The easiest way to not loose any sleep is to order a spare spring or two and firing pin or two. I am only guessing that the 97 has the replaceable firing pin, but it is easy to see/tell. You will see a bushing of sorts from the rear that looks like a flat blade screwdriver would twist it out (two insertion points on either side of the firing pin).
If the 97 is like my 83, you can actually dry fire it enough to again not loose a whit of sleep over an occasional hit like you describe. I have dry fired mine a ton, before I found out this was bad. And mine is still going strong. If you want to get real anal with the calipers, measure the depth of the firing pin with no case in place, and do the same with a primer and spent primer. It would be my guess that without a case (primer) that the pin is bottoming out on the spring which is probably harder on the spring than the pin. But this might also lead to working of the pin, on the shoulder of the pin.
My suggestion is if you have a replaceable pin, buy a spare or two and spring. Buy some snap caps. Buy a couple of bolt springs and trigger return springs, and you should then be set for a lifetime of use. I finally broke a return and bolt spring in my 83 after ten years and countless thousands of rounds. And I think I broke these from not following the cocking sequence per the manual at times. Bottom line is that these are not fragile guns. We tend to treat them as such because of the cost/investment, but they can be used hard. A week of elk and deer hunting in a cowboy style rig last month (worn every moment not sleeping), and my frame and wood grips are gonna need some "love" come spring. This was a bit of a test, and I tried to be careful, but cowboy style rigs can be tough when it comes to vehicles, doors and chairs....
Craig
