I recently got my first deer rifle, a remington model 700 sps .243. After handling the rifle I usually dry fire it to release the spring pressure. Is this a good idea or am I doing more harm than good? Before you call me a jong (for the TGR fans), I did search for this information but didn't find any.

Thanks

What exactly is a jong? You have sparked my curiosity.

When I store my firearms, I depress the trigger with the bolt up, then close the bolt while the trigger is still depressed. It releases the firing pin a lot easier.

I'll have to try that, thanks for the tip.

haha, jong is a term from the tetongravityresearch forums, which is a popular skiing/snowboarding community. TGR is based in jackson hole actually (looks like your from wyoming). it basically means newb or idiot or something of the sort, but i think stands for Jerk*ffNewbieGaper

According to Remington, you can dry fire the model 700 rifles. I wondered myself a while back, so I checked.

Thanks I checked the website. For anyone curious, here's their comments

I do the same as WTG does, holding the trigger down while closing the bolt softly releases the trigger on most any bolt action gun.
It is supposed to be OK to dry fire most modern guns, but I still don't like to do that.

Ok on most modern guns except a few revolvers and don't do it on any rimfire.

I do this too, but the answer is that by far the majority of centerfire bolt-action rifles of the basic Mauser type can be dry-fired without any damage at all. This includes the Remingtons. The same is true for the Ruger No. 1 single shot, which is specifically designed to permit dry-firing.

I can't see where a dry-fire can do harm to a rifle. At least I've never had a problem with it. It's not like a compound bow. It's a metal hammer striking a metal pin by releasing a compressed spring. Ummmmm and how is that supposed to harm a rifle? Rimfire or Centerfire? I'm just not seeing it.

The problem with dry-firing a rimfire is that the firing pin will strike the edge of an empty chamber, possibly causing damage to that chamber and to the firing pin itself. When a cartridge is in a rimfire ghamber and the firing pin strikes it, the blow of the pin is taken up by the brass rim of the cartridge, with no steel to steel contact.
When a centerfire is dry-fired, the firing pin hits nothing but empty air at the chamber. Hence the difference.