Dry firing a rifle?

[Cobramach1]

Hi everyone,

I have a question. I've recently been appointed to oversee the emergency firearms team at our zoo mainly because I'm the only one in management who handles firearms outside of work. I'm trying to get a good program of training going. There's a lot of people that this is the only time that they handle a firearm. What I was planning was once a year that we actually go to a range and they fire the various weapons we have. On the off time, I was planning on doing quarterly sessions where they have to handle and load the firearms and I was hoping that I could go through an entire process including firing. So my question is whether it is too hard on the firing pin to dry fire it that often without the resistance of a primer? My gut tells me it isn't a good thing, but how else can I go through a firing procedure with the staff? If it is a bad thing, is there something out there that would allow me to dry fire it safely without damage to the pin and rifle? I am going to have them load unload the rifle and shotguns with dummy rounds so they get a feel for the firearms. I was also planning on using an air gun on these quarterly sessions with a target so people get used to aiming and firing a firearm even though it's just an air rifle. If someone can let me know about the dry firing I would appreciate it. If you also know of some alternative ways to deal with dry firing I would appreciate those suggestions as well.

Thank you,
Jeff

 

[bigg_sexy1]

Snap Caps might be a good way to go for what you are looking for. You can find them at Midway, they come in most popular calibers. Hope this helps, and have fun with your program

 

[Cobramach1]

That's exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much.

 

[Woodycreek]

Never thought about a zoo having firearms but i guess you may need them just in case. What firearms does a zoo keep on hand?

 

[Cobramach1]

Nearly every zoo has a firearms team in case of an animal escape you must be able to take the animal down with a firearm in case tranquilizers are not enough or if the animal is endangering people. We have 375 H&H Magnum rifles and 12 gauge rifled shotguns for slugs. Luckily they've never had to be used on anything and hopefully they never will except the trips to the gun range for practice.

 

[Stormrider]

...We have 375 H&H Magnum rifles and 12 gauge rifled shotguns for slugs...

Those are pretty stout calibers to start learning to shoot with!

Good luck with your program.

 

[Cobramach1]

Yeah I know. I'm actually going to use reduced loads in the 375 so it's not a big deal to shoot for practice. That being said, the 12 gauge slugs I won't be able to get around using anything else so they'll have to 'feel' that shotgun.

 

[Bravo 4]

reduced loads

A company called Aguila makes a mini-slug. They are 1 3/4 shells that don't kick anywhere near as fierce as the big boys. They may be good for your practice range time. A 12 gauge shotgun will scare the crap out of most new shooters. This might give them that false sense of security they may need to pick it up. Just use them for practice though as they may not cycle well in your action. Only one way to find out.

 

[Cobramach1]

A company called Aguila makes a mini-slug. They are 1 3/4 shells that don't kick anywhere near as fierce as the big boys. They may be good for your practice range time. A 12 gauge shotgun will scare the crap out of most new shooters. This might give them that false sense of security they may need to pick it up. Just use them for practice though as they may not cycle well in your action. Only one way to find out.

Thank you for this tip! I was looking around for something like this and just happen to be finishing up the proposal today so I'll incorporate this into it. I agree they need the false sense of security or they'll all develop a flinch in an emergency situation. I shot the reduced load out of the 375 magnum and it shoots somewhere in between my 204 and my 22-250 and is still on target.