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Is dry firing bad for your gun?


K45

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  • 3 weeks later...

Question: How about Colt series 80? I was dry firing recently getting ready for a match when the firing pin stop just falls out when I lock the slide open. The firing pin is jammed forward , so I release the FPB and the pin comes out. I inspected the spring and pin; no visable damage to the pin but, metal shavings or broken coils come out also. I replaced the spring with a Wolff XP and I ordered a Wilson bullet proof pin [just to be sure]. So, can I continue dry fire w/o a snap cap? Has this happened to anyone else?

Holy crap! I was just cleaning my Edge tonight getting ready for a major match and dabated to take the slide completly

apart or not. Well guess what I found ??? Broken firing pin spring with about 4 coils in pieces in the channel waiting to

pull off a Full Auto in the near future... :surprise:

Luckily I had a spare !!! I guess I'm practicing enough!! :rolleyes:

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  • 1 month later...

Well, if it's a matter of wearing out the firing pin, I could easily replace it I guess.

I am sort of new to all this competition shooting, but since my original post, I have learned really quickly to get over any worries I might have of dry firing if I want to get better. Not to mention, it MUCH cheaper than going through real ammo.

However, one thing helps that I hadn't thought of before... get those little fake/dummy bullets with the built in springs inside. They are meant for dry fire practicing and supposedly saves your gun a little. Just make sure they are the practice kind (usually see through).

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A good rule of thumb is to do about 2/3 of your weapons manipulations with dryfire and the other 1/3 live fire. For me, I equate it to I have to dryfire first before allowing myself to actually fire. An example: If I want to do a 200 round session, I need to dry-fire 400 "shots" BEFORE I hit the range.

As a side note for the 1911 drivers, it is a good idea to replace the firing pin spring every time you swap the recoil spring. I use Wolff springs in my 1911's and they conveniently come with a firing pin spring.

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it is a good idea to replace the firing pin spring every time you swap the recoil spring. I use Wolff springs in my 1911's and they conveniently come with a firing pin spring.

That's good to know, thanks! Is there a specific reason you do this?

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One caveat to dry firing though as observed with my SP01... I have learned rather painfully that I should not rapid fire in DA regardless of the snap cap, as the trigger return spring tends to get hot and snap. Lacking the technical skill to replace it, it cost me $40 both times <_< Eventually I'll have to figure it out, as I do dry fire quite a bit. I just have to be conscientious about not hammering away in DA mode all the time.

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it is a good idea to replace the firing pin spring every time you swap the recoil spring. I use Wolff springs in my 1911's and they conveniently come with a firing pin spring.

That's good to know, thanks! Is there a specific reason you do this?

Contrary to what some people seem to think, springs do wear out. The firing pin spring wears a little slower than the recoil spring, but I replace it anyways as a preventative maintenance thing. On the original pattern (commonly called series 70) guns, the firing pin spring is the only thing keeping the firing pin from going forward if the gun is dropped. Maybe because my last name is Murphy or random stuff seems to happen, I swap it when I do the recoil spring.

The following link is to an article by Hilton Yam. He's an federal LEO from south Florida that has A LOT of experience with the 1911s in a duty setting. It is a great guide to some maintenance tips. Even though it is geared towards duty 1911s with full power ammo, it is an excellent read.

http://www.10-8performance.com/id32.html

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