What is "dry fire"

alt. (context firearms English) To discharge a weapon without ammunition in the chamber. vb. (context firearms English) To discharge a weapon without ammunition in the chamber.

Dry firing is the practice of "firing" a firearm without ammunition. That is, to pull the trigger and allow the hammer or striker to drop on an empty chamber. Dry firing may be mechanically damaging to some firearms – especially rimfire weapons, where the firing pin in most designs will impact the breech face if the weapon is dry-fired. Because of this, precautions (such as the use of snap caps) need to be taken if such a weapon is to be deliberately dry-fired.