Dry Firing a Glock

[PA86]

So I have always heard that one should not dry fire their weapons, that it can damage the firing pin. (Or in the case of a glock is it more accurately a striker?)

Of course, dry firing a Glock is part of breaking it down, so can it be considered safe to practice dry firing a Glock for other purposes, say trigger control or doing drills?

I have also seen mention of "snap caps"... these are just dummy rounds to cycle through the weapon? Should I purchase some?

Thanks!

[LittleRedToyota]

dry firing a glock is perfectly fine. i've prolly dry fired mine 100,000+ times. i don't use snap caps to dry fire them either.

in fact, dry firing *most* centerfire guns is fine (there are exceptions, i'm sure). rimfire, not so much...dry firing is not good for many rimfire guns.

and dry fire you should...cheapest form of practice there is--and probably the best for working on your trigger press, presentation, etc.

snap caps (yep, they are just dummy rounds) are, however, great for practicing clearing malfunctions, magazine changes, etc.

[knighthawk06699]

You can dry fire a Glock all day and week and never ever hurt it. It is a great way to get to "know" your trigger. So enjoy and have fun, but always triple check your chamber before squeezing that trigger.

[CHEMICAL]

So I have always heard that one should not dry fire their weapons, that it can damage the firing pin. (Or in the case of a glock is it more accurately a striker?)

Of course, dry firing a Glock is part of breaking it down, so can it be considered safe to practice dry firing a Glock for other purposes, say trigger control or doing drills?

I have also seen mention of "snap caps"... these are just dummy rounds to cycle through the weapon? Should I purchase some?

Thanks!

there are diff't types of snap caps. i've seen orange plastic "throw away" ones where the pin hit the plastic and it absorbed the force, but they're only good for so long. other ones like a-zoom or traditions have a spring in the "primer", so when you drop the hammer ,the firing pin (or striker) impact gets absorbed by the spring.

edit:for misinformation...it seems the a-zooms do NOT have a spring in them!..but the traditions do.

[LittleRedToyota]

another useful dry fire exercise, imho, is dry firing at your TV to practice fast and accurate target acquisition.

i'll pick out a character in a show and say, i'm going to "shoot" him each time he appears on screen. in many shows, the scenes change so quickly, you really have to be quick to get the sights on the guy/gal and press the trigger before he/she is off screen or someone walks in front of him, etc.

commercials are even more challenging. they switch from "scene" to "scene" in seconds. "next male that appears on screen is getting 'shot'," etc.

make sure you get the sights properly aligned and press the trigger smoothly. if the target disappears before you can get a good "shot" off, don't take the shot.

(some people will probably bash me for this saying it is unsafe, but, as with all dry fire practice, you have to, as mentioned above triple check the gun is empty, don't have any ammo in the room, etc. and, for me at least, my TV sits in front of a double brick wall, so...)

[bogey1]

another useful dry fire exercise, imho, is dry firing at your TV to practice fast and accurate target acquisition.

i'll pick out a character in a show and say, i'm going to "shoot" him each time he appears on screen. in many shows, the scenes change so quickly, you really have to be quick to get the sights on the guy/gal and press the trigger before he/she is off screen or someone walks in front of him, etc.

commercials are even more challenging. they switch from "scene" to "scene" in seconds. "next male that appears on screen is getting 'shot'," etc.

make sure you get the sights properly aligned and press the trigger smoothly. if the target disappears before you can get a good "shot" off, don't take the shot.

(some people will probably bash me for this saying it is unsafe, but, as with all dry fire practice, you have to, as mentioned above triple check the gun is empty, don't have any ammo in the room, etc. and, for me at least, my TV sits in front of a double brick wall, so...)

i do that all the time, especially when rosie, the view, dr phill, and opra are on

[FMJ]

another useful dry fire exercise, imho, is dry firing at your TV to practice fast and accurate target acquisition.

i'll pick out a character in a show and say, i'm going to "shoot" him each time he appears on screen. in many shows, the scenes change so quickly, you really have to be quick to get the sights on the guy/gal and press the trigger before he/she is off screen or someone walks in front of him, etc.

commercials are even more challenging. they switch from "scene" to "scene" in seconds. "next male that appears on screen is getting 'shot'," etc.

make sure you get the sights properly aligned and press the trigger smoothly. if the target disappears before you can get a good "shot" off, don't take the shot.

(some people will probably bash me for this saying it is unsafe, but, as with all dry fire practice, you have to, as mentioned above triple check the gun is empty, don't have any ammo in the room, etc. and, for me at least, my TV sits in front of a double brick wall, so...)

I bet you have to use some real self control when you go to like... a theatre or broadway or something huh?

[Ihatemyglock]

It's a-ok to dry fire till you're blue in the face.

[thefirstndsecond]

The was an article last year in shooting Illustrated about dry firing and the actual measured effects it has on performance. This was done with rifles though and not pistols.

[Lycanthrope]

i do that all the time, especially when rosie, the view, dr phill, and opra are on

Try football or hockey. They put your transitions to the test.


Lycanfastanglechangesthrope