Hi,


Sorry. Just got my SW22. No ammo in it yet, and I was (carefully) examining it and I pulled the bolt back and it locked in the open position.



I pulled the bolt back a bit, then pushed the bolt stop down and that let me slide the bolt closed.


So now, the (empty) magazine is in the pistol, and the pistol is cocked.



Is there a way that I can uncock it, without dry firing it (I read that S&W says that their rimfire pistols should not be dry-fired)?


Thanks,
Jim

Dry firing it a few times really isn't going to damage anything. But yeah, it's not a good practice to dry fire most rimfire firearms on a regular basis. You can try pulling the slide back just a smidge and pulling the trigger. That way the firing pin shouldn't contact the breech face when the hammer drops. Or, you could use a 'snap cap', dummy 22lr round, spent casing, or, a wall anchor in the chamber.

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Crush...Kill...Destroy

Hi,


I had read about pulling the slide back, but when I do that, even just a little, the trigger doesn't work, at least on this SW22.



FYI, I have ordered some snap caps, but it seems kind of weird that there is no way to safely uncock this gun?



Thanks,
Jim

Welcome! This is a common issue with concealed hammer or striker-fired rimfire guns. There is no harm in leaving it cocked, as the involved springs will not "take a set" in doing so.

If this is still concerning to you, personally I like to collect empty cases and orient them in the chamber such that the firing pin hits an unused part of the case with dry firing.

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Alan
SWCA 2023, SWHF 220

It will be far cheaper to purchase a box of yellow 4-6 X 7/8" plastic drywall anchors to use as snap caps. These will even feed from the magazine.

It's not going to destroy anything to dry-fire it once to "de-cock" the gun. Just don't make a habit of dry-fire practice with them. Just remember, any time you cycle the action on a semi-auto pistol it will cock the gun. As stated, it doesn't hurt a thing for it to stay cocked, just keep the magazine out of the gun when you store it. For safety sake, you should form the habit of checking the chamber status (empty or loaded) each and every time you pick the gun up, and do so with the magazine out of the gun. Once you develop that habit, you'll cock the gun every time, so just leave it cocked, won't hurt a thing.

Does the magazine need to be inserted to drop the hammer?

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

The Victory 22 has a mag safety. The gun will not fire without a mag installed. I prefer to remove the mag safety mechanism in my gun.

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John

This is my practice, I order them from Amazon in bulk packs of 100 for about $8 if I remember correctly. You can rotate them and get a half dozen or so dry-fires out of each one.

And yes, you have to have the magazine in the pistol to dry-fire it. Some will remove the magazine safety so you don't have to do that, but I left mine in as magazine safeties don't bother me on a target pistol.

Hi,


Ok, thanks all! I ordered some snap caps last night, and will also try the drywall anchors. Also, will do re. the habit of checking the chamber.


Jim

+1 on the yellow dry-wall anchors..... that's all I use for .22

J.

Hi,


I received the dry wall anchors, but they look TINY... I mean I compared the base of the anchor vs. a .22lr and the anchor base seems smaller in diameter than the cartridge rim and I am a bit worried that the anchor would just go into the barrel?


These the ones I bought:




Are those the right ones?


Thanks,
Jim

When building the Mod 41's, you would be shocked at how many times it was dry fired.

There is a rest of the story here, from over 30 years ago, that I am embarrassed about which to provide any details . Fortunately, it involved a wood floor in a single story dwelling.

That said, I no longer drop the hammer (or striker) on any concealed hammer autos ... I am thinking you are probably going to take it out in the next few days anyway, then snap it down again. I suggest you just put it on safe and put it away.