“Mileage” on a Firearm

[rodralig]

I kept being told that dry firing with or without snap caps was okay in striker fire pistols, such as the Glocks, but I think Rodralig showed what happened with one of his. So I use a laser cartridge or snap caps to practice now.

What about hammer fired handguns? Is there a danger to the firing pin when dry firing? Do I need to get one of those o rings for the hammer to protect from damage while dry firing?

Too much dry firing... Hahaha!

I was in a class a couple of weeks back. The instructor called out, "does dry firing your gun damage it?" Everyone, except me, responded with a "No!" which I guess is what he expected... I wanted to respond with a "how much dry practice do you actually do?"

But then again, the discourse wasn't worth it - so left it at that...


That said, I have read in other forums that the CZ SP-01 doesn't have a FPB, hence, it was suggested to use an O-ring. I didn't want to "tempt" fate with it, as well, my Shadow 2... So, the #8 O-rings it is...


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[JC2020]

Too much dry firing... Hahaha!

I was in a class a couple of weeks back. The instructor called out, "does dry firing your gun damage it?" Everyone, except me, responded with a "No!" which I guess is what he expected... I wanted to respond with a "how much dry practice do you actually do?"

But then again, the discourse wasn't worth it - so left it at that...


That said, I have read in other forums that the CZ SP-01 doesn't have a FPB, hence, it was suggested to use an O-ring. I didn't want to "tempt" fate with it, as well, my Shadow 2... So, the #8 O-rings it is...


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[n8vrmind]

Too much dry firing... Hahaha!



I was in a class a couple of weeks back. The instructor called out, "does dry firing your gun damage it?" Everyone, except me, responded with a "No!" which I guess is what he expected... I wanted to respond with a "how much dry practice do you actually do?"



But then again, the discourse wasn't worth it - so left it at that...





That said, I have read in other forums that the CZ SP-01 doesn't have a FPB, hence, it was suggested to use an O-ring. I didn't want to "tempt" fate with it, as well, my Shadow 2... So, the #8 O-rings it is...





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SP-01s have firing pin block, like most other CZ75 B variants (except shadows).

[spddrcr]

Like others have said it all depends on the type of gun. I sold a custom cz match gun years ago that had 20,000 rounds through it if not more and had been pulled from various holsters thousands of times in competition and practice. the gun ran better then the day I brought it home and it went for a fair price.

On the other hand there is no way I myself would buy a glock with the same mileage.

[Fishslayer]

Particularly interested in a Glock 19, Berreta 92FS, or a Mossberg 500 series.

No idea about the Mossberg but the vast majority of us will never see the lifetime of the Glock & the Berreta. Maybe replace a recoil spring every couple of years but other than that...

Competition shooters replace parts and I think they wear out a pistol from time to time but they tend to maintain their stuff pretty well.

Hopefully my Maverick shotgun will never see more than a dozen or so rounds a year at the range.

[mikeyr]

I would never trust any number from anyone (sorry, including people here) to be correct. If I buy used, I just assume its been shot hard and put away wet and price accordingly.

You can tell if its worn out or still tight, by the way if I ever put up a gun for sale you can safely assume many thousands of rounds have been put through it, even if it looks new.

[bergmen]

Essentially, all modern centerfire guns are safe to dry fire regardless if it is striker or SA/DA. I do use snap caps out of habit

Depends on the gun. The owners manual of my Freedom Arms Model 83 Premier specifically states that dry firing can damage the gun and to always use snap caps.

Dan

[9kracing]

Assume people are lying about the round count.

This is the wisest advice in this thread.

I always laugh how every single time I check the FS section, every gun in there has been shot less than 500 times. ALL of them lol.


Also, we're still doing the dry fire thing in 2020??

[Sequencer60]

This is the wisest advice in this thread.

I always laugh how every single time I check the FS section, every gun in there has been shot less than 500 times. ALL of them lol.


Also, we're still doing the dry fire thing in 2020??

[ScottsBad]

Assume people are lying about the round count. It takes a few thousand rounds to break a gun in well, so a higher round count saves you time on getting everything to work better. Most gun owners are not interested in being proficient, they collect for different reasons as is their right. I jumped at the chance to get an SP-01 with a 1000 rounds through it last year.
People who are very serious about becoming proficient will have 20-30,000 rounds through a pistol. A well made pistol can go further than that with the changing of small parts like recoil springs, trigger springs etc. It takes a lot of rounds to wear out the barrel of a Sig , Glock or a CZ.

20-30,00 rounds? Yeah, but you will want to replace parts by then. Sure a Glock can run a loooooong time, but I prefer that my HD guns not have excessive round counts.

BTW - I bought a Gen 2 G17 a few years ago. I sent it to Glock. They checked it out to see if it was within spec, replace a small part, and sent it back to me for next to nothing.

Glocks can last virtually forever.

You can kind of tell when a gun has a lot of rounds through it, they feel loose, they have wear on the metal parts, etc. I don't know about Mossburg shotties, usually people don't put a lot of rounds through a 12GA unless they are using it for hunting. Mossburg hasn't consistently made the best quality shotguns.

When it comes to reliability, I'd rather have a high mileage Glock than a Beretta.

[003]

When Glocks first came out, factory owned guns were supplied to a number of local ranges. The guns were tracked by Glock and it was not unusual for the guns to have fired 200,000/300,000 rounds when sent back for a rebuild.

I have bit over 30,000 rounds on my Glock 34, and it is 100% reliable and shows no sign of wear issues.

[MarikinaMan]

I'd look at a pistol with over 40K rounds pretty closely. Stresses on the slide primarily.

An AR with over 20K rounds, some are rated to over 40K, would also be a candidate for close inspection for upper receiver wear, BCG wear (cam, gas rings, gas key stakes etc), and rifling.

I would depreciate the barrel off a 6.5CM bolt gun fully over 1000 rounds. They'll do up to 2000+

This doesnt mean I wouldnt buy them, but they are likely due for some parts or may have sustained some significant wear I wanna be aware of.

[WoodrowShootist]

I have bit over 30,000 rounds on my Glock 34, and it is 100% reliable and shows no sign of wear issues.

Same here. I have a 21 and a 34 with well over 40k. I stopped trying to keep track years ago. But they're awesome. I replace springs on my pistols annually, keep em lubed up and not excessively clean. The 21 has only needed a new striker. The armorer at a GSSF match replaced it on the spot too. Pretty sweet support that Glock offers. I replaced the barrel of the 34 with a KKM at around 25k. The stock barrel is perfectly fine. It didn't need it but while dressing up some match guns and decided to get a barrel for it. I do not question the reliability of these well used Glocks at all. In fact, if need be I'd grab one of the old reliables over a fresher pistol. They all have smoother actions and triggers than a new one.

There's a lot of "ideas" in this thread about wear. I have an old STI (when they were good) that was hardchromed from the factory. It's my limited division gun. That's got over 40k through it as well and it's got maybe a c**t hair of play in the frame/slide fit. It's smooth like it's on bearings and it runs like a madman.

Maintenance is key. Replace the springs, keep them lubed, clean em once in a while and they'll run. No different than a car. If you neglect it, it won't last long. Do the suggested maintenance and it'll last longer. Do smart and preventative maintenance and it'll last a very long time. One key to keeping things running is to replace parts before they break. When they do break then it's over due.

[JoyfulJoker]

Lots of ignorance regarding dry fire.

On CZ's, the only damage is to your firing pin retaining pin if you don't use a snap cap. You get get them for $5 each at CZ custom or CGW or you can buy a bag of 100 on Amazon for about $12.00 (or direct https://www.asmc.net/1-8-x-3-4-roll-...l-black-oxide/). You can use snap caps, or you can not use snap caps. If your steel guns can't handle a dry fire, they can't handle live fire. I don't know about polymer guns . This should be on Smith Busters as one of the strongest prevailing myths. The SP-01 sure does have a firing pin block and the Shadow does not. No difference as it's function and location are not affected at all by dry fire. At all. I just changed my firing pin retaining pin and I have dry fired my SP-01 at least 2000 times without a snap cap. It was fine. I changed it while I was upgrading some springs and figured why not. Sometimes I'm too lazy to dig up the snap caps and since the replace meant pin costs 1.5 cents and takes 5 minutes to replace I don't mind.

"The firing pin shaft has a notch, or two, cut into it inside the slide where you can't see it. Pull one out some time to replace the firing pin retaining pin and you'll see them.

The notch in question is cut long enough to allow the firing pin to move forward enough to strike the primer and rearward enough to protrude slightly through the back of the slide so that hammer can hit it.

The firing pin retaining pin sits in the slide so that it contacts the front and rear of the notch in both directions of travel.

When moving rearward the firing pin is only moved by the firing pin return spring. A small relatively weak spring that doesn't move the firing pin fast enough to cause damage/wear on the front of the notch or the front of the firing pin retaining pin.

When the hammer strikers the firing pin it is moving forward much faster as it has to set off the primer. If the firing pin hits the primer first it is slowed down by contact with the primer and the firing pin (back end of the notch) may not contact the firing pin retaining pin at all.

Without a primer, or snap cap, or o-ring placed in the notch in the rear of the slide the firing pin will slam forward and slam the back of the notch in the firing pin into the rear of the firing pin retaining pin.

Look around in the forum you'll see pictures of damaged firing pin retaining pins.

Why does the firing pin damage the firing pin retaining pin instead of the other way around? A firing pin cost a lot more money than a firing pin retaining pin, so CZ designed the pistol to reduce damage to the firing pin at the expense of the firing pin retaining pin."

https://czfirearms.us/index.php?topic=108126.0

Dry firing is one of the best ways you can improve your shooting. Most serious shooters dry fire as much as they live fire. And not only are they excellent marksman, their guns are fine. Unless it's a rimfire or revolver, dry firing is fine. I haven't met any serious shooters who don't have a dry fire routine.

Here is an excellent one I got from T3 Pros:

http://pistol-training.com/archives/5185

[ScottsBad]

I'd look at a pistol with over 40K rounds pretty closely. Stresses on the slide primarily.

An AR with over 20K rounds, some are rated to over 40K, would also be a candidate for close inspection for upper receiver wear, BCG wear (cam, gas rings, gas key stakes etc), and rifling.

I would depreciate the barrel off a 6.5CM bolt gun fully over 1000 rounds. They'll do up to 2000+

This doesnt mean I wouldnt buy them, but they are likely due for some parts or may have sustained some significant wear I wanna be aware of.

Yeah. If you want to make sure your AR goes bang when you most need it you need to do inspect and do parts replacements regularly.

This is my general take (JMHO) for semi-autos based on a lot of reading to ensure the reliability of critical HD rifles.

Bolt; Inspect every cleaning. Look for cracks around the lugs and cam pin hole. Check ejector spring tension, should be pretty stiff. Look for cracked gas rings. Check firing pin for mushroomed pin, replace if mushroomed, cracked, or otherwise misshapen. Check firing pin retaining pin for excessive wear.

Cam pin: Inspect every cleaning check for grooving/wear (if groove/wear catches your fingernail, replace it), otherwise replace every 5000, change the gas rings at the same time. They're cheap.

Extractor spring; Inspect every other cleaning. Replace extractor spring and insert at 5000 rounds for defensive rifles.

Buffer/Action Spring guidance.

Check action spring for kinks and
free length. Free length should be;

RIFLE: 11 3/4 Inches (29 85 cm)
minimum to 13 1./2 inches (34 29 cm)
maximum.

CARBINE: 10 1/16 inches (25.56 cm)
minimum to 11 1/4 inches (28.58 cm)
maximum. Do not attempt to adjust
spring length

Clean or replace gas tube at 5000 to 10,000 rounds.

Inspect gas key for loosening or leaking around the base of the gas key. If leaking or loosening, have a pro replace the gas key or buy a new carrier.

Inspect the buffer for excess wear.

Those are some things to look for with an AR.