Dry firing is the practice of "firing" a firearm

Firearm

A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...

 without ammunition

Ammunition

Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...

. That is, to pull the trigger and allow the hammer

Hammer (firearm)

thumb|150px|Hammer with an integral [[firing pin]] on a [[S&W Model 13]] revolver The hammer of a firearm was given its name for both resemblance and functional similarity to the common tool...

 or striker

Firing pin

A firing pin or striker is part of the firing mechanism used in a firearm or explosive device e.g. an M14 landmine or bomb fuze. Firing pins may take many forms, though the types used in landmines, bombs, grenade fuzes or other single-use devices generally have a sharpened point...

 to drop on an empty chamber.

This technique is often used to simulate actual firing when there is not a suitable place to practice with live ammunition. The primary benefit of this practice is refined trigger control. For most common cartridges

Cartridge (firearms)

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...

, there are snap cap

Snap cap

A snap cap is a device which appears similar to a standard firearm cartridge but contains no primer or projectile and is used to ensure dry firing older firearms of certain designs does not cause damage...

s available to reduce the risk of damaging the firing pin

Firing pin

A firing pin or striker is part of the firing mechanism used in a firearm or explosive device e.g. an M14 landmine or bomb fuze. Firing pins may take many forms, though the types used in landmines, bombs, grenade fuzes or other single-use devices generally have a sharpened point...

. It is generally acceptable to dry fire more modern centerfire firearms without a cartridge or snap cap. However, dry firing a shotgun

Shotgun

A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...

 or rimfire firearm can damage the firing pin. Furthermore, damage can occur to the chamber

Chamber (weaponry)

In firearms, the chamber is that portion of the barrel or firing cylinder in which the cartridge is inserted prior to being fired. Rifles and pistols generally have a single chamber in their barrels, while revolvers have multiple chambers in their cylinders and no chamber in their barrel...

 mouth of a rimfire firearm.

Dry firing may also refer to the firing of a bow or other weapon without ammunition, which should never be done. Without the arrow to absorb the energy, the energy is instead dissipated through vibration of the string, limbs, etc. Compound bows

Compound bow

A compound bow is a modern bow that uses a levering system, usually of cables and pulleys, to bend the limbs.The limbs of a compound bow are much stiffer than those of a recurve bow or longbow. This limb stiffness makes the compound bow more energy-efficient than other bows, in conjunction with the...

 are particularly susceptible to damage due to high tension and numerous moving parts. Dry firing a modern high-poundage compound bow even once may cause a combination of cracked limbs, bent axles, string derailment, cam warpage, string/cable failure, cable slide failure, and etc. While some bows can survive an occasional dry fire with no damage, no manufacturers warranty their bows for dry fire, and any bow that has been dry fired needs to be thoroughly inspected for damage before shooting again. In particular, the limbs need to be inspected for cracking around cam axles and the opening of the slot where the cams or pulleys fit in (since they tend to tilt sideways during dry fire).

Etymology

The term dry fire, is most likely derived from the similar phrase Dry Run (testing), which is a rehearsal or testing process and in the case of the firearm, one is "testing" the trigger action and observing the hammer or striker drop, without using live ammunition. Sources indicate that "dry" originates from exhibitions by late 19th century fire departments in the USA, where drills (runs) were conducted for public viewing, without the use of water (dry).