Board Thread:Questions and answers/@comment-36639611-20180819084308/@comment-27306930-20180821014504

Agreed, leaving a spring compressed for long periods of time, like weeks or months, decreases the strength of the spring. But dry firing stock blasters puts no more or less stress on a spring than actually firing darts. In many cases, dry firing puts LESS stress on the spring due to the high resistance of the air restrictor.

This effect is most easily observed in a HammerShot. When you dry fire a HammerShot, it is quite visible that the plunger returns gently to the bottom of the plunger tube. Mine takes a full second. It's also quite noticeable in the Rampage and the Alpha Trooper.

To be clear, dry firing a stock blaster has no effect on its longevity, durability, accuracy, or power. It is ONLY an issue with certain modded blasters that don't have Air Restrictors, and often only those with upgraded springs.