Dry Firing for practice, Yes or No ?

[BobbyF]

Hi Pards,

     I am awaiting the delivery of a new Big Boy in .357 / .38 . I know from having read many of the prior posts that maybe a bad or good decision, I guess I will find out. I never owned a rifle but I have some experience shooting them. I am wondering if it is Ok to work the action and dry fire such a rifle, or do you have to only practice with live ammo at the range ?
     Thank you in advance for your thoughts on this matter and for all your prior replies. You Pards got me and my friend joining CAS in Albuquerque, NM-- BobbyF

[Pettifogger]

No one I know uses a Big Boy for competition.  However, all good shooters dry fire and dry fire a lot.  There are dummy rounds with a portion of the rim removed so the extractor won't pull the shell out of the gun.  A lot of top shooters have dry fired hundreds of thousands of cycles without snap caps.  Depends on the type of gun.

[rickk]

If you have absolutely any issues with the Big Boy whatsoever, just give them a call.

More than likely, Antonio will answer the phone.

Antonio owns HRA.

If there is a problem with he gun, he will send you a prepaid UPS label so you can send it back on his dime. You will probably get it back all fixed in a couple of weeks.

Most people have no issues with them at all. I was one of the unlucky ones who did have a problem. When I got it back, it was not only fixed, but it seemed like someone spent some extra time with it slicking it up a bit.

If you want a definitive answer on dry firing, either call them or email them. Antonio answers most of the emails as well.

Rick

[BobbyF]

Hi Rickk,

     Thanks you made my day with your reply, nothing like concise, concrete info. I will do as you suggest and e-mail them. How it helps to have a name to refer to.
     The more I read about different rifles, the more confused I got. I found a lot of conflicting posts. I appreciate the opinions from all the knowledgable Pards in this Community, making it difficult when there are conflicts.
     I also started to take into account the age of critical  posts. I would think when the "owner" of Company became aware of a problem with his product, he would address it, especially when the critics are from such a well informed community. Then again, maybe I am naive.
     Anyway, I can't wait to get it and shoot it and leave my worries behind. I am obviously a rookie who was getting lost in the details and loosing sight of the main goal of having fun. I will post how I make out.Thanks to all and Happy Thanksgiving --BobbyF

[rickk]

The way I look at it, if there was a lot of problems, and the owner was answering the phone, he would deal with the problems so that the phone would stop ringing.

You will probably not have a chance against a slicked up '92. The Big Boy is... BIG. It locks up solid, and when you work the lever, you know that there is some meat in the breech.

That being said, the receiver, which is a hardened brass alloy, tends to have some natural lubricating properties that steel on steel wont have. It is smooth right out of the box. There ain't any aftermarket slick-up kits made for it that I know of, so there is little reason to mess with it yourself. Just take it out of the box and shoot it. If you have any issues with it, you don't have to pay anyone to fix it... the factory stands behind their product 100%.

BTW mine is in 45 LC, and I shoot BP only it it.  I had some feeding issues when I got it. one out of every 4 or 5 cartridges would hand up coming out of the magazine tube and only come out about 1/8 of an inch or so. Turns out the shell carrier was made wrong. They replaced it and now it feeds 100%.

I have several other lever guns... a 45.70 Marlin, a 357 Marlin, and a .30-30 Winchester. When I am loading the Big Boy, I really don't miss having to force each shell into the tube against spring tension. There are those that seem afraid that dropping the cartridges down the magazine tube from the front might cause a high primer to go off. I guess it certainly could happen. I just lay the gun down horizontally on the table with the muzzle pointed down range and slip them in one at a time.

If you have ever taken apart a modern large framed Marlin lever gun, you will find that there is a lot of similarities between the Marlin and the Big Boy. The gun works well. It may never be the fastest gun out there, but it is one of the strongest. It is also made in the USA with a no BS warranty, which is kinda nice.

Rick

[BobbyF]

Hi Rickk, Pettifogger, all Pards,

     I heard from the technical staff at the Henry Co., they said dry firing will not harm the Big Boy in any way.
Thank you all--BobbyF