Armory Sponsor
Posted: 5/27/2002 12:16:57 PM EDT
|
1) Will dry firing eventually damage the firing pin? 2) If so, is it better to use a Snap Cap or remove the firing pin? TIA...JJ |
|
I suppose anything is possible, but not necessarily likely. That thing is so damn hard that you would really have to try to hurt it. Any abuse that it receives will be on the flange, and will basically mimic a live-fire hammer strike. It bottoms out on the back of the bolt every time you pull the trigger whether or not it goes "bang". Like I said anything is possible, but I've never seen it happen. Saleen |
|
Snap caps are awesome for weeding out bad mags as well, but you need at least 3-4, as it's the last 2-3 rounds that seem to cause problems. Generally 22LR rimfire is bad to dryfire, but alot of centerfire rifles can take it. There are always exceptions to this, but 22LR is almost always a bad idea to dryfire. HMC- Snapcaps are plastic bullets, with a spring and metal button where the primer is, so the firing pin impacts the button and has a gentler impact as the spring simulates the give of a primer being hit. They are pricy, around $8-$11 for two .223 |
|
Dry firing won't damage most firearms of quality, modern manufacture. I say most because I suppose there are exceptions to the rule. .22 lr or any other rimfire should not be dry fired. Many shooting "pro's" dry fire their weapons hundreds of times a week - with no ill effect. |
|
You can dry fire aan AR15 til hell freezes over, and it won't hurt a thing. Now I suppose that somewhere out there someone has had the experience of doing some damage whilst dry firing, and we may well hear from that person on this site, but a have dry fired 7 or 8 AR's that I've owned over the years thousands of times without doing any damage. I WOULD NOT remove the firing pin. To do so will cause the hammer to hit what it's not designed to hit. If you're really paranoid, buy a spare firing pin for 5 or 6 bucks, and dry fire away. I've had a spare for over 20 years now. Still haven't used it 
|
|
Think about it for a second. The mass of the hammer and the firing pin verses how much of the firing pin actually protrudes thru the face of the bolt to contact the primer. There is no way that the small area of firing pin that contacts the primer is actually going to have any shock absorbtion value. In other words, on the AR-15 rifle there is NO difference in Dry vs. Live firing. |
|
That's the least of your problem in that scenario! Without the firing pin to keep the cam pin in place, you can lock your weapon up reeeeeaaaaaal good. Bad enough to necessitate barrel removal to remedy the situation. Never ever assemble your AR without a firing pin. If you do remember that disaster is waiting just around the corner having a smoke and a joke with your good friend Murphy. Saleen |
Armory Sponsor