Dry firing the Advantage Arms 1911 conversion

In the brief manual that came with the conversion kit it states "Dry firing can be done however, it is not recommended".
I just came across a document written by Bob Marvel in which he states "The marvel conversions were designed to be dry fired, however it is suggested that a leather tap be placed behind the firing pin if you dry fire excessively".


I don't really plan on a lot of dry firing but found this interesting and was wondering if anyone had any comments?
Also, what exactly does he mean by "a leather tap"? A piece of leather to absorb the hammer impact? or something else?


Thanks

Edit: I found the doc by Bob Marvel on another forum and didn't know if it was acceptable to link to it, if anyone wants the line PM me and I'll send it or if someone lets me know that it's ok, I'll put a link to it in this post

I believe you are correct, I keep a small strip between the hammer & firing pin stop on my 1911s in general.

I have a Nelson .22 conversion, which is of the Bob Marvel design.  They advertise dry firing is OK, but I still use a #4-6 plastic drywall anchor in the chamber when dry firing.  I believe them, but having some extra insurance makes me feel better.

Bullseye_Stan wrote:I have a Nelson .22 conversion, which is of the Bob Marvel design.  They advertise dry firing is OK, but I still use a #4-6 plastic drywall anchor in the chamber when dry firing.  I believe them, but having some extra insurance makes me feel better.

I do understand, but I've come up an idea that I think will resolve my worries. I have some o-rings that fit around the back of the firing pin so the the hammer never touches the pin, only the o-ring. I'm going to use that and see how it goes for awhile.

I like your o-ring idea. Does it stay in place? I've been using a small square of rubber cut from an old butt plate. I fit it under the firing pin.When the hammer falls it doesn't touch the firing p[in. It's quiet too.

JKR wrote:I like your o-ring idea. Does it stay in place? I've been using a small square of rubber cut from an old butt plate. I fit it under the firing pin.When the hammer falls it doesn't touch the firing p[in. It's quiet too.

It stays in place, unless you rack the slide of course. Just pick an o-ring that you can squeeze in, sorry but I don't remember what size I bought, I got them for another reason some time ago.
Picture below:

I don't dryfire enough, and I have dryfired my Advantage Arms hundreds of times, but if I were to dedicate the time to a dryfiring session, I would either use the leather tab in the same manner as the O-ring above, or a slice of refrigerator magnet stuck to the breechface away from the extractor area.

I'm own a Nelson .22 conversion, which may have slightly different firing pin dimensions, and found an AS568 -010 size (1/4"ID X 3/8"OD X 1/16"CS Buna-N O-Rings 70 Duro (NBR)) o-ring fits well around the firing pin and stays in place. I found this in an o-ring assortment from Harbor Freight or McMaster-Carr.