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AR15.COM
7/26/2008 9:09:18 PM EDT
Newb shooter here...

I recently picked up an XD45 and starting shooting.  I don't have prior experience, so I am learning what I can, where I can.

I saw on another post here where dry firing is recommended to help learn trigger pull.  My last trip to the range, I consisently shot low right.  That post showed a nice chart and indicated I was tightening my grip during firing.  

Does anyone put a blank or spent round in the chamber for this or is it done with nothing in the chamber?  Does doing this (nothing in the chamber) cause any issues with the firing mechanism?
7/26/2008 9:41:43 PM EDT
[#1]
You can dry fire with nothing in the chamber  more times than you would want to pull the trigger.

It will make you a better shot though.
7/27/2008 5:28:53 PM EDT
[#2]
Snap caps are pretty cheap if you're concerned about an empty chamber. Having said that, there's nothing wrong with dry firing on an empty chamber for about anything other than a rimfire or a hammer-mounted firing pin (western wheel gun).
7/27/2008 9:42:00 PM EDT
[#3]

Does doing this (nothing in the chamber) cause any issues with the firing mechanism?


Do it enough and you will likely break your striker retention pin. A snap cap is useful if you are doing a lot of dry fire.
7/28/2008 5:33:45 PM EDT
[#4]
Dry fire all you want. Make triple sure you do it with an UNLOADED gun. Do it with a quarter on the slide, an empty case on the slide, toothpick across the back sight, shoot people on TV, etc. It will smooth out the trigger and increase your trigger control. Make triple sure you do it with an UNLOADED gun.

You will wear a hole in your finger before you break something. I have heard of people having the striker indicator break off but I've yet to hear it was related to dry firing. Seems to be a random occurrence.
7/28/2008 7:13:36 PM EDT
[#5]
On the XD, you have to dry fire it to remove the slide anyway so I don't think you're going to hurt anything.

I've probably dry fired my XD40 about as much as I've fired it loaded and no problems here.
7/28/2008 7:44:31 PM EDT
[#6]
OK, here is the low down, if you have nothing in the chamber, the striker will stop by hitting the roll pin. Does that sound good to do when you can pop a snap can in and prevent the pounding? That striker does generate some force and it is a cheap roll pin.

It is ok to do, but I've replaced so many in folk's guns I've lost count.  It is just a 3mm X 16mm roll pin, so it is cheap and easy to fix, but if it breaks when you need it, the gun will not feed, because the pin will stick through the flash hole and cause the gun to jamb.

I do suggest checking it from time to time, because the crack before they break.