Hi all, I'm a happy new owner of an M&P 22 compact, and she shoots like a dream. My question though, is how to safe decock her after the last shot open (slide) for storage so as not to leave the springs coiled for long. I know never to dry fire a .22, but how do others get around this?

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Semper Fortis

The springs can be compressed. It will not damage them in any way.

Snap caps

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I see. I was just interested, since I saw a video elsewhere how you can somehow release the hammer while holding back the slide as you slowly release the slide into battery. Idea was that just before the slide shut flush, with like a millimeter to go, the firing pin would come down and not actually contact the steel breech (or whatever the name of that contact piece is). Is that even possible?

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Semper Fortis

Not any suggestion but thought i read about this earlier; that if the slide was pulled back just slightly it would be far enough that it wouldnt hit if the trigger was pulled. Seems its a better idea to use a snap cap or plastic anchor in place.

Roger that!

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Semper Fortis

Just put an empty shell casing back in the chamber before you pull the trigger

ah, that seems the easiest fix. but without the bullet will it fit right in the chamber?

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Semper Fortis

Yes, an empty cartridge will fit and work fine because it's the rim that holds the cartridge in the correct position in the chamber. Size 4-6 plastic screw anchors, usually yellow in color, are much cheaper than snap caps and work just as well.

I agree with Warren Sear that it will not harm your pistol to have the springs compressed. I have several .22 semiautos and never bother to drop the firing pin.

Couldn't you just remove the clip and pull back on the slide and release it? It would fire without the clip in place.

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-You're talking about a dry fire, which, if you had read the thread title, this guy wants to avoid
-M&P22 Compact has a mag disconnect safety
-Magazine.

Anyway, the best way to relieve spring tension is to completely disassemble the gun and magazine. That way the recoil spring, trigger return spring, firing pin spring, hammer spring, magazine spring, magazine disconnect safety spring, and all of the other springs won't be left coiled.
In fact, if you heat them up just right and pull on them, you can straighten them all right out.

I meant the 22 compact can not fire with the clip removed even with a bullet in the chamber. Remove the bullet and release the slide, pull the trigger and nothing happens.

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So, what's the point of doing anything you're saying?
He wants something to happen. That something he wants is for the hammer to drop.

Maybe you only read the title and not the first post, which would make sense. He's really not trying to not dry fire, he wants to dry fire safely.

Also please learn the difference between a bullet and a cartridge.

That's what I've been doing on the occasion that I want to drop it. That said, I agree that it's not necessary. THAT said, I still do it anyway when I know it's not going to be used / loaded for extended periods.

I got some snap caps, and keep some in an extra mag. Last thing done after range / cleaning is to inspect & load the snap cap magazine, and pull the trigger. Thus a safe dry fire.

There is absolutely no need to relieve the spring compression before storage, thus no need to dryfire it with or without a snapcap or any shenanigans. Find something else to worry about. Avoid dryfiring by -- not dryfiring.

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Pisgah

I can agree with this as well, but one of the guys at the range is always harping on it, so I do it to avoid the sermon.

Thanks for your informative I know it all advice. I did read the first post. There's one in every crowd. You must be the one.



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Smarter than you first appeared with your talk of clips and bullets. Good job.

I was dodging bullets in 1967+68.

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I've used snap caps in all my guns for occasional use. Yesterday I purchased (for the wife) a new M&P 22 Compact and have not yet fired it. I did field strip it and put it back together, then thought about pulling the trigger to close the hammer. To my surprise, the trigger will not release the hammer. I racked the slide several times and still the trigger does nothing. IS THIS NORMAL OPERATION ON THIS GUN? Will appreciate any comments on tis matter - thanks.

Put an empty magazine into the pistol and try it again, if the hammer falls you have a magazine safety that prevents the hammer from dropping without a magazine. Don't know about the 22's but this is an option with the other M&P's

After reading this and reviewing the owner manual's caution about dry firing the 22, I decided to find out the main concern on this matter - as this is the first 22 I've owned. With center fire, usually it's not recommended, but with the 22 apparently it can be extremely harmful. The NRA provided the information below. It was helpful for me, perhaps for you too.

"Myth 5: Dry-Firing A Gun Is Harmful"
To be fair, this is sometimes true. Dry-firing most center fire rifles and handguns is perfectly safe once you have made certain they are unloaded and pointed in a safe direction. However, excessively dry-firing a rim fire gun is a bad idea. The firing pin of a center fire gun is designed to strike a primer located in the center of a cartridge's base. When no cartridge is present, the firing pin strikes nothing. With a rim fire, though, the firing pin is positioned to strike the soft brass rim of the cartridge. When no cartridge is present, the firing pin strikes the hard steel of the breech face. Repeated dry-firing of a rim fire can eventually peen the firing pin, dulling it and causing misfires. Dry-firing offers convenient, easy practice, but if you are going to dry-fire a rim fire gun, invest in some snap caps first. These dummy rounds will cushion the firing pin's fall.

I'd tell him to take his uninformed opinion elsewhere.

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Pisgah