dry-firing a 1911

[nightrunner]

does it hurt to dry fire a 1911?

thanks

[Punisher84]

Nope!

[nightrunner]

good

[TGO David]

There are mixed schools of thought on this. Some say yes, some say no. I do it but not excessively. If you want to do some dry fire practice maybe invest in some Snap Caps or Safe-T-Trainer dummy rounds.

I think it's probably more damaging to drop the slide on an empty chamber than it is to dry fire them. Dropping the slide on an empty chamber can be a bit rough on the 1911 extractor.

[nightrunner]

I think it's probably more damaging to drop the slide on an empty chamber than it is to dry fire them. Dropping the slide on an empty chamber can be a bit rough on the 1911 extractor.

oh... good to know.

[Punisher84]

oh... good to know.

Done it already haven't you? LOL

[nightrunner]

ummm,

[Punisher84]

LOL It won't kill it just don't run around the yard slamming the slide home playing Bruce Willis. They'll take abuse otherwise God wouldn't have approved the design when JMB sent it to him.

[nightrunner]

its a springfield GI 1911, figured it'd be better than some of them with tighter tolerances about taking abuse.

im not doing it much but not being able to shoot it living in town, just making sure everything functions right, just dont want to mess anything up.

[Garufa]

Dry-firing and dropping the slide on a 1911 is not going to do any harm to the steel masterpiece.

Think about it. The sheer violence and force of when a round is detonated far exceeds letting the slide go or pulling the trigger on an empty chamber.

[TGO David]

Dry-firing and dropping the slide on a 1911 is not going to do any harm to the steel masterpiece.

Think about it. The sheer violence and force of when a round is detonated far exceeds letting the slide go or pulling the trigger on an empty chamber.

Disagree.

This quote says it better than I can:

When the slide slams home on an empty chamber it jolts the entire gun, bouncing the sear engagement point on the hammer face. When the gun is picking up a cartridge (loading from the magazine) the slide is slowed considerably and this reduces the impact and thus reduces the jarring effect on the hammer/sear interface.

And here's another discussion about it:

What's wrong with releasing the slide on an empty chamber? - THR

Bottom line is it's kind of like slamming the door on your car excessively hard. It probably isn't immediately bad for the car but it's not good for it in the long run either.

[Mike.357]

Dry-firing and dropping the slide on a 1911 is not going to do any harm to the steel masterpiece.

truer words were never spoken.

Its not like a Glock for God's sake. Drop the slide and dry fire away.

Shooting the thing is way more violent than playing with it.

[TGO David]

truer words were never spoken.

Its not like a Glock for God's sake. Drop the slide and dry fire away.

Shooting the thing is way more violent than playing with it.

Actually the Glock is just fine for dry firing and/or dropping the slide on. The 1911 is a little different of an animal.

Like I said, it probably won't hurt it immediately but it won't be good for it over the long haul. Hopefully one of you guys telling him to just go ahead and abuse it will be there to help pay for a new extractor, trigger job or other repairs down the road when it starts to act up on him.

Look at it this way:

You have a lot of very reputable high-end gunsmiths who specialize in the 1911 on the record as saying dropping the slide on a 1911 with an empty chamber is not good for it. These guys get paid big money to work on 1911s, so it benefits them for you to dick up your gun and need to have it repaired.

What agenda could they possibly have in telling you how to get maximum life expectancy out of your weapon???

I'm going to go with the recommendations of people like Hilton Yam, Chuck Rogers, Bill Wilson, etc. over someone using a Glock analogy.

Edited May 31, 2009 by TGO David

[deerslayer]

Its not like a Glock for God's sake. Drop the slide and dry fire away.

Right. Abuse the piss out of a Glock and abuse the piss out of the masterpiece, and see which one hiccups first. Oh, and bring your paycheck.

I borrowed an STI Trojan for an IDPA match today, since I'm considering shooting 1911s competitively in the near future. The first thing I was told by the owner was not to drop the slide on an empty chamber, because this is hard on the extractor (I knew this anyway). As for dry-firing, everyone in IDPA dry-fires their guns before reholstering. Lots of 1911s have been dry-fired 1000s of times with no damage. I would dry-fire the hell out of it and not worry.

[TGO David]

Not to hijack, but what do you think of that Trojan?

[deerslayer]

Not to hijack, but what do you think of that Trojan?

It's by far the best 1911 $1000 can buy. Hell, maybe the best 1911 $2000 can buy. This particluar gun was a 9mm, which is what I would buy for IDPA. All the Trojans I've seen outshoot and run more reliably than Wilsons, Nighthawks, and especially Kimbers. Making the switch to a 1911 will be a lot work for me--I'm so used to Glock triggers, reset, and controls. I haven't decided to do it, but if I do, an STI will be the only gun worth considering. I can't explain how much better I think they are than most other 1911s. I still wouldn't drop the slide on an empty chamber, though.

[TGO David]

You'll be gunning for a Brazos Custom before you know it.

[deerslayer]

You'll be gunning for a Brazos Custom before you know it.

LOL

[willis68]

Do what you want, your gun. I NEVER will drop the slide on a 1911 on a empty chamber, it will ruin your trigger job to say the least, if you want to dry fire cock the dang thing and do it as many times as you would like. I have never messed up any of my 1911's by doing this and my Browns and Nighthawk have at the least been dry fired at least 1000 times each, no problems but I do not and will not drop the slide on an empty chamber

[Guest thorn]

I was told it was hard on the springs to lower the hammer and there was nothing wrong with dry firing so I've always followed suit and never had a problem.

My experience with STI was different, crappiest 1911 and customer service out of all 1911's I've owned. Looked like a monkey with a dremel tool built it.

[TN9mm]

Maybe I'm just paranoid but my new baby gets snap caps for dry fire practice, and I will not drop the slide on an empty chamber anymore.

[GLOCKMEISTER]

if you can hurt a gun by dry fireing it, then you sure dont need to shoot it.

So they answer is... click away!

[Guest Gun Geek]

Have to agree with some of the others, dry firing you should be fine, but it is not good to drop the slide on an empty chamber.

[I_Like_Pie]

TGO Davids argument of dropping the slide on an empty 1911chamber may be valid...However it is gradual enough that there is not consensus enough to actually prove it in a material way.

One would think that a magazine or company in the history of modern firearms would 100% dispel the facts/myths regarding dry firing...nobody really has done this in a valid manner that brings consensus to where it is no longer bickered about.

Many of the other classical arguments that are made with respect to dry firing centerfire arms simply are not true. One being the dry fire caps...the firing pin on ALL centerfire (not rimfire, but applicable in 99% of those cases too) arms should function to where the limiting factor of the pins travel is derived from the mechanical limitations of the gun...not hitting the extremely soft material that the primer is made of. Simply put...the firing pin should travel 100% of its ability with every pull of the trigger. With that being said it really doesn't make a difference if a cartridge is there or not.

[GLOCKMEISTER]

ok...

I saw John Brownings ghost in a dream last night and he told me all you "non dry firers" were full of shiet.

So there ya have it...