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From: boyd@mailer.cc.fsu.edu (Mickey Boyd)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: Dry Fire
Message-ID: <36081@mimsy.umd.edu>
Date: 30 Jun 91 15:16:06 GMT
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Organization: Florida State University Computer Science Department
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Approved: gun-control@cs.umd.edu

In article <36073@mimsy.umd.edu>, kao@cae.wisc.edu writes:
#Hi there
#This question probably has been asked before. Sorry for asking again.
#Is dry fire good for a gun or will damage it? Some of my friends told me dry fireing will smooth the action of a (new) gun, while others told me I will increase the wear by doing this. 
#
#One of a article in "Guns" say dry fireing is good for the Glocks. Does this depend on guns?
#

It is highly dependent on the particular gun in question.  I would say that 
most centerfire autos (those with spring-loaded firing pins) are safe to 
dry fire.  Centerfire revolvers with frame mounted firing pins are also 
safe.  The two types to watch out for are any .22's, and revolvers with hammer 
mounted firing pins.  Most .22 firing pins (since they must strike the 
rim of the cartridge) will hit the edge of the chamber when dry firing.  
This will eventually form a burr that can screw up the gun.  If you dry fire
a revolver with a hammer mounted firing pin, you put lots of stress and 
shock on the pin (without any support from the primer), and can break it off.
Certainly you will increase wear by dry firing.  It is that wear that will 
"smooth" up an action.  It is unlikely that you could wear out a gun by 
dry firing it though (except for the exceptions noted above). 

If you have a revolver with a hammer mounted firing pin, you can purchase 
snap caps to safely dry fire the weapon.  These are fake cartridges with 
spring loaded "primers" to soften the blow of the firing pin.  They are 
made in many calibers and gauges (they are a must for dryfiring shotguns, 
by the way).

Dry firing, if it is safe on the particular gun, is good practice.  I do it 
alot (at the TV, I hate low brow mass media crap).  If you really want to 
smooth up a gritty action, I would suggest getting some very fine abrasive 
grease (clover compound is a gunsmith standard, available from Brownells), 
coating the inside of the gun with the stuff, and working the action by 
hand a couple of hundred times.  This is called "lapping", and can dramatically
improve the "smoothness" of an action.  Just make sure you use a very fine 
grit (600 minimum) so you can't take off too much metal.  The goal is to 
polish the contact points.  Make sure you clean and degrease the gun completely
(and relube it, of course) after you do this.

To summerize, it is safe to dry fire a weapon as much as you want, exceptions 
noted above.  Remember, very few guns are "worn out" by folks, most are just
kicked around in drawers and closets.  I have dry fired all of my guns 
except my Ruger MKII many thousands of times, and have had no problems. 
-- 
             Mickey R. Boyd          |  "God is a comedian playing to an 
          FSU Computer Science       |      audience too afraid to laugh."
        Technical Support Group      |
       email:  boyd@nu.cs.fsu.edu    |                  - Voltaire