Dry firing Garands

[bombdog]

Question? i know the Army didn't have a cow when we did dry fire exercises with our M16's. So, to my Garand Guru's out there, is it detrimental to my hammer, bolt, or firing pin, to dry fire my 53 Garand? i don't do it more than 2 or 3 trigger squeezes twice a week. Was wondering, should i go on and pick up a couple dry fire cartridges, and which ones? There are so many to choose from. Maybe i should get another firing pin too, JIC............
Tango mike guys.
bombdog, out..............

[Griff Murphey]

You will find a lot of encouragement to dry fire in the M-1 manual. That said I have a particular rack grade Ex- Dane M-1 rifle I keep handy for dry firing.

One day I had a major jam while dry firing and it was in fact a broken firing pin tang.

How many times had I dry fired it? Suspect I dry fired it 20-30 times a day for maybe 30-90 days a year for 13 years. This works out to 7,800 to 35,000 dry fires before it failed. Of course I may have "mis-underestimated" or "mis-overestimated!"

Well let's say 8,000.

Plus whatever wear and tear the Danish and U.S. military put on it.

[Darreld Walton]

Never seen it happen, nor even a reliable link to such a thing, but I've heard several times that extended dry firing can peen the firing pin or the back of the bolt to the point that the firing pin won't retract at some point, sticking forward, and give an unintended discharge. Sorta like an automatic weapon that fires from an open bolt with a fixed firing pin. I could see that happening, but I must reiterate my first caveat.

[joet]

Dry fired in PI boot camp hundreds of times.We called it snapping in.Great way to practice trigger control,and sight alignment.I snap in all i can, it makes range time go much better.

[bombdog]

That's what i was thinking, Just wondering if the Comp guys have the caps, and are they worth it? i've been reading reviews on Midways' site on the caps and most guys do not recomend them for Garands or M1a type rifles. Think i'll stick to my Army days like all you gents have acknowledged.
Again, tango mike brothers.
bombdog, out!!!!!!!!!

[Griff Murphey]

Well it happened to me. Posted photos here about a year ago?

[UUURah]

Dry fired in PI boot camp hundreds of times.We called it snapping in.Great way to practice trigger control,and sight alignment.I snap in all i can, it makes range time go much better.

We did it with our M-14's and the DI's laid a quarter across the front sight. If it didn't fall off, you had great trigger squeeze.

[StockDoc]

I could possibly see that Firing pin protrusion could be effected after a few thousand time, and some wear in the trigger group. But I would not worry about it. If you worry about it use an fired case in the chamber, that will restrict the pin movement some.

[Rock]

You will find a lot of encouragement to dry fire in the M-1 manual. That said I have a particular rack grade Ex- Dane M-1 rifle I keep handy for dry firing.

One day I had a major jam while dry firing and it was in fact a broken firing pin tang.

One could always use a stripped bolt minus the firing pin in a dedicated practice rifle. I might even keep a trigger group dedicated for dry firing. Hammers can wear and break too.

[psteinmayer]

In CMP Matches during prep time, we are instructed to "Dry Fire Only" during every relay string. I could see a problem doing it thousands of times... but not occasionally.

[Richard H Brown Jr]

If you feel so unhappy about dry-firing get some of these in your favorite calibers: http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page...%3Asnap%20caps or some original training rnds from various online suppliers.

RHB

[Devil Dog]

Dry fired in PI boot camp hundreds of times.We called it snapping in.Great way to practice trigger control,and sight alignment.I snap in all i can, it makes range time go much better.

I agree that we "snapped in" a lot, but our training rifles were exchanged for "shooters" when we went to the range. (in 1965.. M14's)

[joet]

I agree that we "snapped in" a lot, but our training rifles were exchanged for "shooters" when we went to the range. (in 1965.. M14's)

In 1956 we qualified with the same rifle.

"Semper fi"

[Maury Krupp]

I've had M1 Firing Pins break but can't specifically lay any blame on dry firing. $hit happens.

A gimmick better than a snap cap is a Dry Fire Device. Not only does the Hammer never touch the Firing Pin but it only takes about a quarter-inch tug on the Op Rod handle to reset for the next snap. Very quick and easy.

You can get one from most of the usual suspects (eg, http://www.creedmoorsports.com/shop/...re_Device.html ) or make your own from dowel or plastic rod.

Maury

[usmc69]

Have dry fired M1 Garands,m1 Carbines, M-14's, M-16's and about every other military rifle I have ever handled. Never had a problem. That said I did have to replace a firing pin on a friend's M1 that he had break while firing........He said it just quit firing during a string of fire he was doing. When I took the rifle apart the firing pin was busted........