M&P 15-22 dry firing

[Majorlk]

All I was doing is quoting the manual. Remember I said, "for what it's worth...."

I've dryfired my many times, too....


Which then begs the question, "What other things in the manual are OK to ignore?"

The "recommended" and "not recommended" ammo lists. They were compiled based, most likely, on customer reports when the 15-22 was having out of battery discharges, which was something like five years ago and has long since been fixed. The majority of today's .22 LR ammo isn't listed on either list.

Out of three rifles and four handguns, only ONE has any actual danger of being damaged by dry-firing. That one is a 1963 manufactured High Standard match pistol. Even in that one, the firing pin just barely touches the breechface. It was used for several years by a member of the Army Marksmanship Unit and he said he dry-fired it at least 500 times a month - he put something like 60k rounds through it before I bought it from him. I've put probably 25k through it, as well as a few thousand dry-fires, and it still put 10 rounds through a quarter-sized hole at 25 yards from a machine rest. BTW, the trigger pull is a measured 14 ounces!

 

[photoracer]

I totally understands what you guys claim...that the firing pin does not reach the breach face. I.e NORMALLY . But can the roll pin that holds the firing pin in place never break? In my experience it CAN. I am 68 years old and have been shooting competition for many,many years. I have seen it happen at least 10 times and it happened to me a couple of times also. Can you assure me that this will never happen on a M&P 15-22?
I Do respect your opinions though.

I shoot high level speed competition with rimfires and frankly all that stuff in the manual is, as they say, just the company bean counters covering their a**. My 15-22s get dryfired a lot and my Browning Buckmarks get even more and one of them has like 50K rounds thru it and likely 10k dryfires also. I don't use snapcaps or drywall anchors either. I will be 67 YO myself this year and I also shoot IDPA, USPSA, Steel Challenge, and 3-gun.

 

[bjb4242]

I have a Winchester 94-22 that was damaged from dry firing.

 

[tomcatt51]

I have a Winchester 94-22 that was damaged from dry firing.

And what does this have to do with a 15-22?

 

[hoghunter]

So what the answer?
A) Dry fire till your hearts content with empty chamber
B) Dry fire with #4 drywall anchors
C) Dry fire with spent casing
D) Don't ever dream of dry firing your 15-22

 

[WilsonFlyer]

So what the answer?
A) Dry fire till your hearts content with empty chamber
B) Dry fire with #4 drywall anchors
C) Dry fire with spent casing
D) Don't ever dream of dry firing your 15-22

I don't see how you could even ask that question. Seriously, the only conclusion you can draw from this thread is there is no consensus, so what's the point of asking the question again?

The answer is that the manual from the manufacturer says no. The other answer is it's your gun. You're not going to jail for not doing what the manual says unless you shoot someone with it.

 

[hoghunter]

I don't see how you could even ask that question. Seriously, the only conclusion you can draw from this thread is there is no consensus, so what's the point of asking the question again?

The answer is that the manual from the manufacturer says no. The other answer is it's your gun. You're not going to jail for not doing what the manual says unless you shoot someone with it.

Not familiar with sarcasm??

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Not familiar with sarcasm??

I don't know. Are you?

 

[Ibmikey]

Steady girls ! I guess like so many things in this world we might need to return to the day when an individual actually made his/her own choices on matters enccountered in life. I dry fire, that is my decision and if I break a part I replace it. That is my philosophy on most firearms, however I do not dry fire any Star pistols because they do break firing pins and that is a fact. Will I ever encounter another firearm that dry firing will damage? Maybe but then I have a fix it project and I love those.

 

[Elmerviking]

My final thoughts:
For all you self proclaimed "experts" that say dry firing is not an issue, well good luck. Midway arms has a tool specially made for repairing dents on the breech face (22 Rimfire chamber Ironing Tool, part number 777-754, for $20.94). The fact is that ANYTHING man made can break. If the roll pin that holds the firing pin breaks or gets deformed, the firing pin will hit the breech face and cause a dent. This will prevent the ammo to slide into the chamber. If the roll pin deforms without actually breaking, it can be a pain in the a## to punch it out from the bolt. I myself dry fire a lot with my tip stating mhow to do it. Dry firing is something all world class shooters practice.
At last: be a little careful when you give advice. Guys with little or no experience could follow your advice as they don't know better. There are many videos on YouTube that are absolutely not recommended. If in doubt ask a certified gunsmith or experienced gun owner you know.
Just my opinion
Best regards
Elmerviking