Nothing mentioned in the Owners Manual and searches on the web produce inconsistent and contradictory answers .... is it OK, or NOT OK, to Dry Fire practice (without snap caps etc.) with a new S&W Model 41 .22LR?
Thanks

It is not ok.

my general policy is never to dry fire without snapcaps any .22 (or other rimfire) weapon, rifle, pistol, revolver, because the firing pin is going to strike the edge of the chamber, could chip it, could break firing pin, or at least stress the daylights out of both. Now sometimes when my lever action rifles run out of ammo 'n I wasn't counting, it will happen, try not to to get to A/C about it, but try not to do it. And most snapcaps I have found don't hold up too well. And using empty brass can be criticized as a bad habit, too easy to mix up with live rounds, and landing on the same dimple every time is not being that easiy on the firing pin.
that's my general policy, with my reasons, others may differ.

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Ed

I try to never dry fire my guns.

It just wasn't done when I was taught "gunning".

I use snap caps if I'm working on my trigger squeeze.

I make it a practice NOT to dry fire my guns. My learning lesson came (luckily) a long time ago. I had my Grandfather's (*!t .32 ACP out in my youth for some plinking fun. I tried dry firing it for some unkown reason and watched part of the firing pin sail down range. Luckily I had a buddy that could make a Corvette out of 3 bottlecaps and some bailing wire and he turned down a hardened screw driver shaft and made a replacement for me.

With a revolver, if I don't have snap caps and I wish to experience trigger pull or hammer drop, I merely place my left thumb in between the hammer and the frame and let it drop on my thumb.

Not sure what S&W recommends regarding the model 41, but I make it a practice to never dry fire.

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James Redfield
LM #497

I dry fire every center fire I own. But NEVER dry fire a rim fire
shermbob

From S&W website FAQs:


Q: Can I dry fire my Smith & Wesson?

A: Yes, except for the .22 caliber pistols which includes models 22A, 22S, 422, 2206, 2214, 2213 and 41.

.22 caliber revolvers such as models 17, 43, 63, 317 and 617 also should not be dry fired.

Q: Why can't I dry fire my .22 pistol or revolver?

A: Dry firing a S&W .22 pistol or revolver will cause damage to the firing pin.



Given this, I still dry fire when asked to in competitions. No damage so far.

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Mark

It can also put a firing pin mark in the barrel, intruding slightly into the chamber.
Making an allready somewhat picky eater, one that would rather starve...

Thanks Guys,
I got the message ... No, No. No.
I appreciate your help with this and will follow your recommendations.

Is there another way to de-cock the hammer after shooting?

When I finish cleaning a 41 after a shoot, I insert an empty magazine and pull back the slide 1/16th" or so and pull the trigger. The hammer will fall but the firing pin will not reach the rear barrel face or the shell rim recess.

I decock the hammer on my 41 and 422 using a spent .22 casing as a snap-cap. I'll put a slightly-unbent mini-paperclip in it to make placing it in the chamber easier, and I usually mark the casing with a permanent marker to distinguish it from a live-looking round. I also use it for light-duty dry fire practice, tossing the casing after a few dry fires.

Pachmayr makes plastic snap caps for 22 lr (see below). While there are others, these are the same size as a .22 round and are made as snap-caps.
I put one in an empty magazine and load it after shooting/cleaning so that I can lower the hammer. Dry fire with one loaded is ok IMO, but you need to keep cycling the caps thru so you do not hit the same place on the rim repeatedly.
I have been instructed to always load from the magazine because the extractor does not pick-up the round from the same angle if loaded manually.
Pachmayr&reg Pachmayr your primary source for quality handgun grips and recoil pads

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Ipsis Rebus Dictantitbus

If the match strictly follows USPSA rules you are required to dryfire the handgun in a safe direction in a manner such that if it were loaded, it would fire.

I've dryfired my 41 and High Standards dozens, if not hundreds of times, and they are just fine. One of the High Standards had a small firing pin ding protruding into the chamber when I got it. I marked the ding with a Sharpie, dryfired, and found that the firing pin was not making significant contact. I shortened the firing pin a small amount, repaired the ding, and have had no problems with the gun.

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Mark

Like alot of the other posters. All of my rimfire single action hammers are dropped on a spent case.

Has anyone come up with a workable method to dry fire a 41 continuously without damage? I am a competitive shooter that live fires 15,000 rounds a year and proper practice involves hundreds of dry fires per week. If you load a spent cartridge or snap cap, it is not only time consuming but it gets ejected when you cycle the slide to reset. One of my 41's has a faulty ejector which is good because I can recycle without manual ejection (it cycles fine under power) but then the same dimple gets mashed until the round gets stuck in the chamber. Is there something flattish that can be inserted in front of the closing slide each cycle or that would even stay put? In the absence of any other solution the only thing that I have come up with is loading magazines with dummy aluminum rounds and catching them on ejection. I don't know if thousands of cycles and strikes with those will damage the firing pin or chamber?

Thanks,

George

you can use plastic #4 wall anchors as inexpensive snap caps. Get a whole box full for a buck or two or three. The yellow ones.

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Ed

Does the ejector pull these out when you cycle the action? If not how many strikes do you get?

I believe it will, although I have not tried it with a 41.

One strike and you would have to rotate it, this is soft plastic.

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Ed

I agree with never dry firing any rimfire gun period for the reasons already listed. We don't need damge from stupidity. These guns cost way too much mney to be treated that way also.

Dry firing a .22 got me a really good deal.

Some idiot thought he could dry fire his SS 10" .22 Match Thompson Contender barrel, and I caught the damage while inspecting it.

I got to buy a $250 barrel for $50, so y'all go ahead and dry fire your .22 pistols because I need some more cheap guns.

On the .22 Match TC barrel, I had to do some VERY CAREFUL concise work with a magnifying hood on my head and a Dremel tool to get rid of the burr on the edge caused by dry firing it (wasn't bad... looked like just a couple of times), but I ended up with one fine .22 Match SS TC barrel for a fraction of what it should have cost.
That burr prevented a round from fully seating in the chamber, so it was actually unsafe until it was removed.

Seriously, you do NOT dry fire ANY .22 for the simple reason that it is a Rimfire, and that should explain exactly why you should not do it. Ever. Not even once if you can help it.

Hi,
Here's a dry fire device you can make and use with the model 41:

Trash Can Snap Cap for Smith & Wesson Model 41 Target Pistol

It's in common use by many bullseye competitors....

I compete in Bullseye and International competition and dry fire (and inspect) everything a lot. For 22s a drywall anchor with an edge trimmed off so the extractor can't catch it works ok for some pistols. Larry's Guns Inc in Maine has a dry fire plug for Hammerlis that also works well for other descendant of the Walther Olympia, the M41. (Champion's Choice also sells them) The trash can snap cap works, and you can also make a dry fire protector from a refrigerator advertising or calendar magnet that you get in the mail, the ones like a business card made from plastic magnetic sheet.

Cut and trim the magnet to fit the chamber and slide face but not get caught by the extractor. This will allow the slide to move forward enough to dry fire but provide clearance to keep the firing pin from hitting the chamber if the pin is too long. This probably came from another method where a rubber band is stretched from breech to muzzle to keep the slide slightly off from the breechface, likely from when the military teams were issued M41s for competition.