Whenever i get offered a shot with someone elses rifle, the first "shot" is on an empty chamber to avoid suprises regarding trigger pull.
In your situation where you intend practicing to develop a technique for stock hold, cheek weld, and trigger pull as a whole you could try closing the bolt just to the balance point before the knob closes under spring pressure, it should sit there at about 45 degrees. The trigger will engage normally but having the mass of the bolt to move will slow the striker resulting in less potential damage. One extra advantage is that you can just lift the lever to recock the action balance the bolt again and repeat no need to cycle the action or try to feed empty cases or dummy rounds.
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