Although many paintball players are unsure about the dry firing, it’s not necessarily a negative idea. If you do this, your paintball gun won’t be immediately damaged or irreparably harmed. But there are several explanations for why the story of the dry fire has persisted. The great news is that paintballers can practice their technique and targets by dry firing. There are, unfortunately, certain drawbacks to occasionally dry firing a paintball pistol, even if it is safe to do so. The question that needs to be answered is, is it bad to dry fire a paintball gun? Let’s find out.
Is it bad to Dry Fire a Paintball Gun?
The simple answer is no, it isn’t bad to try fire your paintball gun. However, there are few things you need to understand properly.
What are the Drawbacks of dry firing a paintball gun?
One of the most common explanations why individuals worry about the dry shooting is its impact on their paintball pistol. Although a few rounds of dry fire won’t harm your paintball gun, practicing it frequently over time can damage the internal workings of the paintball gun. You wouldn’t experience any issues if you opted to dry fire a few times.
Paintball gun working 101
You should be aware that paintball guns work by forcing air through their internal chambers when the trigger is pressed. The sear (a little piece known to hold everything in its designated place against the pressure from the canister and force the firing assembly to go forward as the gas is released) will be released by the trigger itself.
Upon doing so, the ball will be shot out quickly, and what occurs next will depend on the kind of paintball gun you are now holding. Also, when you dry fire, the air passes directly through the internal valves, unhindered by the pallets.
Because the release air doesn’t have enough force to pose challenges or seriously harm the paintball gun’s chamber, you can practice dry fire with your paintball marker. It’s also said that even after repeatedly dry shooting the gun, it may be difficult or impossible to determine whether the paintball gun has sustained significant damage. This implies that it is unlikely that you will detect any significant changes to your marker, even though you dry fired the gun repeatedly.
You will undoubtedly notice some wear and tear due to the gun’s mechanical operations. The air tends to impact inner valves with a little more force because there aren’t any paintballs to serve as a mild buffer.
Professional paintball players have made a few online suggestions that dry shooting your paintball gun could damage solenoid o-rings. Due to the air tending to force itself through the chambers mercilessly in the absence of a paintball pallet, these will eventually become worn out from the unneeded dry fire.
Solenoid O-Rings can be damaged, even though wearing these valves out might take a lot of dry fire. In order for your gun to operate to its maximum potential, you typically need to replace these as they wear out.
As was previously indicated, wear and tear typically occurs over time with a high rate of dry fire. Dry shooting isn’t necessarily bad for your paintball gun, so if you don’t do it often but still notice excessive wear and tear or malfunctions, there’s a good possibility that something else is to blame.
You might not be aware of this, but repeatedly dry shooting can also exhaust the gas in the paintball chambers. Gas is used every time you squeeze the trigger, much like when paintballs are in the chambers. If you shoot a few times, paintball pellets fired or not, you continue to utilize the gas in the chamber.
Dry shooting will burn through the gas in the chamber just like firing pallets would. Whether you dry fire or fry with pallets, you should think about shooting less if your objective is to conserve as much gas as you can.
According to studies, the optimal time to dry fire your pistol is right after lubricating. This lubricates the airflow through the valves, making it much easier for the force of pressurized nitrogen or carbon dioxide to pass through when the trigger is pulled.
Myth busting: Paintball Gun
One question you want to ask yourself is where exactly the myth of dry firing originated. As was already noted, dry fire is not necessarily dangerous for your paintball gun, but if you practice it frequently, it could, over time, cause some damage to the internal chamber.
Due to reading internet forums where paintball players discuss how harmful dry firing is for the paintball gun, many individuals worldwide have this strong belief. The paintball gun may eventually be vandalized if it is constantly used around the house for target practice, play, or rhythm games without paintballs.
Vendors of paintball guns are another source of the myth of dry firing. Since you already know that vendors will do everything it takes to sell new components, weapons, and paintball pallets, they frequently spread these rumors. They may claim that a pistol is worn down even though it is perfectly functional and free of flaws to promote sales so they may profit.
Despite the myth surrounding paintball guns, the subject is still raised since the dry shooting, particularly for beginners who wish to perfect their rhythm or aim without actually firing paintballs, can be quite beneficial. Dry firing can be practical in the convenience of your residence, on the range, or in an arena.
The majority of paintball guns include a dedicated training mode because of this. Paintball players can use their paintball guns in this mode without ejecting paintballs. In the training stage, the paintball gun does not force compressed air through the internal valves as during a dry fire.
Final words
Overall, Dry firing isn’t all that horrible, even though it could result in some wear and tear over time. If you like, you can spend money on a paintball gun with a “special training mode. A brief beep, blinking light, or similar signal is heard when the trigger is pressed in this mode. You might gradually reduce your pistol’s wear and tear by purchasing a marker equipped with this incredible technology.
