CZ Shadow specific training techniques.

[atomicbrh]

I am a newbie to the Handgun sports but very experienced in Rifle Competition. I know how tight the Headspace is in each of the Smallbore Rifles I own and which ones can be dry-fired without a snap cap or spent cartridge in the chamber. Over the life of my Shadow there will be thousands of Hammer Downs on an empty chamber at the end of a course of fire.

Does it cause damage to double action dry fire the Shadow on a routine basis in training or do I need to use some kind of snap cap or empty brass in the chamber?

In the rifle sports there are usually 10 or more dry-fires in training for every live round fired in training. I think I am going to want to exceed that dry-fire to Live-fire ratio greatly in the handgun sports.

Any other training suggestions specific to the CZ Shadow to help me make the change from the Glock I have carried almost daily?

Any opnions welcomed.

Bobby H.

[Philo_Beddoe]

dry fire away, although trigger springs are known to occasionally break they are easy and cheap fix.

[DWFAN]

If you have a snap cap, it wont hurt to use it. I wouldnt worry about hammer down during matches wearing anything out.

[enutees]

I've had my Shadow for a little over a year. I dry fire 5 to 6 times a week from 15 to 30 minutes for most of this year. I don't use a snap cap. The only thing I've broken is the TRS.

[poopshooter]

i still havent broken anything dryfiring my shadow, built very well.

[bigdave24]

I've used a small o ring between the hammer and firing pin to dry fire.

[Braxton1]

The biggest difference in comparing dry-firing a smallbore rifle and a handgun is that the firing pin is "aimed" right at the edge of the chamber mouth on a .22, whereas the firing pin is in the center on your CZ.

A poorly-designed rimfire gun will allow the tip of the firing pin to strike this edge and turn up a burr that has to be swaged out. This won't/can't happen on a centerfire.

Most problems in a centerfire come from the firing pin being tapered. As it goes forward and over-extends (since there's no primer there to stop it), it is wedging into the firing pin hole in the breechface. That can cause burring on either the pin or the hole. On most good designs, this won't happen either, as the firing pin spring will fully compress and go into coil bind before that happens.

A snap cap avoids almost all of these supposed issues.

But don't dry fire. It will make you a much better shooter and soon you'll run out of space for all those trophies...