Just dry firing it and racking the slide has no negative effects on a 1911. But, don't let the slide slam into battery without a snap cap in the chamber. When racking the slide guide it back, don't just let it go.

 

Just dry firing it and racking the slide has no negative effects on a 1911. But, don't let the slide slam into battery without a snap cap in the chamber. When racking the slide guide it back, don't just let it go.

Actually, without a snap cap in the magazine

If the snap cap is already in the chamber, then the extractor has to "snap over" the cartridge rim. Not something the extractor was designed to.

 

If all you want to do is dry fire why rack the slide at all?

 

I want to practice with all the functions of the gun, including racking the slide.

So curious what the safest way to do those are.

Seems like guiding the slide back is best.

So dry firing any 1911 is ok?

 

Dry-fire a 1911 to your heart's content. But for racking the slide you really need snap caps, unless you're going to guide it with your hand somehow.

 

Thanks!
So it's safe to just rack the slide back and forth with my hand?
Will it damage the spring at all?

 

Firstly a GI standard 1911 slam rack it.

A finely tuned 1911 - slide should be eased forward, sear damage can happen if slammed on an empty chamber.

Secondly don't allow the extractor to 'jump' over the rim of a chambered round. Always feed and chamber from the magazine. External extractors are a little more forgiving.

IMHO Grant

 

And don't guide the hammer down with your thumb. That just negates the point of Dry Fire practice.

Fun thing to try: Hold the empty gun, in your ready to "fire" position with a dime balanced on top, near the front sight.

Try to keep it balanced there & sights on target during your trigger pull.

"target" being the tack holding up your Corvette Girls calendar, or whatever.

 

I haven't done this in a while but I used to do it for about 10 minutes every night with a dime or penny on the front sight before I went to bed. At the time I was trying to learn the DA pull on an old DA/SA pistol. It helped me learn trigger control.

 

I like to use the LASER targets. Probably more of them out there now. I can easily get over 25 yards by going down the hall and across the living room in my house.



Shown with the 45ACP LASER "bullet". And yes, you will be buying batteries for these if you use them. I use a LASER pointer pen for display and reset.

 

I have a couple of the Laser rounds (snap caps?) but I dont have the fancy target. I have to shoot my gf's cat. She's gonna be really bummed if I accidentally load the wrong rounds.

 

If you load the snap caps in/from a magazine you can release the slide via the slide stop, otherwise no.
As I recall, there is a video by Wilson Combat on the subject, might be worth a look.

 

Here is one of my favorite stories from Sheriff Jim Wilson. Something like 50-60 years ago there was a young man who bought a new Colt Government Model from a gun shop, and a day later came back complaining that it was malfunctioning. The shop owner/gunsmith asked him if he was running wadcutters or hollow-points through it, and the young man said no, he was just using some military surplus ammo that said ".45 Pistol Ball" on the box. Puzzled, the gunsmith took the young man in back room where he had a shooting lane, and he proceeded to load the Colt and fire seven rounds, after which the slide locked open. The young man then exclaimed "See that?!? It just did it again!".

 

he proceeded to load the Colt and fire seven rounds, after which the slide locked open. The young man then exclaimed "See that?!? It just did it again!".

The first time I shot a Garand, I had not been briefed. After the 8th shot I heard a loud PIIING and saw something depart the rifle. I thought the gun was spontaneously disassembling.

 

Take the magazine out when racking the slide so you don't have to hit the slide release every time, and guide it back into battery instead of letting it slam home.

You can rack it to your heart's content this way.

 

Like Tim said though, if you're not practicing sling-shotting the slide or hitting the slide release then you're not actually training. Snap caps exist for a reason. The good ones are those made from brass or aluminum as they simulate the weight of a real cartridge, lessening the chance of a feeding failure. The clear or red plastic ones are okay for actual dry-firing but they are too light and sometimes mis-feed.

 

I know I’ve read this before, but can someone explain to me how slingshotting the slide on an empty chamber can damage the sear. I would like to understand this.

 

It's not only hard on the sear primary surface but also on your slide stop. Frame hole where slide stop goes through and the barrel lugs. Good way to oval out your slide stop hole in the frame. The round acts like a buffer when loading. The sear can chatter on the hammer hooks from the vibration of metal slamming agenst metal. I wouldnt worry about that unless you have a custom trigger job done. I would be more worried about the wear on frame. And lower lugs. Doing this a few times probably wont hurt much.

 

I prefer BarrelBlok. Better than snap caps. I only use snap caps when I want to do malfunction drills. And even then, I always start with BarrelBlok and drills that have me go though all my equipment I am using. Only then do I remove the BarrelBlok to work with snap caps.

https://bloksafety.com/

BarrelBlok saved be from having a negligent discharge. As I was clearing my room of ammo for dry fire fun, my wife called me. I returned to my room thinking I had removed all ammo out of the room. I began my dry fire practice. When I did an emergency reload... holly smokes Batman, I had a double feed. If it were not for the BarrelBlok a live round would have went into the chamber as I forgot to swap out my spare magazine on my belt with an empty one that only contained a BarrelBlok magazine insert.

The down side was that had by gun went bang, and after a 10 second W.T.F. moment, I would have smiled really big as it would have been all my old college books that got shot.

 

Thanks so much guys! I really appreciate the help

 

The OP and a few others here need to watch the Hilton Yam 10-8 episodes on the 1911.

 

My technique for dry-firing a 1911 is (after checking three times that the pistol is really unloaded) is, after the first dry-fire, I continue to hold the trigger fully back. Then I hook my support hand thumb in the trigger guard, hook my support index finger around the front of the slide below the barrel, then squeeze with the support hand. The slide will move back far enough to cock the hammer, then I relax the hand and let the slide go forward. Remove the support hand and get a firing grip again, then back off on the trigger to feel the reset, and perform the trigger squeeze again.


Yes, you have a second digit in the trigger guard, but the pistol is verified to be unloaded.


Yes, you have a finger around the front of the slide in proximity to the muzzle, but the pistol is verified to be unloaded.


Yes, you dry-fire the pistol in your house or other non-safe-backstop location, but the pistol is verified to be unloaded.


As a matter of fact, I use this technique to dry fire all of my semiautos that have the recoil spring beneath the barrel. The ones such as a Walther PP are not practical for this technique as they have no place on the front of the slide to hook the finger on.

 

Would there be someone willing to consolidate some of the questions in this thread, in a simple format to help standardize the information?

A sticky FAQ on operating etiquette/care?

Keep the information applicable to carry or range pistols that are meant to be used hard and put away wet?

A baseline rule of thumb perhaps


Dry firing with a snap cap
Q. Why practice racking the slide?

Dropping the slide onto an empty chamber
Q. How will this damage the disconnector?
Q. Why do this at all?

Dry firing without a snap cap
Q. How will this damage the sear?

 

Dry firing a 1911 and holding the pistol.....

Unless a person is forced to use only one hand to hold a 1911 pistol, such as the sport of NRA Bullseye, one of the most effective two hand grip on a 1911 pistol is the "two thumbs forward modern grip." This grip helps to mitigate the effects of recoil with full power combat loads in all calibers used for 1911 pistols. When dry firing a 1911 pistol it is best to use the two thumbs forward modern grip...…(except for deliberate one hand shooting....)

In addition, the arms and hands are not designed to hold the pistol at arms length, so the weight of a fully loaded 1911 will cause strain on your arms, neck, and shoulder that takes time to get use to the weight. This also increases the wobble area when taking aim on your target. To compensate for the added weight, I will place a 1-2lb. scuba weight on a short cut down belt to allow the belt around my forearm near my wrist. The added weight will greatly increase your wobble area, but once you get used to the added weight, your gun will feel much lighter, and your wobble area will be reduced.

I shot NRA Bullseye for 10 years, and at one time, I was practicing with an air pistol in my backyard. I added extra weight to my shooting arm, and kept adding more weight as I got accustomed to using extra weight. I was eventually practicing with my air pistol with a 3lb. scuba weight on my wrist. When I picked up my Hi-Standard Victor or my 1911 mil spec .45, my ability to hold the gun still was rock solid, and I had very little wobble area.....which greatly improved my scores in slow, timed, and rapid fire stages......:rock: