Snap caps!

 

I use an earplug foamy cut in half and wedged between the hammer and firing pin. I've had my fair share of name brand snap caps shed teeny flakes of metal all over the chamber area as they get impacted over time.

 

yup .. snap caps. Had a guy once post that its safe to dry fire the XD line since the firing pin only hits air?! Good luck .. I dont think he understood how it worked and while the portion that strikes the primer only hits air the LARGE firing pin bashes the retaining pin and ... they break.

Dont have any XD/Ms right now but when I do I imediatly replace the tube pin with a coiled one and always keep a couple spare. Thanks for reminding me because while I dry fire with snap caps I had been looking at that pin on the 229 and meant to order a couple for the spare parts box.

 

Nice catch and info!

 

It’s a legacy p229...

Firing pin would not budge. I knew exactly what it was, knocked out the pin and sure enough then outer pin pin was broken through.

What do you mean by outer pin? The P229 only has 1 firing pin positioning pin whether it's the solid pin or the spiral roll pin. Or do you mean the outer pin is the FPPP and the inner pin is the firing pin?

 

the outer portion of the roll pin was gone. When I get the new pin in, I’ll post pics of the broken one. I reinstalled the broken pin in the my new p229, just in case I need it. It still function checks, I rotated the pin so the broken portion is not making contact with the firing pin. it’s my bedside gun put it away until the new pin comes in

 

B-b-buttttt I thought dry firing was fine and would cause no damage to a well made modern pistol???

This is one of the reasons dry fire seems so foolish to me. Even WITH a snapcap you are still wearing out parts over time.

Finding out a crucial part is broken when you need your weapon the most would be disastrous. I've read way too many threads/articles almost exactly the same as this one to ever dryfire my weapons.

 

B-b-buttttt I thought dry firing was fine and would cause no damage to a well made modern pistol???

This is one of the reasons dry fire seems so foolish to me. Even WITH a snapcap you are still wearing out parts over time.

Finding out a crucial part is broken when you need your weapon the most would be disastrous. I've read way too many threads/articles almost exactly the same as this one to ever dryfire my weapons.

Yes you are of course wearing out/in certain parts but .. I cant agree with your thinking on it.

If my gun, because of lack of use and practice, warrants that it will be functioning in the terrible eventuality that you need it to defend yourself but due to lack of practice you are unable to use it effectively .. you gained nothing except having a functioning poor bludgeon and potentially being a danger to innocents.

I will take my chances wearing out some parts and smoothing out others but in doing so learning how to use the gun intimately. I dont think I dry fire (with snap cap) more than say 50 and certainly less than 100 times a week but I also shoot once a week and put 50-100 rounds through it then.

I can get on target and put holes where i am supposed to pretty quickly and at distances most people don't practice at.

I am one of those that will replace parts weather they need it or not when my internal clock says .. Hmmmm .. bet I should swap out this spring or that pin.

Still .. dry fire especially with DA models is a valuable tool and if the gun is ready but I am not .. I am carrying a mistake waiting to happen. Carrying a gun doesnt make you ready for terrible things ... practice does.

 

Interesting. Sig says dry firing is ok but to count them towards round count for maint items. Never had a problem with mine and hundreds of dry fire sessions

 

I bought a plastic toy pistol with a fairly heavy trigger pull. I haven't measured it, but I have done a lot of dry fire with it. When it breaks I'll get another one. It is about the same size as my P229. I can holster and draw it also. I know it's not the same as real, but I can practice without having to wear out parts on my "real guns".

 

I shoot IPSC so it's obviously different from defensive applications but for me there's a lot more to dryfire than just trigger pull.
When you can pull the trigger accurately and consistently, that's when you change things up, make it more challenging, see where the wheels come off and work to improve.

Stationary draw and trigger pull okay? Add movement or aim to do it 0,1seconds faster. Present to various targets, do it one handed etc etc. All while you're analyzing what's going on with the sights, your grip, stance and eyes. That's a main key to productive dryfire imho; not just going through the motions but being very aware of what's happening.
It's not a substitute for livefire , just a different aspect of training.

 

Greatlakes, I have to admit I'm kinda lost on the "outer pin" being broken. I've had 229s pretty much since they were introduced. All had one piece solid firing pin positioning pins, until my most recent 229 with a spiral pin. None had inner and outer pins. Looking forward to seeing that broken outer pin.