Don’t Dry Fire Your Revolver Or You’ll Break The Firing Pin

[RangerMcFadden]

…yeah, ‘cause that would be the worst thing that could break right before your major match.

Thankfully, a friend let me take one of his apex hammers outta his gun after calling every gun store in a 5 hour radius and Apex said they had no way to overnight anything.

 

I don’t wanna restart the ol’ debate of the effects of dry firing a Revo but I would like to point out the firing pin lasted longer than the hammer.

[21 shooter]

What model is that and is it MIM?  I do very little dry firing on any S&W unless it’s a frame mounted firing pin.  Perhaps I should reconsider.  It’s also nice to have good friends!

[Bill Sahlberg]

I have dry-fired both frame & hammer firing pins since 1974 and never have had a problem...

[RangerMcFadden]

11 minutes ago, 21 shooter said:

What model is that and is it MIM?  I do very little dry firing on any S&W unless it’s a frame mounted firing pin.  Perhaps I should reconsider.  It’s also nice to have good friends!

It’s a 66-8. It’s 17-4 stainless steel. It’s probably got over 100,000 dry trigger pulls on all these parts. I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

10 minutes ago, Bill Sahlberg said:

I have dry-fired both frame & hammer firing pins since 1974 and never have had a problem...

You shouldn’t it’s an old wives’ tale that you shouldn’t dry fire a revo. I just needed a clickbait title to draw you in to see my bad (possibly good?) luck.

[ltdmstr]

Seems like not such a great design to have that big cutout right where you have all the force of impact.  Like exactly where it broke.

[MWP]

I have over 750,000 live rounds on one of those hammers and several million dry fires and haven’t seen it break. This is truly a unique case.  

[RangerMcFadden]

1 hour ago, ltdmstr said:

Seems like not such a great design to have that big cutout right where you have all the force of impact.  Like exactly where it broke.

I can’t think of an aftermarket hammer that doesn’t do that. Power custom, Apex, Rev-Up, TKC. 

 

38 minutes ago, MWP said:

This is truly a unique case.  

Agreed; I’d say I should get a lottery ticket then but the real lottery tickets are 1.) it not breaking stage one at the IRC and 2.) having a buddy with a spare.

[gargoil66]

I would like to see the wear on the hammer but my bet is that this particular hammer had problems when made that no one could have found.  

 

Not really surprised but have never seen it happen before.  

 

I doubt S@W, Ruger, et al., ever intended their firearms to take the prolonged use and abuse that a competitive shooter will produce.  The aftermarket competition parts are also probably more sensitive to installation and alignment with other parts.

 

Not particularly worried about any of it.  Will continue to dry fire but I do use snap caps.  I believe snap caps do protect the firing pin from damage.

 

GG

[Petrov]

I have about 35,000 live rounds and about 300,000 dry fires through my Apex hammer. The only issue I had was the sear pin walking out and binding the action up.

Sometimes s#!t happens. People who install things like Apex hammers into their revolvers tend to be people who shoot their guns a LOT. First time I seen this happen to an Apex hammer and I had mine since they came out.

[superdude]

I broke a firing pin on a S&W 686 with a hammer mounted firing pin while dry firing. It does happen. 

[Toolguy]

All this anguish can be easily and cheaply prevented. All you have to do is get a 5/16" OD x 3/16" ID (metric equivalent would be M6 ID x M8 OD) rubber O ring (or package of them) and put it in the frame over the back of the firing pin for frame mounted, or over the firing pin hole for hammer nose models. It will go from round to oval when you install it. The side tension keeps it in place. This is a good safety measure as well. The gun won't fire with the O ring in place, if the gun somehow gets ammo in it.

 

Then you don't need expensive snap caps and have way more protection for the firing pin, spring, hammer, frame, etc. All of these are cushioned and protected by the O ring. This also makes dry firing quieter in case someone in the next room doesn't want to hear all the clicks. Your scores will benefit greatly by removing the O ring before the match.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Toolguy

[Joe4d]

11 hours ago, ltdmstr said:

Seems like not such a great design to have that big cutout right where you have all the force of impact.  Like exactly where it broke.

yeh I saw that,, too much meat gone from the stress point.

[SIGcurious]

2 hours ago, Toolguy said:

 Your scores will benefit greatly by removing the O ring before the match.

 

LOL!  Yes, good benefit.

[Couch-Commando]

I use Tippon snap caps religiously for everything. I was also told it was safe to dry fire a Glock, but that didn't prevent me from cracking the breech face of my Glock 17!

[Alaskan454]

Curious, do you use spent cases or snap caps when you dry fire?  These sort of failures are exceedingly rare.  

[Petrov]

Quick question. My hammer has this sight protrusion below the striking surface and this protrusion is hitting the the frame, is that by design? I have some deformed metal below the firing pin area where it keep hitting. Its not hitting the sides of the frame but below the firing pin.

[Toolguy]

On the N frame, that part hits the frame and keeps the upper part just barely off the frame so it doesn't peen the firing pin hole. The K and L frame has an angled surface there that does the same thing.