Decocking/Dry firing a S&W 22a?

woodsideseen · Jan 13, 2010

I am a new shooter, this is my first firearm and this is my first post on this forum.

I recently received a SW 22a semi-auto pistol for Christmas from my wife. The gun shoots accurate and seems reliable so far after shooting about 500 rounds of CCI Blazer Ammo. But I have a concern about how best to decock the gun after I'm done shooting or taking a break before shooting the next magazine, or other cases where I just want to decock the gun. After the last cartridge is fired the breech is open and the gun is cocked. The SW FAQ states that :

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

I emailed S&W support and they replied:

The best ways to de-cock the gun would be to use snap caps or place an empty shell casing in the chamber. You may try the smith and wesson forum online.

My questions to the forum are:

How big a concern is it to dry fire, say 2 to 6 times every time I go out to shoot? How rapidly will this damage the gun?

Any other thoughts on other ways to do this or comments on
putting an empty casing into the chamber?

Thanks!

handgunner356 · Jan 13, 2010

Welcome to the Forum. I myself do not dry fire my rimfire guns, even with a fired case or snap caps. The firing pin is designed to pinch the rim of the case between the chamber mouth and pin. Without anything there you can get peening on the chamber mouth, which if it goes unchecked can raise a spot and lead to slam fires. If you do use a old case then you should rotate it around so you're not hitting the same spot on it all the time.

samIam · Jan 13, 2010

Why do you think its necessary to decock whenever you aren't actively shooting?
IMHO its not necessary to decock,put the safety on and don't worry about it.

woodsideseen · Jan 13, 2010

samIam, Many thanks for the suggestion. This might work. As to why I thought it might be necessary to decock, I had two concerns. One concern was for the spring to be in the cocked position for days or maybe weeks might weaken it's ability to strike with sufficient force when it needed to. I don't have any data on this. In fact if you think about it, it would be cocked virtually always, as the gun recocks after each shot. The second was a safety preference, I was considering keeping the pistol at home in a locked pistol safe with the magazine in the gun and several rounds in the magazine, but uncocked and with the safety on. Thanks again. Comments welcome.

ab4ka · Jan 14, 2010

My slide doesn't always lock back so I make sure I count the rounds I shoot. When I'm going to decock it for storage I stick the little orange thing in the chamber that came with it and pull the trigger.

Decocking/Dry firing a S&W 22a?

woodsideseen

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handgunner356

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samIam

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woodsideseen

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ab4ka

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