Dry firing a shotgun?

[Ready]

Is it true that dry firing a shotgun will damage the firing pin? What exactly is occurring that damages it? I have a mossy 590A1 that I occasionally dry fire because I don't like leaving it cocked when it's going to be stored away for a while. How do I check to see if it is being damaged?

[Medic_Krebs]

Well general rule of thumb is anytime a rifle or shotgun is dry fired, and the pin reaches the full length that's it is able to, damage can occur. I wouldn't suggest you dry fire ANY gun (sans a glock as they are maid to dry fire) doing so can over time, break the firing pin. Taking it apart and looking at it, you probably wouldn't be able to tell anything.

[Ready]

So the firing pin isn't actually making contact with anything during dryfire? Sounds like it would take ALOT of dry firing to have enough culmulative effect to break a firing pin then, right?

[b-36]

Well I don't know much about the dry-firing history of it, but I had a well-used JC Higgins Shotgun that I dry-fired once and the firing pin broke and I had to get it replaced - this convinced me the rumors were true and I stopped dry-firing guns as much as possible. I use snappercaps for the shotguns, and an open-bolt release with the semi-autos.

[Medic_Krebs]

Well, the pin is making contact with the mechanism keeping it in place, so technically yes, just not the "tip" of it. Usually the part that breaks is where it hits whatever it "bottoms out" on. If you were firing the gun with ammo in it, that wouldn't happen....the primer stops it from making a full travel.