Dry fire is boring

[Duces Tecum]

Serious question...how often do parts / springs require replacement when dry firing on a regular basis? I will admit that it's something I rarely do as I do not have "training" guns that are not "carry" guns.

G-27 New gun taken from stores and reserved specifically for dry firing. Firing pin bushing broke after about a year (a little over 18K dry fires) and the gun locked up. Mother ship replaced the slide for, IIRC, $80. Although probably not needed, the springs in the slide were also replaced.

G-23 First Glock I ever bought. Have no idea how many live rounds this hoary Gen 2 has sustained, but probably well into the five digits. Its locking block broke early on . The mother ship replaced the frame under warranty and it became my live practice gun. It transitioned to being reserved exclusively for dry-fire when the G-26 was at the doctor's. About 10,000 dry fires into its new responsibilities the firing pin complex shattered: the tip of the pin came off and the spacer sleeve broke. The channel liner survived with Continental aplomb. I think the new parts ran about $40.

I, too, keep my dry fire guns dedicated to that sole purpose. I think, Blue, it's the responsible thing to do. Of course, if I were posting on GhettoWeb.rob I'd probably say something different. Can't really comment on your springs question because I've only replaced the springs in a dry fire gun when they're in the shop for something else.

[blues]

G-27 New gun taken from stores and reserved specifically for dry firing. Firing pin bushing broke after about a year (a little over 18K dry fires) and the gun locked up. Mother ship replaced the slide for, IIRC, $80. Although probably not needed, the springs in the slide were also replaced.

G-23 First Glock I ever bought. Have no idea how many live rounds this hoary Gen 2 has sustained, but probably well into the five digits. Its locking block broke early on . The mother ship replaced the frame under warranty and it became my live practice gun. It transitioned to being reserved exclusively for dry-fire when the G-26 was at the doctor's. About 10,000 dry fires into its new responsibilities the firing pin complex shattered: the tip of the pin came off and the spacer sleeve broke. The channel liner survived with Continental aplomb. I think the new parts ran about $40.

I, too, keep my dry fire guns dedicated to that sole purpose. I think, Blue, it's the responsible thing to do. Of course, if I were posting on GhettoWeb.rob I'd probably say something different. Can't really comment on your springs question because I've only replaced the springs in a dry fire gun when they're in the shop for something else.

Thank you for sharing that info, my friend. I don't see myself as a great candidate for dry firing as a lifestyle until and unless I have one gun dedicated strictly to that function. Since all my guns (currently) are for carry and / or home defense, I'll have to content myself with practicing draws without trigger pulls but for the occasional foray.

Besides, my wife and my dog are already suspicious of what I'm up to...

[SLG]

Double Tap

[SLG]

I have seen the ST Action caps, but I dont have any. Ill try and remember to dig them out and take a look at the brand.

I assume that using a good cap would prevent those breakages in the glock, but I dont know. It does work well with the sig.


Eta. Looking on line it looks like the Tipton brand is what I have in 9mm and 38. I dont recall that name from when I bought them, so maybe they changed hands or maybe I just cant remember from 22 years ago.

[TicTacticalTimmy]

Ive found the aluminum A Zoom caps to be far superior to the plastic Tipton caps. The Tiptons are leaving tiny brass shavings inside the chamber and breech, and the primers have deep holes in them, whereas the A Zooms are flawless. Also I feel the one piece aluminum bodies are much tougher for things like ejecting rounds onto a hard floor.

Granted I got the Tiptons first and they have more dry fires on them so this is not an apples to apples comparison

[SkippySanchez]

I don't reload but I had a friend make some dummy rounds and I filled the primer pockets with silicone. They work great.

[SLG]

Ive found the aluminum A Zoom caps to be far superior to the plastic Tipton caps. The Tiptons are leaving tiny brass shavings inside the chamber and breech, and the primers have deep holes in them, whereas the A Zooms are flawless. Also I feel the one piece aluminum bodies are much tougher for things like ejecting rounds onto a hard floor.

Granted I got the Tiptons first and they have more dry fires on them so this is not an apples to apples comparison

Thats probably correct. My caps all get so little use that im pretty out of date on them. I use the a zooms for most czlibers today, but started with thetiptons and have not had any issues with them.

[JAD]

My A-Zooms, which I think I bought in the last couple of years (I used to use handloaded dummy rounds), have the rubber.

I also bought some from KP Tactical https://www.amazon.com/KP-Tactical-S.../dp/B01ACJCSBW. They're as nice as the A-Zooms and made from solid machined brass, so they add good weight to a magazine which is neat, but brass colored dummy rounds make me nervous; they're still in the bag.

[GRV]

I find the azooms get chewed up sometimes and some will make it difficult to cycle the action. I now use "B's Dryfire Snap Caps" from amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Bs-Dry-Fire-S.../dp/B0116829BM

They are nearly true weight. I have hard numbers for comparison if people are interested. They use a real lead bullet covered in a durable, distinct blue coating. The case is brass, so I stain mine with Birchwood Casey chemicals to make them more distinguishable. They also have a rubber filled primer pocket.



There's not enough time to be bored in 10 mins of dryfire when you've got specific things you want to work on.

[SsevenN]

I know, I know... It's a valuable training method and I'm not suggesting otherwise. Still....

I've got a friend who is a new shooter who've - I think - I've impressed on him the many benefits of dry fire, even 10 minutes, 2/3 times a week.

Still, it's simply not as much fun as punching holes in paper or plinking beer cans.

So, how do you keep yourselves motivated, and how do you help others maintain the quality of their dry fire when motivation wanes?

I don't actually break the trigger a ton dry firing as much as I draw and point and do mag changes, that said, to keep it interesting and engaging I often watch action movies/shows and draw + point and occasionally (1/5) draws maybe break the trigger. Also watching training videos on pistol shooting usually gets me in the mood.