Is dry firing a S&W with a hammer mounted firing pin ok?
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I've talked to gunsmiths who said that they have had to repair S&W revolvers with hammer mounted firing pins where the owner was dry firing them.
Is this true? Would it be detrimental to dry fire such a Smith?
Thanx so much.
Is this true? Would it be detrimental to dry fire such a Smith?
Thanx so much.
Double-O-Dave
US Veteran
As far as revolvers go, the S&W factory indicates that all revolvers, with the exception of rimfires (.22cal.) can be dry-fired without ill effect. My understanding is that you can dry fire a rimfire revolver on occasion, but that it should be the exception, rather than the rule.
Regards,
Dave
Regards,
Dave
john traveler
Member
Truly excessive dry-firing in the tens of thousands will damage the hammer nose and/or the recoil plate where the firing pin comes out. Occasional snapping will not hurt it. I make it a practice to ease the hammer down using my offhand thumb when dry-firing.
diamonback68
US Veteran
I have dry fired some of my guns a thousand times or more to smooth them out. I'm sure others here have dry fired there's even more.
gunnut44
Member
I would just go get some snap caps if it were me.
idahostreams
Member
When I was shooting PPC for many years I dry fired thousands of times with my hammer mounted PPC gun with no problems. I still dry fire a lot to stay proficient.
Julian
Julian
bountyhunter
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+1
When SW switched to the frame mounted pins, I called SW factory and asked one of their gunsmiths if dry firing was OK. He said you would have to do it millions of times to hurt them. I was concerned because the Cylinder + Slide firing pins are known to break, and warn against dry firing. I have not heard of SW pins breaking.
stevieboy
Member
If it's a problem I haven't encountered it and I do a lot of dry firing with both frame and hammer mounted firing pins. I use snap caps in my .22s, nothing in my centerfire guns.
29aholic
Member
I have dry fired the crap out of a few of mine with no problems, but snap caps are cheap insurance if you are worried
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Dry firing will not harm the revolver. It is a great way to smooth the action and get used to the trigger. The S&W instruction sheet used to recommend it. It read something to the effect of "practice dry shooting with empty revolver," or words to that effect. The factory web site still recommends it, except for rimfires.
The factory even used to supply a dry fire practice target with their guns.
Here is what their current website says about it-
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.
Here is what their current website says about it-
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.
toroflow1
Member
Well, if dry firing a model 17 will harm it, and the new versions of S&W revolvers have frame mounted firing pins (like the model 17); couldn't one extrapolate that dry firing frame mounted firing pins is not good for the gun?
MKT
Member
Toroflow,
I believe the difference here is the fact the Model 17 is a rimfire vs. a centerfire. The rimfire, with a chamber which is still recessed, there is a slim chance of the firing pin striking the chamber rim, that can't happen with a centerfire.
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Correct. It is not the frame mounting of the FP that makes the difference. It is the possibility of the FP striking the rim of the charge hole on the cylinder. That obviously cannot happen with the centerfire. It is not supposed to happen with the rimfire either because of the stop built into the FP, but I guess the tolerances can be such that it could occasionally happen, so S&W does not recommend it with the current guns.
jrplourde
Member
Can someone point me to a source of 22 snap caps?
Bob
stevieboy
Member
Pachmayr makes .22 rimfire snap caps. I bought mine online, either from Brownells or directly from Pachmayr.
jrplourde
Member
Thanks and thanks to Tim. Until this thread I didn't know such a thing existed. I need to practice double action with my M17 and this is it. Great!
Thanks Bob
Delos
Member
Dry fire on rotated .22 empties
Back in the 1950’s I bought a very old .22 revolver that was an unusual name brand to me. It seemed okay until I looked closely at the back of the cylinder and saw the deep (peen) marks from the firing pin striking each cylinder hole with no shell in place. The cartridges were a problem to load and extract until I removed the bur in the chamber. The dips were narrow but deep enough I was surprised it fired okay. The fired shells were not only indented on the outside but bent downward on the lower-side to form a wrinkle when looking sideways.
I read that some semi auto .22 pistols and rifles have safety pins that stop the firing pin before it hit’s the barrel when empty. I dislike having to leave a 22 semi auto cocked in long storage so consider it nice when okay to snap them off. I have read that sometimes a safety pin gets broken or someone cleaning gun forgets to put one back in.
Sometimes I have put a small piece of writing tablet paper on the front of the chamber to see if the firing pin smashes through the paper with one or two hammed drops.
(Lawyer warning - never do this)
Finally I decided to use a fired shell rotated slightly past the previous indentation. That worked very well for releasing hammer spring tension for storing a hammerless semi auto 22. (A purist would never leave an empty shell in a chamber but I am not a purist) So I also began using fired shells to dry fire my 22 revolver. Each time I clicked on all six chambers I opened it up and rotated each shell slightly more than the width of previous indentation. I did not have the type cylinder that was cut inward to surround the head of the shell, but I doubt it would make a difference.
In this day and age of lawsuits no manufacture would ever recommend dry firing on empty rim-fires so I guess I also will not recommend it either. Also never drink alcohol or talk on telephone when dry-firing unless your kids are grown, you are over 50 years old, and can ignore women really well.
Back in the 1950’s I bought a very old .22 revolver that was an unusual name brand to me. It seemed okay until I looked closely at the back of the cylinder and saw the deep (peen) marks from the firing pin striking each cylinder hole with no shell in place. The cartridges were a problem to load and extract until I removed the bur in the chamber. The dips were narrow but deep enough I was surprised it fired okay. The fired shells were not only indented on the outside but bent downward on the lower-side to form a wrinkle when looking sideways.
I read that some semi auto .22 pistols and rifles have safety pins that stop the firing pin before it hit’s the barrel when empty. I dislike having to leave a 22 semi auto cocked in long storage so consider it nice when okay to snap them off. I have read that sometimes a safety pin gets broken or someone cleaning gun forgets to put one back in.
Sometimes I have put a small piece of writing tablet paper on the front of the chamber to see if the firing pin smashes through the paper with one or two hammed drops.
(Lawyer warning - never do this)
Finally I decided to use a fired shell rotated slightly past the previous indentation. That worked very well for releasing hammer spring tension for storing a hammerless semi auto 22. (A purist would never leave an empty shell in a chamber but I am not a purist) So I also began using fired shells to dry fire my 22 revolver. Each time I clicked on all six chambers I opened it up and rotated each shell slightly more than the width of previous indentation. I did not have the type cylinder that was cut inward to surround the head of the shell, but I doubt it would make a difference.
In this day and age of lawsuits no manufacture would ever recommend dry firing on empty rim-fires so I guess I also will not recommend it either. Also never drink alcohol or talk on telephone when dry-firing unless your kids are grown, you are over 50 years old, and can ignore women really well.
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