TargetTalk

When you have a semi automatic with 10 shot clip I use dummy loads to test mag and mechanism workability. When you cycle the last dummy through the gun it still has its trigger cocked with nothing in the chamber. To release it you have to dry fire, Is this what everyone does? What procedure is right?

Center fire? Exposed hammer, ease hammer down. Hidden hammer just dry fire it.

Steve

Ron,
What you are describing is essentially "dry-firing".
Procedure can vary depending upon the pistol you have. Some will accept pulling of the trigger, with subsequent fall of the hammer, without danger of firing pin striking the face of the chamber.
However, in another thread, you were looking for a High Standard (Victor). From my experience, I would not advise dry-firing a High Standard without having something in the chamber - an empty case or one of those special 'dry-firing' plugs sold commercially or a suitable size of plastic drywall anchor.
Lacking something to put in the chamber, I will hold the slide open about 1/16 inch and pull the trigger. (Not so open as to activate the disconnector, of course.) The small gap is enough so that the firing pin does not contact the chamber face.
Others have suggested wrapping a rubber band around the barrel (over the muzzle and the chamber face), or cutting a piece of fridge-magnet tape and putting it on the chamber face. All to cushion the firing pin so that it does not peen the edge of the chamber. A few hits of the firing pin on the edge of the chamber will raise a burr that will impede rounds from chambering. Then you will need a very fine, round file to dress out the burr - been there, done that :-(
Hope this helps.
Mike T.

Just thought there should be a better way but after what you said I'll have to do something. Holding it open a 1/16 if it works will probally be the best thing.Ron

darticus wrote:When you have a semi automatic with 10 shot clip I use dummy loads to test mag and mechanism workability. When you cycle the last dummy through the gun it still has its trigger cocked with nothing in the chamber. To release it you have to dry fire, Is this what everyone does? What procedure is right?

Don't eject the last dummy load. Just drop the hammer on the dummy, which will cushion the hammer fall.

darticus wrote:When you have a semi automatic with 10 shot clip I use dummy loads to test mag and mechanism workability. When you cycle the last dummy through the gun it still has its trigger cocked with nothing in the chamber. To release it you have to dry fire, Is this what everyone does? What procedure is right?

Do exactly what you do when putting the gun away after shooting a match.

Find a strip of leather the right thickness to go between the breach face and the slide.

In fact this will only fully protect the kind of pistol where the firing pin would otherwise hit the breach face, or the Izh35 which has a different kind of firing pin.
If it is set so the pin is stopped then that stop takes the whack - a dummy round is better in this case.

The FAS pistols had their disconnectors set so they only operated when the slide was almost fully back, with the supplied spacer the hammer would move very slightly and hit the underside of the slide.