When field stripping the XD 9 Mod. 2, you have to pull the trigger to release the slide. 1. Does dry firing the Mod. 2 harm the gun, firing pin, or striker pin in any way? 2. Is there any way to not dry fire? 3. Is there any way to use a snap cap so it is not dry fired? 4. Lastly, what is the purpose of dry firing anyway? It is not required on the XDM 9 MM 3.8 or the 5.25. I would like to hear what others have to say, and I would like to hear from Springfield. Thank you for your response.
It's not going to hurt the gun to dry fire it. My wife's SA-XD is the same way. Gotta pull the trigger to release the slide.
Wait a second. I fired some model of XD a couple weeks ago, and I'm pretty sure I was able to slingshot the slide. But thinking about it now, there was one gun I tried recently where I could not figure out how to get it into battery... Maybe that was the XD?
XDm is different from XD in several ways. The need to dry fire it to release the slide has always been part of the XD. The fact that you don't need to do it for XDm is a selling point. But in fact dry firing the XD for disassembly will not harm the gun at all. XDs was developed starting with the XDm design. So it also does not require pulling the trigger to release the slide. I don't know if you can use a snapcap during disassembly. Pretty sure the manual says to make sure the chamber is empty.
The minimal amount of times that you need to pull the trigger to take off the slide will not hurt it at all. That said - I always use Snap caps to do my dry firing - even on guns that say you do not need to.
1. Dry firing can also refer to dry fire practice, where the gun is fired dozens of times repeatedly. That is obviously not the case here, and since it is required to disasseble it, it will not harm anything. I also dry fire guns of that type before storing them away and would expect no harm from that either. There were (or are) guns that should not be dry fired, notably some shotguns and 22 rimfires. The firing pin normally impacts a relatively soft material - the primer or case rim. So virtually all the wear is on the cartridge. In the absence of a cartridge, some part of the mechanism has to absorb all of the impact. This is where damage can occur. For example, a .22 firing pin can impact the edge of the chamber and indent it. Other mechanisms either don't impact the firing pin at all when dry firing (some S&W revolvers) or they buffer the striker. 2. No. 3. If the barrel and slide are removed as a single unit, a snap cap should not interefere with disassembly. But neither is it required. 4. If the firing mechanism is anything like that of a Glock, the sear and striker will still be engaged and prevent the slide from moving forward. Dry firing disengages the sear. -
The suggestion of the snap cap was NOT for the dis-assembly. Sorry I was not clear. The snap cap was suggested for doing the experiment and finding out whether the gun might fire during dis-assembly. Dry firing is a necessary part of handgun practice, and everyone should use snap caps if only to simulate showing clear as part of practice.
