Model 41 Dry Fire

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rimfireshooter

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I accidentally dry fired my model 41 at the range, as the slide did not lock back on an empty chamber and I thought I was not done shooting. Will the one time hurt it?
 
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Unless it's changed recently Smith & Wesson does not recommended dry firing it's .22s
Realistically the firing pin should not hit the chamber but it can and does on some guns.
This continued hitting distorts the chamber which can lead to feed and ejection issues.
One instance of dry fire, 10 or possibly even100 might not hurt. I myself do not dryfire 22s however it occurs and sometimes cannot be helped. I always leave my 22s cocked. Myself I would rather risk spring compression (very unlikely) than firing pin hitting the chamber
(Possible).
Recently here a kit gun has been advertised forsale. With two distinct indents on the cylinder where the hammer has struck between the chamber's.
 
take a loupe and look at the upper rim of the chamber, if no indent, all good.
 
Whether it did or didn't do damage doesn't matter, can't do anything about it now. It's a .22 that you don't stake your life on (hopefully). The worst that could happen is that it breaks, and you have to go in your range bag for another pistol to shoot that day.

All of that said, I'm in the "you didn't hurt it a bit" camp.
 
One dry fire should not hurt your 41 at all. Just shoot it and as long as it is functioning ok, forget about it.
 
This issue comes up often. No "modern" rimfire is designed so that the firing pin can strike the chamber when no cartridge is present. I seem to recall a thread on the Model 41 that discussed some being shipped with too-long firing pins, but I think that was a long time ago, and, presumably, those guns were fixed.

The only real danger from dry-firing a "modern" rimfire (or a centerfire for that matter) is firing pin breakage, and that is a very remote possibility on most guns.

My 65-year-old Model 41 has been dry-fired hundreds of times, and the chamber and firing pin are still as new. Forget about it.
 
Dry firing a S&W M41 (or any rimfire pistol) is not a good idea because of the metal on metal hit. Done enough times malformations will occur and will eventually screw up your pistol.

A single accidental dry fire event should not cause any issues as long as it is a rare occurrence. I doubt there is any owner of a M41 that somewhere along the line has not inadvertently dry fired their M41. Just do not make a habit of it and you should be fine.

I make it a habit to insert a "snap-cap" (actually a #4-#6 yellow drywall plug) as soon as I am finished shooting my M41 and then again when finished cleaning it and ready to store. I like to store the gun without spring tension and so I pull the trigger with a snap-cap inserted.
 
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My 41 doesn't like CCI standard velocity ammo. It expresses its distaste by ejecting the empty shell but not picking up a new one about 3% to 5% of the time. When that happened I would dry fire the gun.

Before I gave up on trying to get my gun to reliably fire that ammo I dry fired the gun dozens of times and cannot see any damage. It works great with CCI Blazer or Minimags so there was no unseen functional damage either.

I never intentionally dry fire my 41 but agree with the other posters that as long as you do not make a habit of it you will not have a problem.
 
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Get package of code Yellow masonary shields for screws. Keep one in chamber to protect from Dry Fire. I dont care what is said, dry firing is not good for any firearm. Most run of the mill 22s if dry fired will peen the edge of chamber. Even if your FP is not going metal to metal on empty chamber it’s putting undo stress on it. This can cause crystallization causing breakage. This goes for CF guns too.
I don’t think a occasional goof dry fire would damage any firearm, but it always raises my hackles.
 
May also want to address the reason behind the slide not locking back - ammo, magazines or slide stop?
 
JudgeColt said:
This issue comes up often. No "modern" rimfire is designed so that the firing pin can strike the chamber when no cartridge is present. I seem to recall a thread on the Model 41 that discussed some being shipped with too-long firing pins, but I think that was a long time ago, and, presumably, those guns were fixed.

The only real danger from dry-firing a "modern" rimfire (or a centerfire for that matter) is firing pin breakage, and that is a very remote possibility on most guns.

My 65-year-old Model 41 has been dry-fired hundreds of times, and the chamber and firing pin are still as new. Forget about it.
Click to expand...

Correct. I don't know where this wive's tale comes from. No manufacturer worth its salt would design a firearm that bashes its firing pin into the chamber. They would have their customer service department flooded with calls within the first week!

Dry fire away with your 41. It's perfectly fine!
 
Drm50 said:
Get package of code Yellow masonary shields for screws. Keep one in chamber to protect from Dry Fire. I dont care what is said, dry firing is not good for any firearm. Most run of the mill 22s if dry fired will peen the edge of chamber. Even if your FP is not going metal to metal on empty chamber it’s putting undo stress on it. This can cause crystallization causing breakage. This goes for CF guns too.
I don’t think a occasional goof dry fire would damage any firearm, but it always raises my hackles.
Click to expand...

Good lord so now you want to bash your firing pin into masonry screws instead of just having it hit nothing?

You're going to chip off chunks of the screw and get it into the action?

Have you ever tested your theory that "Most 22s will peen the chamber?" I have quite a few 22's and NONE of them do that. Could you name the models of the guns that do?

How do you explain the competitive shooters that dry fire guns thousands of times per week? Do you think the manufacturer puts "snap caps" in their gun when they are testing the trigger pulls?

Come on guys.
 
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Anschuetz rifles do hit the chamber rim for sure...costly mistake.

Even if there is a firing pin stop, eventually that will also peen/wear and ultimately yes, there will be marks developing on the chamber sooner or later.

I dry fire no guns, not 22s, not pistols and not rifles regardless of caliber or anything else. I se not value in doing it and many disadvantages.
 
smithra_66 said:
Good lord so now you want to bash your firing pin into masonry screws instead of just having it hit nothing?

You're going to chip off chunks of the screw and get it into the action?
Click to expand...

Masonry ANCHORS. Plastic and hold up better than the brittle plastic .22 cal “snap caps”.

S&W actually used to recommend not to dry fire Model 41’s. Looks like they don’t mention it in the new 41 owners manual. I just looked.

I guess I’m too old and set to feel good about dry firing any of my .22’s. I still remember calling S&W in the mid 1980’s regarding dry firing. The answer was when walking through the revolver assembly area there was a lot of clicking from dry fire. The semi-auto area not so much.

Jim
 

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