storing guns

[kentucky_redneck]

Hey guys I was wondering if you pulled the trigger to release tension on the spring and fireing pin? I know your not sopposed to dri fire but I didnt know what it woulkd do if you didnt.

If you dont care let me know how you store your guns and why.
Thanks in advance.

[turkeytalker]

I don't mind dry firing one,unless its rare or antique,but i rarely do it to store the gun.I know alot who use snap caps to release tension.


My finer rifles are stored upside down to keep oil and splitting from the stock.

[skeetshooter105]

I will release the spring tension on all my target shotguns when done shooting for the day. Never store a shotgun or rifle you have $$ invested in with the hammer cocked.
Spring tension will be lost over a period of time and eventually have to be replaced.
Snapcaps are a good investment. Another thing I do is use old fired casings with the fired primer still in place. Fill the insides with cotton batting sprayed with WD-40 or Rem oil. Crimp or seal these down tightly. Use the same as a snap cap and leave in the weapon for moisture protection in the chamber area. I have shot for over fifty years and thousands of targets later it works for me.... Dennis

[ptbrauch]

I've found that if you hold the trigger in while you close the bolt on a bolt action, you can release the spring without dry firing--basically, you're never "setting" the trigger when you do this.

Also, I read in a magazine (F&S or Outdoor Life, I don't remember which) where there was a gun expert who said that it didn't harm the gun when dry fired--that he'd done it 1000's of times in some guns and never had an issue.

[Manzanita]

I've read that it won't hurt centerfire guns, although I still don't do it unnecessarily. I have heard that dry firing rimfires can damage the firing pin. That said, unless I'm counting rounds, my 10/22 dry fires at the end of every magazine and it hasn't hurt it yet.

Who knows. I feel like one of Tolkien's elves... "Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no."

[ditchdigger]

In my opinion dry firing would be the lessor of two evils...long term storage with the firing pin cocked seems like a huge no-no...and I would think mfg's expect some dry firing...that's my thoughts..for what it's worth.

[bphelps56]

Removing the primer from a fired casing and replacing the primer with a pencil eraser makes a good cheap snap cap.

[ditchdigger]

Now that's a GREAT idea....Thanks!:o

[killinmammals]

All the guys I know that have YEARS experience as gunsmiths told me dry firing the newer firearms won't hurt them, its the older ones that you don't want to dry fire. They say it has to do with the fact that the older guns firing pin's are made with as strong a metal as today. I never leave a gun stored when it is cocked.

[kyhunter35]

I have found there are different times of the year you can ease the tension on firing pins. Some examples are spring turkey season, fall deer season, or coyote at any time. If I have a gun that keeps tension on the firing pin for very long, I get a little tense myself. I think I will go release a little tension on a coyote or two this morning.

[mwezell]

All the guys I know that have YEARS experience as gunsmiths told me dry firing the newer firearms won't hurt them, its the older ones that you don't want to dry fire. They say it has to do with the fact that the older guns firing pin's are made with as strong a metal as today. I never leave a gun stored when it is cocked.

That is a bit of a misconception, Brian. While most guns are ok to dry fire, there are still exceptions to that, some because of pin design,some for other reasons. Lots of break action guns use a firing pin rebound spring that will overcompress when dry fired.,(i.e., T/C's). Some have little or no fillet or radius at the area where the small part of the pin and the shoulder that keeps it in the gun meet,creating a cleavage point, along with overall poor design(i.e. Bryco pistols). In rimfire guns, it is generally the older ones that should not be dry fired but not necessarily beacuse of breaking the pin , but that the pin will hit the edge of the chamber causing the chamber to get beat up.(I have the tool to reair this.It is called a chamber iron). There are others that should or should not be dry fired for these reasons and other reasons. As a whole, most centerfire guns can be dryfired and the rimfires should not be.(With exceptions to both). If you want to release the mainspring or firing pin tension, I would recommend snap-caps.
You can also hold the trigger back while closing the action slowly on many as well.(on an EMPTY CHAMBER of course).