Dry Firing A .22 Long Rifle Caliber Gun

[Shasta]

I've heard all my life that you shouldn't dry fire a .22 Long Rifle gun as it may snap off the firing pin. I seldom dry fire my .22's, but have never had a problem what few times I did.
At our .22 Long Range Silhouette match last weekend, I was getting in some practice shots before the match when a fellow I know showed up to watch and see what the sport was all about. I showed him my Cimarron Low Wall rifle, and explained how the double-set triggers work, making the front a hair trigger. This particular rifle has an extremely heavy pull on the rear trigger to set the front, and I invited him to give it a try. With the gun empty, he cocked the hammer and with difficulty got the rear trigger pulled to set the front. I invited him to go ahead and dry fire it to see how light the trigger pull was. He objected to dry firing a .22, but I assured him one time would not hurt anything, so he went ahead and did so.
A bit later, the match started, and I went to the line to shoot Chickens. At the command to fire, guess what... the gun wouldn't fire! A quick tear-down confirmed that the firing pin nose was snapped off! That was the very first time this rifle had ever been dry fired too! I didn't get to shoot the match, and even worse, a new firing pin from VTI Gun Parts had to be back ordered and won't be here until late September!

Another hard lesson learned.

SHASTA

[Hobie]

AND if the firing pin isn't broken it can peen the edge of the chamber making extraction of fired cases hard to impossible. I have been told that the Ruger Single-Six (and presumably the 9s and 10s) don't allow the firing pin to strike the cylinder and are safe to dry fire but I don't do it. I recently bought a K-22 that had been dry fired and had to use a chamber iron on all the chambers. This was a specially tuned gun! I believe somebody at the shop did this. I also had a Cobra derringer come in with a peened chamber but I didn't have the "iron" to fix it.

[Nath]

Yep,, what Hobie says,,,,don't do it sir!

Nath.

[madman4570]

I never dry fire------------------------------any of my guns! (period)

[El Chivo]

Well I have dry-fired unintentionally when I lost count and thought I had a round left and didn't. Nothing has broken yet. Just lucky I guess.

[Model 52B]

It really varies by design whether you can dry fire a .22 LR or not, and even then there are some qualifiers to consider.

For example, the Ruger Mk II and Mk III pistols have a retaining pin for the firing pin that serves as a firing pin stop to absorb the momentum of the firing pin and it also limits forward travel so that the firing pin will not peen the face of the chamber. Thus you can dry fire them safely provided the retaining pin is in place.

However, it's not unheard of for that pin to be left out or fall out during re-assembly of the bolt and if that happens the pin will impact the face of the chamber and peen it to the point that it will not feed a round.

When that happens, I've heard that Ruger is not very sympathetic and does not regard it as repairable damage. That's a real problem given that Ruger sells the barrel and receiver as a single assembly. In actuality, I suspect most smiths would just use a chamber reamer to remove the burr, but it's something to consider next time you contemplate dry firing a Mk II or III.

[Model 52B]

Well I have dry-fired unintentionally when I lost count and thought I had a round left and didn't. Nothing has broken yet. Just lucky I guess.

I've done the same thing on CZ 453s and Model 52s, again with no ill effects.

Provided the firing pin is:

a) an inertial firing pin where the distance between hammer face and chamber face is longer than the firing pin itself,

- and -

b) and there is a stop that prevents the pin from contacting the chamber face,

- or -

c) a spring driven striker design where there is a shoulder that 1) absorbs force of the spring, and 2) prevents the pin from contacting the chamber face,

then I see no issue with dry firing the rifle unintentionally.

----

In a repeating bolt gun, lever gun or a semi-auto, it's a given that a round will fail to feed or the shooter will not realize the bolt has closed on an empty chamber and the round will be dry fired. As such, the designer needs to incorporate a feature that prevents damage to the chamber face on a rimfire firearm. However, as illustrated by the previous post regarding the Ruger Mk II pistol, you as the owner need to ensure you do not accidentally remove or disable that design feature.

----

However, that assumption may not be made with a single shot, where the shooter is actively engaged in the extraction of the fired round and the insertion of the the next unfired round. That's especially true in older single shot designs where the ability of shooters to break a weapon through a normal level of inattention was not as greatly appreciated.

[BrianSH]

I've read this on the internet, so it has to be true, 'cuz yur not allowed to put anything on there that ain't true!

I've been using #4 drywall anchors in the chambers of my new LCR 22, and it works very well for dry firing. the little stop rim on the anchor takes a beating, but this is a sacrificial part. I had been using spent cases for this, but the anchors are almost the shape of a 22LR cartridge, and load into the chambers of other guns a lot easier than empty cases. These anchors are brightly colored, so you can see them in the chamber easier.

- Brian

[AJMD429]

I've read this on the internet, so it has to be true, 'cuz yur not allowed to put anything on there that ain't true!

I've been using #4 drywall anchors in the chambers of my new LCR 22, and it works very well for dry firing. the little stop rim on the anchor takes a beating, but this is a sacrificial part. I had been using spent cases for this, but the anchors are almost the shape of a 22LR cartridge, and load into the chambers of other guns a lot easier than empty cases. These anchors are brightly colored, so you can see them in the chamber easier.

Now THAT's a good idea.

[jdad]

This is the proper way to fix the "peen".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqUZwIf0J2k

...and this is where you buy the chamber iron.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools ... d8869.aspx

[Ysabel Kid]

I'm the same way - I try not to dry-fire any firearm. I will use snap caps when I can. Sorry to hear about this Shasta!

[Pete44ru]

This is the proper way to fix the "peen".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqUZwIf0J2k

...and this is where you buy the chamber iron.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools ... d8869.aspx

+1 - The best way to repair the peen is to press/swedge the material back where it came from, with the ironing tool.

If the displaced metal's removed via filing, grinding or running in a chambering reamer, that metal's gone forever from the barrel/chamber wall.



.

[bdhold]

snap caps - I keep them in all my chambers

[J Miller]

Besides breaking and peening the firing pin and or chambers, dry firing can damage the retaining pin on guns with frame mounted firing pins.
My OM Ruger Super Single Six had been dry-fired so much the firing pin retainer had been pushed out into the cylinder frame. That made it almost impossible to turn the cylinder.
I managed to get it to shoot a couple rounds of 22 Mag and that pushed the firing pin retainer back into the cylinder frame.

I do not dry fire any of my guns for trigger practice. Occasionally to see if the gun is functional and even then I use a fired case in the chamber.

Joe

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

Dry firing is not a good idea on any gun, even the Ruger single actions. The hammers hitting steel to steel is hard on parts. Colts and most SXS's tend to flare the pin holes or the pins, Rogers tend to break transfer bars. Rifles tend to break the FP. The 22's tend to damage chambers and such. You need a soft metal like a primer to dampen this. But continuously dry fire into a spent primer isn’t a good idea either.
I have seen snap caps made with silicon in the primer pockets. I don’t think that is a good setup for long term use. Silicone is too soft. If you want to make snap caps that fit your gun, drill the primer pockets out to the OD of the primer, cut a piece of brass rod the same OD as the primer and long enough to extend about 2/3's into the case, then fill the case with silicon to glue the rod in. Grind the rod flush with the case head and seat and crimp a bullet. Now you have snap caps that work in your gun and will last. For the rifle just grind a portion of the rim off so the extractor doesn’t pull it out every time you lever the gun. This will work with shotguns as well.
Next best setup is to de-prime then super-glue a piece of a hard rubber “O” ring in the primer pocket then trim it flush.

for the 22's I like that plastic anchor thing. Good idea.

[Blaine]

In spite of knowing better, I'm a dry firer... ....I broke the firing pin on my first .22, a 39 Mountie that was pretty old back when I got it in the 60s... I sort of thought these new floating firing pins took most of the problem away from dry firing...Guess I'm wrong

[Mutt]

So Far I haven't killed anyone without reason . Peened or not

[AJMD429]

If you want to make snap caps that fit your gun, drill the primer pockets out to the OD of the primer, cut a piece of brass rod the same OD as the primer and long enough to extend about 2/3's into the case, then fill the case with silicon to glue the rod in. Grind the rod flush with the case head and seat and crimp a bullet. Now you have snap caps that work in your gun and will last.

That would work WAY better than any of the commercial ones I've seen. Allows 'cushion' from the silicone supporting the rod, yet a bit of firm contact and inertia to absorb the impact. You could make and sell those.

[cnjarvis]

I suppose you could use hot glue in the primer pocket too.

For my Savage Mk II, I use a -206 o-ring between the striker and the receiver as shown in the thread below.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/sh ... mp%3B+ring

[44shooter]

Rugers can take it. Says so in the manual. My 77/22 and Mark II are over 25 years old with no dry fire damage.

[piller]

Nate's method seems pretty smart and easily done by almost anyone. I am going to try it. The only firearm I ever deliberately dry fired was an M16. I was told to do it. I lower the hammer on my bolt action rifles by holding the trigger back as I move the bolt all the way down. It rides the hammer down without any signs I have been able to see of any damage.

[olyinaz]

This is the proper way to fix the "peen".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqUZwIf0J2k

...and this is where you buy the chamber iron.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools ... d8869.aspx

[JimT]

Don't you boys remember history? Ruger introduced the Single Six by building a machine that dry-fired the Single Six pretty fast. They ran it continuously at the NRA Show .. (1956? I think it was ..) and the machine broke after a few days. The gun never did. It was and is designed to be dry-fired without harm to the firearm.

[Nath]

I may be wrong and will accept correction but don't FP's all have stops?

Any pin stop device or other is no guarentee for the pin to not contact the breech face on a rimfire, good fit is but the owner should satisfy them selves of clearance.

I have had to in the past create a few thou more travel on some pins to get reliable ignition, the opposite to what we are discussing.

N.

[AJMD429]

Reading about the new 17 Win Mag or whatever the super-rimfire is called, I was thinking about how it seems that rimfire firing pins could be improved; the new cartridge is higher-pressure so the brass case and rim are thicker, and the challenge was to make a new design rimfire action that would reliably set it off yet not risk piercing the brass.

It seems like first of all the firing pin could be wider, so it doesn't risk missing a gap in the primer compound when using cheaper ammo, and it seems like it should ALWAYS have a positive stop made of tough enough metal it won't peen, such as a pin through a hole in a flat firing pin, or a definite 'step' that contacts a ledge in the bolt, but NOT just a conical contact point for the front of the pin, which can peen 'out' towards the cartridge.

With all the other precision things built into gun designs, it seems pretty simple to make a rimfire design (or centerfire one) that could be dry-fired tens of thousands of times without damage; very disappointing that some companies chose not to bother.

[J Miller]

Don't you boys remember history? Ruger introduced the Single Six by building a machine that dry-fired the Single Six pretty fast. They ran it continuously at the NRA Show .. (1956? I think it was ..) and the machine broke after a few days. The gun never did. It was and is designed to be dry-fired without harm to the firearm.

I do remember that story. However I do know of the Ruger Super Single Six I told about earlier in this thread. I do not trust firing pins. Especially frame mounted FPs. In all the years I've been shooting I've NEVER broken a hammer mounted FP. But I've broken one frame mounted one, and had the FP bushing pushed out on that Ruger .22 I have.

I've replaced one broken Win 1894 FP that was previously broken and hodge podge repaired by someone else, and one missing FP on an H&R .22 rifle.

I have never personally broken a FP on any of my .22 RFs. That's because I do not dry fire them.
Period.

No sense in taking chances.

Joe

[Nath]

I bought a Savage 24 new once and unintentionally droped the hammer on the rifle barrel empty and the pin was lost, it was made of hard cheese of some sort!

I drilled the main body of the pin and fitted a drill shank matching the breech face hole perfectly. The pin cylindrical body(the part the hammer contacts) was cross drilled and a groove added to the drill shank to corrospond with the cross drilling. A soft steel cross pin was now added to secure the new pin. Never broke again!

N.