Firearm trainers advocate practicing your trigger pull by dry firing an unloaded gun. "Wait, no, this isn't safe!" say other folks, "It'll damage the gun!" Brownells Firearm Support Technician Caleb Savant sets the record straight on this burning question: Is it OK to dry fire my gun? On older .22 rimfires, it is NOT OK because the firing pin is actually made of harder steel than the barrel and can damage the edge of the chamber. Most modern rimfire guns have a firing pin stop that prevents the firing pin from hitting the chamber wall if there's no cartridge in the chamber. This varies from gun to gun, so be safe and check your gun's owner's manual. When you dry fire a centerfire gun, the firing pin just extends into.... empty air in the chamber. Nothing for it to smack into, so no risk of damage. (Caleb does have a special warning about certain older Colt revolvers.) GOOD NEWS: Snap caps enable you to dry fire guns that shouldn't be dry fired on an empty chamber. A good snap cap absorbs the firing pin's energy while you develop perfect trigger control!

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