Primed hulls and cruiser mode

[wjh2657]

I store my HD shotgun (Maverick 88 ) in "cruiser mode". Lately I have been reading that this a bad habit as I have to fire on an empty chamber to set up gun (chamber empty/5 in tube, safety off) The recommendation is to use a snap cap. However, the plastic ones are unreliable in feed and leave plastic residue in action when ejected. Aluminum doesn't do much better. The brass ones cost more for one than a box of ammo! My question is , has anybody done the "cruiser mode" using a primed hull for the first round (in chamber). I have a safe area to fire the weapon into ground with primer. Then load 5 loaded into tube. Primed hulls feed and eject normally and can be re-primed for many uses. They are also a whole lot cheaper. Gun would only be unloaded and reset once every couple of weeks for inspection and light cleaning. I can buy hulls in different color scheme than my shells.

[Sleazy-E]

Why would you need a primed hull or a snap cap? I store mine cruiser ready, and all I do is fry fire it, mag empty of course, then load the magazine to capacity. I have dry fired my shotgun A LOT, with no adverse effects. Hope this helps.

[Steve in PA]

I store my HD shotgun (Maverick 88 ) in "cruiser mode". Lately I have been reading that this a bad habit as I have to fire on an empty chamber to set up gun (chamber empty/5 in tube, safety off) The recommendation is to use a snap cap. However, the plastic ones are unreliable in feed and leave plastic residue in action when ejected. Aluminum doesn't do much better. The brass ones cost more for one than a box of ammo! My question is , has anybody done the "cruiser mode" using a primed hull for the first round (in chamber). I have a safe area to fire the weapon into ground with primer. Then load 5 loaded into tube. Primed hulls feed and eject normally and can be re-primed for many uses. They are also a whole lot cheaper. Gun would only be unloaded and reset once every couple of weeks for inspection and light cleaning. I can buy hulls in different color scheme than my shells.

Care to explain who said this was a bad habit???

All police shotguns are carried in "cruiser safe" mode. Chamber empty, weapon on safe, mag tube loaded.

Cruiser safe is NOT having the safety off.

Why do you have to fire on an empty chamber??? Rack the slide, chamber the first round and go from there. I don't know where you are getting your info but you've been instructed wrong.

[briang]

Doesn't your gun have an action release?

[Sleazy-E]

Care to explain who said this was a bad habit???

All police shotguns are carried in "cruiser safe" mode. Chamber empty, weapon on safe, mag tube loaded.

Cruiser safe is NOT having the safety off.

Why do you have to fire on an empty chamber??? Rack the slide, chamber the first round and go from there. I don't know where you are getting your info but you've been instructed wrong.

I think he meant so that he wouldn't have to use the slide release to chamber the first round, without having to dry fire the gun beforehand.

[wjh2657]

I worded this wrong. I have noticed on several forums that people are stating:

That it is a bad practice to dry fire the shotgun without a "snap cap".

That it is a bad practice to leave the firing pin "cocked" (spring compressed) for a length of time.

I have never had a problem in dry firing on an empty chamber and then loading tube. But that is just my "practice" and what I wanted to find out is if either of the above "facts" are actually that. I would like to have an answer from a gunsmith or armorer as I am looking for a technical answer not just "practice." (practice is not always right, even if it does seem to work all the time!) Anybody out there who actually fixes shotguns have a definitive answer?

[fingers80002]

I worded this wrong. I have noticed on several forums that people are stating:

That it is a bad practice to dry fire the shotgun without a "snap cap".

That it is a bad practice to leave the firing pin "cocked" (spring compressed) for a length of time.

I have never had a problem in dry firing on an empty chamber and then loading tube. But that is just my "practice" and what I wanted to find out is if either of the above "facts" are actually that. I would like to have an answer from a gunsmith or armorer as I am looking for a technical answer not just "practice." (practice is not always right, even if it does seem to work all the time!) Anybody out there who actually fixes shotguns have a definitive answer?

You got advice from a well respected senior LEO, what more do want?

[wjh2657]

No disrespect but being a Senior LEO doesn't mean he has technical expertise in the weapon. I have been snapping on empty chambers for about 50 years myself. But that is still "practice" and I want a technical answer from somebody who works on guns, not just carry them. I'm a Senior U.S. Marine but it doesn't mean I know anything about the metallurgy or effects of a gun. It just means I know how to shoot guns. Has anybody out there who "works on guns for a living" ever seen any harm done to the mechanisms of a shotgun by snapping on an empty chamber?

[fingers80002]

No disrespect but being a Senior LEO doesn't mean he has technical expertise in the weapon. I have been snapping on empty chambers for about 50 years myself. But that is still "practice" and I want a technical answer from somebody who works on guns, not just carry them. I'm a Senior U.S. Marine but it doesn't mean I know anything about the metallurgy or effects of a gun. It just means I know how to shoot guns. Has anybody out there who "works on guns for a living" ever seen any harm done to the mechanisms of a shotgun by snapping on an empty chamber?

I'm confused, why are you dry firing?
It is not that much to use the slide release.

Especially on a Maverick 88. Hell, your thumb falls on it when gripped.

[wjh2657]

Second part of the question: Does it hurt to leave the gun cocked (striker spring compressed)? If you don't snap it, the spring stays compressed. Hey guys, this is a technical question for a gunsmith, not an excercise in being the coolest shotgunny around. I am just asking is either practice (dry firing on an empty chamber or leaving firing pin spring compressed) a bad habit for the welfare of the mechanism. You have to do one or the other. If neither is a truly bad practice (from a gunsmith) than it really doesn't matter which way you do it. And that is what I am trying to establish, but from the viewpoint of wear on the gun not how smart or adept I am at getting to the slide release.