dry-firing DA S&W revolvers, advisable?

A

AmadeusM

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I saw a friend dry fire said revolver on an empty chamber, and I told him that he can break the pin doing what he did, to which he informed me that modern revolvers (80s and newer he said) pose no such risk.

Is he correct?

Thanks.
 
It's actually EASIER on the gun to dry-fire the older style firing pin fixed to the hammer. It is NOT a good idea to dry-fire modern revolvers with a transfer-type firing pin (not on the hammer).
 
I used to shoot competitively in the late 80's with Smith & Wesson revolvers, and unless something has changed in the design of the gun since then, it is fine to dry fire them.

Tom
 
It is OK. Do it lots if you want. In the 80's I was interested in an FBI Special Agent job. I applied and tested twice for different reasons...but part of the testing process was seeing how many times you could dry fire a S&W Model 65 3" in a minute. They told us that our performance correlated with firearms proficiency in training. LOL. What they really wanted was to smooth the double action trigger pull on new Agency guns by dry firing the revolver. Each potential recruit would do this with each hand ...think 30 recruits per testing session. I pulled almost 60 times with each hand. That's a lot of dry firing.

Smooths the pull without getting inside the gun and builds trigger finger/forearm strength.

Jeff
 
devo55 said:
It is OK. Do it lots if you want. In the 80's I was interested in an FBI Special Agent job. I applied and tested twice for different reasons...but part of the testing process was seeing how many times you could dry fire a S&W Model 65 3" in a minute. They told us that our performance correlated with firearms proficiency in training. LOL. What they really wanted was to smooth the double action trigger pull on new Agency guns by dry firing the revolver. Each potential recruit would do this with each hand ...think 30 recruits per testing session. I pulled almost 60 times with each hand. That's a lot of dry firing.

Smooths the pull without getting inside the gun and builds trigger finger/forearm strength.

Jeff
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Couldn't agree more. I was always told to do this (dry fire) to help smooth the action.

Tom
 
It is perfectly fine to dry fire a S&W centerfire revolver, but a .22 rimfire however should have a snapcap to prevent damaging the firing pin and the chamber mouth.
 
Folks, ask any gunsmith and they'll tell you it is never a great idea to dry fire any gun, which is why snap caps exist. Naturally gun companies say it is OK because they want people to think their products are unbreakable. However, dry-firing is how most damaged/broken firing pins get that way. Granted it will not cause any instantaneous or immediate damage and occasionally it won't hurt, but repeatedly doing it can cause problems, believe me, I managed to break the firing pin on a rifle by excessive dry firing.
 
In the Marine Corps we spent the first week at the range dry firing, no less than eight hours a day.
It does not hurt a centerfire firearm to dry fire it.
Anyone who expects to learn to shoot well should also expect to spend many hours dry firing.
 
Can I dry fire my S&W handgun?
Q: Can I dry fire my Smith & Wesson?

A: Yes, except for the .22 caliber pistols which includes models 22A, 22S, 422, 2206, 2214, 2213 and 41.

.22 caliber revolvers such as models 17, 43, 63, 317 and 617 also should not be dry fired.

Q: Why can't I dry fire my .22 pistol or revolver?

A: Dry firing a S&W .22 pistol or revolver will cause damage to the firing pin.
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That was copied straight from the Smith & Wesson website. One could argue that they just want to sell more guns. Having their products fail does not create more customers, it makes past customers buy other brands.
 
It is also not a good idea to dry fire traditional double barrel shotguns. This is where proper snap caps are invaluable. Use them if you want to store your double gun un-cocked.
Also, with blow back action .22s, I will draw the bolt back a short distance when de-cocking. It will prevent the firing pin from hitting the chamber mouth. This works with the Ruger 10-22, Marlin 60 etc.
 
It is also not a good idea to dry fire traditional double barrel shotguns.
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I was a shotgun instructor and we used 12 ga Ruger Red Label over-under firearms. We often had first-time shooters dry fire the shotguns for practice and never had a problem, dispite having hundreds of shooters per day. You think that's a problem waiting to happen, or you think it's OK with that model? We were told dryfiring was acceptable by the NRA Coach who is also a gunsmith.

We also dry-fired the 30-06 rifles and were told that dry-firing would not damage the firing pin on a modern rifle.

As far as the specific S&W pistol you're discussing, I'd follow the manufacturer's guidelines. They know best. If not best, they at least know more than I do.

-Bob
 
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