Adler B220 dry fire

Double barrel, side by side, over-under, semi-automatic, straight-pull and lever action shotguns.

Adler B220 dry fire

Post by Nwhite943 » 13 Jan 2022, 3:13 pm

Hi all, just picked up my first straight pull shot gun, Adler B220, and was wondering if you need to always have a shell/snap cap in the receiver to pull the trigger or can I have the gun fully cleared and not have to dry fire it? If so, how. Thanks
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by linkoln » 14 Jan 2022, 7:13 pm

Dry firing won't hurt it.
It's not like you have a $100,000 custom one of a kind Fabbri, it's an Adler.
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by womble » 15 Jan 2022, 1:43 am

The easiest method is don’t pull the trigger.
Another good habit around the house, is don’t put things in the gun that don’t belong there.
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by Bugman » 15 Jan 2022, 8:31 am

womble wrote:The easiest method is don’t pull the trigger.
Another good habit around the house, is don’t put things in the gun that don’t belong there.

Agreed
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by womble » 15 Jan 2022, 1:41 pm

My reasoning is if you cycle and fire dummies at home and cycle and fire live rounds in the field, well these guns have tubular magazines. And mistakes can and do happen occasionally with guns of this type. A last live round could be left in the mag unintentionally.
Another possibility when cycling snap caps with a straight pull. The ejection is quite brutal and done with force. Snap caps are weak plastic or even alloy ones can be brittle. Fast cycling can strip the rim and then that snap cap can be lodged into the barrel as you cycle the next one.
Then you,ve got the unintentional mistake of a barrel obstruction when live firing. Again, mistakes can and do happen.

So to avoid mistakes entirely 100% I would never cycle and dry fire this type of firearm, or a lever action with a tubular magazine.
I just think it’s a bad habit that a lot of new owners of straight pulls seem to enjoy. We so often get this question.
It’s a habit that could someday lead to a grievous error.
If it were a single or double barrel shotgun you don’t run the same risk. But tubular mags in anything introduces new risks.
It’s just about respecting the tool for what it is. It’s not a toy. I only load it when i intend to fire it.
I don’t put anything else in it apart from live ammo and therefore it’s something I treat as ‘always loaded.
So no snap caps or french fries or twisties or anything else that seems like a good idea at the time. Just don’t do it.

It’s just my opinion. And not really addressed at op in particular. He could be totally anal about safety and i,m not assuming otherwise in his case in particular
Last edited by womble on 15 Jan 2022, 2:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by womble » 15 Jan 2022, 1:43 pm

In summary, don’t be this guy

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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by bladeracer » 15 Jan 2022, 2:20 pm

linkoln wrote:Dry firing won't hurt it.
It's not like you have a $100,000 custom one of a kind Fabbri, it's an Adler.


Smartarse comments always work so well in inviting a new shooter into our fold...

Unless it's an old centrefire that's already very worn, and likely impossible to source parts for, dry-firing won't damage it, but I do understand your concern. I see no reason to shock the components for no reason, just as I wouldn't dry-fire a bow. But so much modern training insists on dry-fire as a part of clearing firearms (it is to appease everybody else that can't visually inspect your firearm, there is no need to dry-fire a firearm for yourself after visual inspection) that you are probably going to get into the habit, however distasteful. When shooting IPSC I don't recall anybody ever chambering a snap cap or spent case before dropping the hammer, and I suspect most RO's nowadays wouldn't even allow it. Shooting Clay's might be different as they tend to have a different mindset.

Rimfires are slightly different as some designs, usually older ones, do allow the striker or firing pin to hit the face of the chamber, particularly if they're worn. This causes significant damage that can be expensive to repair, and is entirely preventable by simply not firing on an empty chamber. Virtually all modern rimfire designs prevent the striker from making contact, but without the buffer of a case rim to soak up the impact, the firing pin can still be damaged by shock - I broke a 10-22 firing pin, it separated at the shoulder that stops its forward travel.

Few rimfires, particularly rifles, have a last round bolt hold open, so unless you meticulously count your shots, it is extremely common to drop the hammer on an empty chamber at the end of every magazine (using 5rd mags means this occurs three-times more often than using 15rd mags). Less of an issue in target competition where you shoot the same 5rd group many, many thousands of times.

It is always good to have a spare firing pin or striker and a spare extractor and magazine on hand for every rifle. A back-up rifle is also a good thing to have handy if you don't want to lose a day's shooting to a broken $5 part.
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by bladeracer » 15 Jan 2022, 2:54 pm

I don't recommend any tube-fed firearm to a new shooter. Cartridges can, and do, get "lost" in the feed system, particular when the rifle gets dirty. One day you will get the rifle out of the safe, open it, and be staring at a live round on the lifter that has finally worked it's way down the magazine. But it will also reinforce that you _always_ keep a firearm pointed in a safe direction. It's the firearm that is known to be empty that ends up killing somebody because the wielder gets lax from knowing it's empty. You need to instill in yourself a mental barrier that requires a very conscious effort to pull trigger unless you are actually shooting at something. With most firearms (not Glocks), even if it has a round in the chamber, without deliberate effort on your part the firearm will never fire. Thousands of Police officers walk our streets all day every day with "hot" sidearms that never accidentally fire themselves. When you start putting fingers in trigger guards is when accidents start occurring. (Glocks don't have a conventional safety, anything getting into the trigger guard can cause the gun to fire.)

As with womble, I avoid snap caps generally. For years I would load a pair of fired cases in my double gun so I could drop the internal hammers without shocking the firing pins, but I've given up on that now as well. I'm quite sure the gun can handle dry-fire, but I just leave the hammers cocked now. I avoid developing a sense that firing when you aren't actually trying to shoot something is normal. I prefer to keep my finger away from the trigger unless there is very good reason for it be there. Dry-fire can be an import aspect in competition shooting, but it's best to do this practice in a structured situation, not at random times around the house. Put your targets on the wall of a room and do all your dry-fire practice in there, so you only associate it with that situation and are not likely to start fiddling with the trigger in any other situation.

Police and armed security will have a clearing station where they point their weapons at a trap, usually a drum of sand, and pull the trigger to confirm they are cleared. That is the _only_ place within the facility that the trigger of any firearm will ever be touched.


womble wrote:My reasoning is if you cycle and fire dummies at home and cycle and fire live rounds in the field, well these guns have tubular magazines. And mistakes can and do happen occasionally with guns of this type. A last live round could be left in the mag unintentionally.
Another possibility when cycling snap caps with a straight pull. The ejection is quite brutal and done with force. Snap caps are weak plastic or even alloy ones can be brittle. Fast cycling can strip the rim and then that snap cap can be lodged into the barrel as you cycle the next one.
Then you,ve got the unintentional mistake of a barrel obstruction when live firing. Again, mistakes can and do happen.

So to avoid mistakes entirely 100% I would never cycle and dry fire this type of firearm, or a lever action with a tubular magazine.
I just think it’s a bad habit that a lot of new owners of straight pulls seem to enjoy. We so often get this question.
It’s a habit that could someday lead to a grievous error.
If it were a single or double barrel shotgun you don’t run the same risk. But tubular mags in anything introduces new risks.
It’s just about respecting the tool for what it is. It’s not a toy. I only load it when i intend to fire it.
I don’t put anything else in it apart from live ammo and therefore it’s someing I can treat as ‘always loaded.
So no snap caps or french fries or twisties or anything else that seems like a good idea at the time. Just don’t do it.

It’s just my opinion. And not really addressed at op in particular. He could be totally anal about safety and i,m not assuming otherwise in his case in particular
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by northdude » 16 Jan 2022, 5:52 am

Maybe hes asking how do you de cock it after youve cleared the gun. I always store all my firearms de cocked. Some of them you have to dry fire them to decock them
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by bladeracer » 16 Jan 2022, 5:45 pm

northdude wrote:Maybe hes asking how do you de cock it after youve cleared the gun. I always store all my firearms de cocked. Some of them you have to dry fire them to decock them


That is exactly what he's asking. I prefer to store my firearms with eased springs, but it really isn't necessary with modern springs.
My Stoeger Condor I think is the only firearm I own that must be fired to decock the hammers, but if you drop the hammers, then disassemble it, you need to recock them somehow to be able to reassemble it. Just leave them cocked.
Last edited by bladeracer on 17 Jan 2022, 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by BenniBoiBlep » 17 Jan 2022, 8:53 am

womble wrote:In summary, don’t be this guy

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:lol: :lol: too soon
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by jovialjosie2002 » 21 Jan 2022, 5:37 am

linkoln wrote:Dry firing won't hurt it.
It's not like you have a $100,000 custom one of a kind Fabbri, it's an Adler.


I got mine for less than $500 with a 5 year warranty. I am gunna buy another one when the warranty runs out on the original. I see the Adler as a $100/year rented gun. If it falls apart after 5 years, I don't care.......I've had my fun.
P.S .....I love my Adler.
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by northdude » 24 Jan 2022, 3:53 am

bladeracer wrote:
northdude wrote:Maybe hes asking how do you de cock it after youve cleared the gun. I always store all my firearms de cocked. Some of them you have to dry fire them to decock them


That is exactly what he's asking. I prefer to store my firearms with eased springs, but it really isn't necessary with modern springs.
My Stoeger Condor I think is the only firearm I own that must be fired to decock the hammers, but if you drop the hammers, then disassemble it, you need to recock them somehow to be able to reassemble it. Just leave them cocked.


Ive heard of mag springs going weak through storing them loaded i dont do it musekf tho
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Re: Adler B220 dry fire

Post by bladeracer » 24 Jan 2022, 1:33 pm

northdude wrote:Ive heard of mag springs going weak through storing them loaded i dont do it musekf tho


Perhaps extremely old mags, They still find fully-loaded Sten mags dropped into France that still work just fine. A bloke in Italy just restored two that were found rusting away with a good stock of ammo. The springs will rust away before they take a set.
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