Can a S&W 43c AirLight .22lr aluminum j frame be dry fired?

[Charles Eric]

Hi, I've been trying out the new S&W 43c .22lr with some modest results. It's a small 2" barrell aluminum j frame 8 shot aluminum cylinder AirLite revolver used to simulate practice with its older brother, that looks remarkably similar to it, the S&W 442 .38 spl. There is little to no information out there on this little AirLite .22lr, except a couple of videos on the internet of amature make at best. One of the videos shows a fella dry firing the 43c and when I questioned him about dry firing it in the commentary his response was, "The newer revolvers are ok to be dry fired." Now...I've owned many, many .22lr platforms, but I have never heard it was ok to dry fire them, (or for that matter any firearm.) Snap caps are the preferred. I remember at the academy there was a penny on our desks when we got there along with all our books. We guessed the entire course what that stupid penny was for. I said it was for checking tread depth on tires in the field, and others had their ideas....In the end it was for checking a firing pin strike on a partially disassembled shotgun. ...but I digress...anyway... thoughts on this would really be appreciated! Thank you

 

[SAFireman]

You can damage the cylinder by dry firing.

As far as I know, there are no safe snap caps, but I have heard of folks using fired shells for testing purposes (not to dry fire 1000 times a day).

Good luck.

 

[steelslaver]

Many guns can be dry fired. But, I don't think it is a good idea for any rimfire gun to be dry fired because of the cases primer design. With the primer compound in the rim the firing pin of course has too strike this area. Thing is the other side of the rim is what supports the cartridge on a small ledge on edge of chamber. With no cartridge the firing pin slams forward with nothing between it and the ledge. Unless the firing pin is fairly short it will strike the ledge and dent it. I never dry fire any of my 22 rimfires. Center fires of course have the firing pin in the center of chamber and with no round there is nothing but air between the end of the firing pin. Nothing it can strike.

I have 2 alloy framed S&W center fires. A 325 and a 396. Those 2 I don't really like to dry fire as they have frame mounted pins and I hate the sound of that hard firing pins shoulder being slammed into the alloy frame by the hammer when dry fired with no primer to use up the force before the pin strikes its spot in the frame.

 

[silversnake]

I've dry fired a .22 revolver using A-Zoom snap caps. Be warned though - unlike centerfire snap caps, these will deform quickly after a few strikes. I mostly use them for testing the function of used revolvers in stores. You might also be able to use #4 wall anchors.

On the other hand Ruger says you can dry fire their .22 revolvers so perhaps they design the cylinder a bit differently.

 

[Hopper]

Steelslaver has it right. Not a good idea to dry fire a S&W 22LR revolver. Here is a pic where you can see what he was describing in his post, where the firing pin "peens" against the cylinder rim where it normally would strike the brass. If you really want to dry fire, use the #4 yellow plastic drywall anchors, as silversnake suggests. They'll get chewed up quickly, but they're cheap insurance against this kind of damage.

 

[Double-O-Dave]

Hi Charles Eric:

Welcome to the Forum. When in doubt, contact the Mother Ship for instructions: FAQs | Smith & Wesson

To wit:

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.

Frankly, I don't dry fire any of my handguns anymore. I use snap caps for center fired handguns, and the wall anchors for rimfire revolvers.

Regards,

Dave

 

[Charles Eric]

Thank you all for your responses to my question.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Well done, gentlemen! I have been telling folks for decades to not dry fire their .22s and I tell them why but the specific language is always a little vague. Y'all took the vagueness out of it!!!

 

[smoothshooter]

Don't think of doing ANYTHING except cutting a foam earplug in half, and inserting it under the hammer in the hammer slot in the frame and covering the firing pin.
Dry-fire to your little heart's content!!
Just remember to take it out when you are done.

 

[Charles Eric]

I'm not sure any of you all have really studied the new 43c itself. Many have really solid arguments for your thoughts on the little poper, but he's the new guy on the block, maybe you should take another look at him.