AR-15 Dry Fire device, for about $16.
Moon

[skullworks]

You'd rather concern yourself with replacing the pins have at it, doesn't mean the caps don't have other advantages as well or that you need to come off so poorly.
I should add that I do use Magpul dummies mixed up with my regular ammo to practice failure drills.

Tapatapatapatalk

[MelloYellow]

I got the impression that OP wanted the green light to dry fire on an empty chamber to avert the extra time spent reloading dummy-rounds. I am unclear about the wise guy attitude comment? Didn't intend to ruffle your feathers Safetyhit. Drive on brother!


What are you talking about? You made the comment about the lack of a primer being an issue and I clarified that snap caps alleviate that issue, which is relevant to both what you said and the overall topic.
You'd rather concern yourself with replacing the pins have at it, doesn't mean the caps don't have other advantages as well or that you need to come off so poorly.

Lose the wise guy attitude. It won't serve you well here.

[Safetyhit]

I got the impression that OP wanted the green light to dry fire on an empty chamber to avert the extra time spent reloading dummy-rounds. I am unclear about the wise guy attitude comment? Didn't intend to ruffle your feathers Safetyhit. Drive on brother!


I know what the OP said and I know what you said. Based upon both, primarily what you said in the post before the one quoted above, I'll believe you simply don't know what a snap cap is. Either that or or of course you are looking for someone to screw with today. The rest we will now be discussing via PM.

[darr3239]

There is a plastic gizmo that fits inside the bolt carrier; when you dry snap, the hammer strikes the underside of said gizmo, rather than the firing pin. This contraption also only requires a very short tug on the charging handle to recock the hammer for the next dry fire.
Midway markets it as the AR-15 Dry Fire device, for about $16.
Moon

Ditto!

[morpheus6d9]

There is a plastic gizmo that fits inside the bolt carrier; when you dry snap, the hammer strikes the underside of said gizmo, rather than the firing pin.
This contraption also only requires a very short tug on the charging handle to recock the hammer for the next dry fire.

Midway markets it as the AR-15 Dry Fire device, for about $16.
Moon

thanks for the info

[MistWolf]

Must be the hot weather. Folks are getting cranky.

I have dry fired my AR quite a bit and there have been no negative affects

[eljimbo142]

thanks moon. sounds like what i need

[halfmoonclip]

I should add that I do use Magpul dummies mixed up with my regular ammo to practice failure drills.

Tapatapatapatalk

Also a great way to discover your sins, if any, regarding trigger control.

Jimbo, you'll be happy to snap away with the dry practice gadget. And, while it's no reason to ignore Rule 1, it does make it about impossible for the rifle to fire while it's in the bolt carrier.
Moon

[ucrt]

There is a plastic gizmo that fits inside the bolt carrier; when you dry snap, the hammer strikes the underside of said gizmo, rather than the firing pin.
This contraption also only requires a very short tug on the charging handle to recock the hammer for the next dry fire.

Midway markets it as the AR-15 Dry Fire device, for about $16.
Moon

To dry fire, this gizmo is "hard" to beat. Short recocking the Hammer is a big plus and no dummy round to pickup is nice.

The hammer barely gets out of the cocked position with this device. It stops the Hammer about 1/3 of its arc'ed travel to the Firing Pin.

.

[steve--oh]

Thousands of servicemembers can't be wrong, can they?
http://d1.static.dvidshub.net/media/thumbs/photos/1210/719972/450x300_q75.jpg

[Iraqgunz]

I think we can close this. Asked and answered.