I bought a new Legion P220 and want to break in the trigger even though it feels pretty damn good. Any issue dry firing without snap caps?

PB

They say no but TheSigArmorer always recommended a foam ear plug cut in half under the hammer.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mustang-PaPa, January 27, 2023 08:16 PM

With. Cheap insurance with ANY gun.

This is one of those things I know what I should do and never do it. I dry fire a lot. I just bang away like a hyperactive monkey on an empty chamber. I think the “half a foamy” is the best solution. In the Navy I had like roughly a million of those. Now I got nada. I like snap caps for malfunction drills that’s about it.

quote:

Originally posted by Mustang-PaPa:
..... a foam ear plug cut in half under the trigger.

under the hammer. Or in front of the hammer, or whatever. So the hammer slams into the ear plug.

That's what I have done for decades with my P220 and P228.

In 37 years of owning guns I’ve never used snap caps and do a ton of dry fire and never had a problem.

I use snap caps/dummy rounds for demonstrating certain things like reloads to a class, but not for dry fire.

The only time I'd consider it necessary was if I was wanting to dry-fire a rimfire firearm or one of certain specific older firearms models who are prone to dry fire related breakages.

It's simply not a concern with quality modern centerfire handguns, like the P220.

But if you're worried, and using one makes you feel better and makes it more likely that you'll actually practice, go right ahead.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
With. Cheap insurance with ANY gun.

That's always been my thinking.

Truth be told there is a little “do as I say not as I do” in my statement as I don’t ALWAYS use snap caps but I do keep them in all my calibers and do tend to use them more often then not.

You are not going damage many modern firearms without a TON of dryfire without cushioning but like I said it’s cheap insurance.

Meh. If you’re concerned use them. I dry fire a lot. And I broke one firing pin over the years. And I’m not even real sure that it wasn’t because of corrosive ammo I was shooting because it was cheap.

My first revolver was a S&W model 67 that I purchased so that I could do lots of practicing with a double action trigger to master using one. Because doing double action practice with a P239 was just a bit inconvenient and dead simple with a revolver. Considering the impact forces involved in dry fire practice with a revolver I chose to use snap caps. All it took was 1500 strokes of the trigger and the rims on the snap caps started to fail. Note divide that by 6 and you have a failure point of just 250 strikes to shear the rims and send the remainder of the snap cap into the forcing cone of the barrel. Folks that is a simple illustration of the power of a hammer strike. If you don't thank that can damage a hammer or frame over time I suggest you think again.

You probably don't need a snap cap to prevent damage. However, I use one. Predominantly because it's a layer of security that helps me confirm my gun has no live ammunition. Plus, it can't hurt with regards to the firing pin.

With SIG, shouldn't be a problem without. But, with the CZ 75B, you might run into issue.

I have to say I've been here and on another forum for years and have never heard of the ear plug in front of the hammer idea when trying to smooth out a trigger. Sounds like a great idea to me.

I too have snap caps in most of my calibers... but I think they are more for proving cycling and ejecting than protecting the firing pin.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
I too have snap caps in most of my calibers... but I think they are more for proving cycling and ejecting than protecting the firing pin.

They are designed for both.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
With SIG, shouldn't be a problem without. But, with the CZ 75B, you might run into issue.

The Walther PPS M2 (and other Walthers?) are known to break firing pins w/o them.

One item to consider is where does the hammer rest after the trigger is pulled. On my P226, P229R, and USP the hammer has to travel forward strike the firing pin then moves back a bit. This allows the firing pin (FP) to move back and forth after firing to bleed out energy after dry firing. Other guns like my High Power, the hammer rests on the firing pin. So after striking the FP, the FP moves forward and the the spring slams it back into the hammer. I have heard that can cause the FP to weaken and eventually break. A snap cap adsorbs that energy from dry firing, reducing wear on the FP.

And a rimfire should ALWAYS use a snap cap since the FP is aligned with the breach face, and you will wreck your FP dry firing.

I don't use a snap cap for dry firing a few times but for repeated dry fire I do use a snap cap. Laser training cartridges also cushion the firing pin and also can make dry firing more productive and fun for around $30.

I use them with some guns, especially those out of print. I recently discovered on one of the forums that Nerf darts work well in .45 Colt guns as snap caps. I had several around the yard, so I tried it and it works quite well. You may need to trim them to length.