Dry Fire Debate

Reading Tam’s blog this morning, I discovered that there is still a largely overblown fear of damaging firearms by dry firing a handgun.  ‘Damaging guns by dry-fire’ seems to be the gun hobby’s version of ‘I woke up in a bathtub filled with ice-water and one of my kidneys was stolen.”  While it may be possible, it is highly improbable.

I’ve carried a gun professionally since 1995.  In 15 years, I have personally dry fired dozens of guns, including Glocks, Sigs, and Smith & Wessons – thousands of times each.

In every police academy and agency I have been associated with, firearms training included dry fire training, mostly without snap caps.  These academies and agencies have trained thousands of cops.

To date, I have not encountered a single officer, agency, or academy instructor who has experienced or seen first-hand any damage resulting to any modern handgun.  Although you should check your owner’s manual, I’m very comfortable with saying that modern pistols can be dry fired with little possibility of damage.

I have previously written about the benefits of dry firing on this site and at BlueSheepdog.

Keep in mind, I am talking about modern, defensive handguns.  If you have an H&H double rifle, that may be a completely different tale.