Dry firing a hammer Parker
 

I know I can dry fire a hammerless Parker shotgun with no harm to the shotgun but can I dry fire a Parker hammer gun?

Dennis

Not in my house!!! No way I'd ever do it. I dry fired an old hammer gun once and the tip of the firing pin broke off and shot across the room.

a hammer gun - no - use a snap cap

personally I would not dry fire a hammerless either, but you have a better chance doing o harm with one of them.

That is what I thought. I am taking the answers as a NO. Thank you.

Dennis

When dry-firing any of my guns, I use A-Zoom Snap Caps, exclusively. There will be those that say otherwise, but I see it as cheap insurance.

Not a good idea. Not only do you chance breaking a pin, but on the older offset type pins, you chance peening the pin retainer as well.

What about using spent shells as snap caps? If not, where does one buy snap caps? I need some 10 and 12 gauge ones.

A spent primer has lost its ability to absorb the blow of the hammer and firing pin. Midway or Graf are two places I shop frequently. I am known to carry things to the extreme, but I keep A-Zooms in all my hammerless shotguns. I drop the hammers on them just before returning the gun to the locker. Despite what has been said over the years, pro and con, I try not to rationalize the non-use of a snap cap. I just do it....


:corn:

Mills - One low budget approach is to put pencil erasers in the primer pockets and snap away