I just got my Model 17 back from the gunsmith. Will it harm it to dry fire it? I'd like to try the single and double action triggers. It will be a bit before I can actually fire it.
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Dry fire Model 17?
- Thread starter pmanton
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Modified
SWCA Member
Nah, you can damage it.
But, there's a super easy and cheap solution if you want to dry fire it:
But, there's a super easy and cheap solution if you want to dry fire it:
OP
Great idea Thanks.
Modified
SWCA Member
Yep, I keep them in all my 22s in case anyone picks one up and dry fires it.
They even cycle through both my Winchester 9422 and Browning BL22 without issue.
They do get used up, after maybe 10 dry fires I typically swap them out. You can see them getting chewed up a bit if you use them a bunch. They are so dirt cheap though it's not an issue.
I typically buy extra boxes of them and just keep them in my car, whenever I visit a new gun store, if I want to try the action on a 22 I'll grab the box and give it to them and use them to test the gun's action.
Hilariously, to me at least, I took that picture I posted like 15 years ago now, and its about the only thing I ever did that has found its way around the internet, far and wide. I always laugh whenever someone re-posts it.
For the record, I learned of this trick from a fantastic little gun shop in Bothell Washington called Dj's
Modified
SWCA Member
Yes, in fact...
I owe you an apology, I went and disappeared after getting married and running off to Montana.
At one point I was trying to come up with the money to buy your grand dad's RM. A gun which I continue to dream about, and think about.
I'm the guy with the big red beard...
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Stevens
Member
And, you can still use the chewed up ones for their original purpose a
Drywall anchor. The damaged, chewed up part won't show anyway.
Steve W
Drywall anchor. The damaged, chewed up part won't show anyway.
Steve W
yep, I remember you well. Happy to here of the marriage and move east. My Wife and I once lived in Great Falls back in the day. If I didn't like my farm here in the valley I too might move but heck, life can be good as we make it, right?
GC45
GC45
We should make reference to the "why" ---
Obviously , your m. 17 is a rimfire revolver. When there is a cartridge loaded into a charge hole the rim of that cartridge overlaps the face of the cylinder. When the hammer falls , the firing pin impacts the rim and pinches it against the cylinder face , detonating the primer charge in the rim.
As to dry firing - if the charge hole is empty the firing pin impacts the cylinder face , metal on metal. That is a bad thing , very very bad.
Bad for the firing pin , bad for the cylinder , bad for the gun.
The firing pin is designed to crush the soft brass case rim , not to go steel on steel.
A key element in inspecting a rimfire firearm is to check for dry firing damage.
Obviously , your m. 17 is a rimfire revolver. When there is a cartridge loaded into a charge hole the rim of that cartridge overlaps the face of the cylinder. When the hammer falls , the firing pin impacts the rim and pinches it against the cylinder face , detonating the primer charge in the rim.
As to dry firing - if the charge hole is empty the firing pin impacts the cylinder face , metal on metal. That is a bad thing , very very bad.
Bad for the firing pin , bad for the cylinder , bad for the gun.
The firing pin is designed to crush the soft brass case rim , not to go steel on steel.
A key element in inspecting a rimfire firearm is to check for dry firing damage.
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Sometimes it is okay
Here are some pics of my 617-1. On the left, there are circles of paper, 0.012" thick, in each chamber recess. I dry-fired the revolver six times, pointing up, so if there was endshake the cylinder would be all the way back. No dents in the paper.
On the right is the same, except with two pieces of paper in each recess. The dents are clearly visible. This revolver has been dry-fired at least hundreds of times, and firing pin has never hit the cylinder.
I've checked several of my Smith .22 revolvers, none of them have contact.
Has anyone actually seen dented chambers in a S&W revolver? If so, how old was it?
Here are some pics of my 617-1. On the left, there are circles of paper, 0.012" thick, in each chamber recess. I dry-fired the revolver six times, pointing up, so if there was endshake the cylinder would be all the way back. No dents in the paper.
On the right is the same, except with two pieces of paper in each recess. The dents are clearly visible. This revolver has been dry-fired at least hundreds of times, and firing pin has never hit the cylinder.
I've checked several of my Smith .22 revolvers, none of them have contact.
Has anyone actually seen dented chambers in a S&W revolver? If so, how old was it?
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Yes, this is what I've seen before. Why do I only see this kind of out of time hits on rimfires and not centerfires?
I realize the hole size will hide a lot of the strikes, but still?
How?
How do you get a correctly-functioning revolver to do this? Why wouldn't it do it if it was loaded?
How do you get a correctly-functioning revolver to do this? Why wouldn't it do it if it was loaded?
Distance
The firing pin doesn't reach the cylinder on centerfires, at least on the several I just looked at.
The firing pin doesn't reach the cylinder on centerfires, at least on the several I just looked at.
It is a fact that a S&W m.17 has recessed charge holes. Not all rimfire guns are recessed.
Bottom line :
It is never a good idea to dry fire a rimfire gun.
On a semi related note , I once owned a Colt Woodsman that was terribly damaged by dry firing. The damage was inflicted by previous owner(s) , but it left an impression on me almost as deep as the ones on the breech face of the Colt.
Bottom line :
It is never a good idea to dry fire a rimfire gun.
On a semi related note , I once owned a Colt Woodsman that was terribly damaged by dry firing. The damage was inflicted by previous owner(s) , but it left an impression on me almost as deep as the ones on the breech face of the Colt.
Revolvers do not have to be empty or out of time for this to occur, from what others have told me in the past. The easiest way for this to happen is pulling the trigger double action as fast as you can, repeatedly. Supposedly, the cylinder can get to a point where inertia can actually cause the cylinder to go past the stop and the firing pin can then strike the cylinder flat. I have never had the desire or curiosity to attempt to prove or disprove this notion.
RdrBill, you are a better person than I am. If I had sold that gun to someone who brought it back to me damaged like that, my response would have been "You bought it, you damaged it, you own it."
RdrBill, you are a better person than I am. If I had sold that gun to someone who brought it back to me damaged like that, my response would have been "You bought it, you damaged it, you own it."
That's as good an explanation for that phenomena as I could ask.
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