Dry Firing a .22 lr handgun
- Thread starter v-13
- Start date
. Anyone else have this problem?
Register to hide this ad
What I do to have some snap caps on hand for dry firing is to let a couple three cylinders of fired .22 rounds cool down before ejecting. Letting them cool down will keep the brass from expanding further since they are still in the chambers. If you eject immediately after firing, the brass is still expanding from heat and won't fit back in the chambers. Then you can use the spent brass to dry fire away. Rotate the caps till you used all the available "non-hammered" areas.
Since my S&W .22 has tight chambers, they fit perfect in my semi .22's.
One note: On doing this, the dry firing of the caps will force the burnt debris inside the used brass into the cylinder & barrel and dirty it a bit. You just have to swab it and all is clean.
Some guys use either a #2 or #3 plastic wall anchor as caps, but I've never tried this. I like looking at the imprint of my pins on brass to make sure it is still deep.
Since my S&W .22 has tight chambers, they fit perfect in my semi .22's.
One note: On doing this, the dry firing of the caps will force the burnt debris inside the used brass into the cylinder & barrel and dirty it a bit. You just have to swab it and all is clean.
Some guys use either a #2 or #3 plastic wall anchor as caps, but I've never tried this. I like looking at the imprint of my pins on brass to make sure it is still deep.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2006
- Messages
- 19,371
- Reaction score
- 30,406
I will usually insert some fired cases into my revolvers when I dry fire them, unless it's going to be a single trigger pull to verify correct functioning. If I do this with a .22 revolver and dry fire it over & over I will swap out the spent cartridges every few hits so there is an un-hit spot left on the rim to absorb the hammer blow.
Chief38
Chief38
Last edited:
Tyrod
Member
I'm not a huge fan of dryfiring 22 rimfires. But, I come from an era where actual damage could be done to a chamber or firing pin from doing so. Some alternatives have been suggested and I'm sure more will come along.
What I've found is that while most every rimfire owner's manual will warn you about not dry firing rimfires, very little to no damage results from doing so in a reasonably recently produced rimfire gun. In fact, the new Ruger SR22 manual specificly states that dry firing is allowed. It would appear that the manufacturers have gotten a handle on restraining the stroke of the firing pin such that it no longer hits the chamber in a dry fire situation. I have heard on rare occasions that sometimes these restraining methods will break in extended dry firing resulting in buggered up chambers and/or firing pins.
The point of all this is that if, on occasion, you make a mistake and dry fire your gun without some sort of cushion, don't worry too much. Do an inspection and if everything looks ok, it probably is. However, don't go out of your way to purposely dryfire a rimfire without some sort of cushion for the firing pin.
On some rimfires you must dry fire the gun to unload the internal hammer or striker spring. In these cases, I suggest letting the firing pin fall on a plastic unloaded chamber indicator. Just orient the indicator so that the firing pin will fall on the indicator. Hopefully, the disconnector will have enough slop in it to allow doing so.
What I've found is that while most every rimfire owner's manual will warn you about not dry firing rimfires, very little to no damage results from doing so in a reasonably recently produced rimfire gun. In fact, the new Ruger SR22 manual specificly states that dry firing is allowed. It would appear that the manufacturers have gotten a handle on restraining the stroke of the firing pin such that it no longer hits the chamber in a dry fire situation. I have heard on rare occasions that sometimes these restraining methods will break in extended dry firing resulting in buggered up chambers and/or firing pins.
The point of all this is that if, on occasion, you make a mistake and dry fire your gun without some sort of cushion, don't worry too much. Do an inspection and if everything looks ok, it probably is. However, don't go out of your way to purposely dryfire a rimfire without some sort of cushion for the firing pin.
On some rimfires you must dry fire the gun to unload the internal hammer or striker spring. In these cases, I suggest letting the firing pin fall on a plastic unloaded chamber indicator. Just orient the indicator so that the firing pin will fall on the indicator. Hopefully, the disconnector will have enough slop in it to allow doing so.
Last edited:
geoff40
Member
This. I always throw in a few fired rimfire cases when I tumble brass, so it is clean, just for this purpose.
BlueOvalBandit
Member
The 617s stock frame mount firing pin should be fine dry firing and should not contact the cylinder, extended c&s pins a definite no-no dry firing. There are topics in the enos forums regarding the stock pin dimensions preventing it. Rimfires are pretty sensitive to mainspring weight and don't really take well to lightening the action(this includes strain screw not fully seated) as well as center fires.
Most new rimfires have some physical way of preventing the fp from hitting the chamber.
Most new rimfires have some physical way of preventing the fp from hitting the chamber.
MichiganScott
Member
From S&W FAQ
Can I dry fire my S&W handgun?
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.
Can I dry fire my S&W handgun?
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.
I skip dryfiring and fire 200+ actual rounds at the range each week.
Sometimes my son and friends help also so the .22's get fired enough.
Dry firing any .22 rimfire is a bad thing and can damage the gun, unless its a target pistol with a special dryfire firing pin that gets changed out.
I dry fire my .357 center-fires instead.
Sometimes my son and friends help also so the .22's get fired enough.
Dry firing any .22 rimfire is a bad thing and can damage the gun, unless its a target pistol with a special dryfire firing pin that gets changed out.
I dry fire my .357 center-fires instead.
I'm going to resurrect this thread because I don't think the question was answered adequately.
Dry fire practice is a necessary part of training for a competitive shooter, however, many 22 rimfire guns are inadequately engineered, allowing the firing pin to strike and peen the breech (or peen the firing pin tunnel - more often seen with centerfire guns).
If you are not 100% certain that your gun was designed to be dry fired, use #4 plastic wall anchors as "snap-caps" (dry fire dummy rounds).
I owned a Ruger Single-Six that was put out of commission by dry firing it six times - The firing pin was able to ding the chamber edge bad enough so that rounds could not enter. I was able to make it safe to dry fire by recessing the chambers slightly.
My two 22A's were made safe to dry-fire by shortening the firing pins. Without doing that, the firing pins peened the breech pretty badly (other folks have reported breakage of the firing pin).
My K-22 can be dry-fired endlessly... The firing pin will never hit any metal. However, I do use #4 wall anchors in it because the gun is over 60 years old and the wall anchors just ride around in the cylinder and don't get tossed all over the place like they do with an auto.
My daughter dry fires her CZ-452 rifle because the firing pin never gets anywhere near the breech face.
I think that if you're going to be handling something as potentially dangerous as a gun, you need to be willing to take the time to understand how it functions. You should understand the operation of your gun, and dry-fire it at least once with a little piece of paper on the breech to see whether the firing pin is likely to strike metal.
Some semi-auto pistols reportedly have other dry-fire related issues, such as sear battering, but I haven't seen a gun where this seemed a likely outcome.
You should, of course, never dry fire somebody else's gun without asking them first.
Also, for gods sake, don't ever, ever, ever, go bangety-bangety-bang as fast as you can with a loaded or unloaded DA revolver if you expect the gun to stay in-time. A cylinder can dump a lot of momentum on the bolt, and you can batter the gun out-of-time.
Dry fire practice is a necessary part of training for a competitive shooter, however, many 22 rimfire guns are inadequately engineered, allowing the firing pin to strike and peen the breech (or peen the firing pin tunnel - more often seen with centerfire guns).
If you are not 100% certain that your gun was designed to be dry fired, use #4 plastic wall anchors as "snap-caps" (dry fire dummy rounds).
I owned a Ruger Single-Six that was put out of commission by dry firing it six times - The firing pin was able to ding the chamber edge bad enough so that rounds could not enter. I was able to make it safe to dry fire by recessing the chambers slightly.
My two 22A's were made safe to dry-fire by shortening the firing pins. Without doing that, the firing pins peened the breech pretty badly (other folks have reported breakage of the firing pin).
My K-22 can be dry-fired endlessly... The firing pin will never hit any metal. However, I do use #4 wall anchors in it because the gun is over 60 years old and the wall anchors just ride around in the cylinder and don't get tossed all over the place like they do with an auto.
My daughter dry fires her CZ-452 rifle because the firing pin never gets anywhere near the breech face.
I think that if you're going to be handling something as potentially dangerous as a gun, you need to be willing to take the time to understand how it functions. You should understand the operation of your gun, and dry-fire it at least once with a little piece of paper on the breech to see whether the firing pin is likely to strike metal.
Some semi-auto pistols reportedly have other dry-fire related issues, such as sear battering, but I haven't seen a gun where this seemed a likely outcome.
You should, of course, never dry fire somebody else's gun without asking them first.
Also, for gods sake, don't ever, ever, ever, go bangety-bangety-bang as fast as you can with a loaded or unloaded DA revolver if you expect the gun to stay in-time. A cylinder can dump a lot of momentum on the bolt, and you can batter the gun out-of-time.
Not in a revolver, but I use the anchors in my .22 conversion barrels too.
There is a recess cut into the top of the chamber but I still had to replace a FP after about 8K rounds. That may seem like a lot of rounds, but before the current shortages, I'd shoot hundreds of .22 a week in training before switching to a larger caliber.
Dave
There is a recess cut into the top of the chamber but I still had to replace a FP after about 8K rounds. That may seem like a lot of rounds, but before the current shortages, I'd shoot hundreds of .22 a week in training before switching to a larger caliber.
Dave
Rpg
Member
I suppose that the gun could be out of adjustment or not have enough firing pin protrusion,but dry firing a rimfire is definitely a no-no.In fact,I think dry firing any gun is a no-nther parts can suffer damage.
I respectfully disagree.
Dry firing almost everything is fine ( without snap caps). The exceptions are double barreled firearms (shotguns and rifles). For these, use snap caps. Don't dry fire an exposed hammer semi auto handgun without the slide in place (e.g. 1911's). (Old model single actions are fragile too).
I've dry fired 22 rifles, 22 revolvers, 22 semi autos, center fire handguns and rifles tens of thousands of times over the last 50 years without a problem.
I think it's virtually impossible to develop and maintain good skills without dry firing unless you have unlimited ammo and live in a shooting range.
Your firearm will experience less wear from each dry snap than from each live round you shoot.
Delos
Member
Lots of pictures out there
Do a search for images. Dry fire damage.
SR22PB firing pin impacting breech??
Do a search for images. Dry fire damage.
SR22PB firing pin impacting breech??
scooter123
Member
That picture pretty well illustrated the damage caused by dry firing most rimfires. There is one semi auto handgun that is dry fire safe if you engage the safety but off the top of my head I cannot remember which pistol it is. Other than that I don't know of any rimfires that can be dry fired without harm unless you use something to protect the firing pin and breech. Personally I only dry fire my 617 for a function or trigger pull check and when I do that I insert fired casings into the cylinder.
Now about misfires. Obviously a broken or damaged firing pin is one cause. Another common cause is simply crud in the cylinder that makes it difficult to fully seat a fresh cartridge. Leave that cartridge sitting just 0.010 inch high and it will fail to fire on the first strike. Since the 22LR can be a pretty dirty round to shoot in a handgun I normally take a bronze bore brush and cleaning rod to the range with me so I can give the cylinder a "dry cleaning" when it starts to get difficult to load. The third cause is a loose strain screw, to it's also advisable to pack a suitable screwdriver in your range kit.
Now about misfires. Obviously a broken or damaged firing pin is one cause. Another common cause is simply crud in the cylinder that makes it difficult to fully seat a fresh cartridge. Leave that cartridge sitting just 0.010 inch high and it will fail to fire on the first strike. Since the 22LR can be a pretty dirty round to shoot in a handgun I normally take a bronze bore brush and cleaning rod to the range with me so I can give the cylinder a "dry cleaning" when it starts to get difficult to load. The third cause is a loose strain screw, to it's also advisable to pack a suitable screwdriver in your range kit.
