dry firing practice

[fisher2]

when i get my .22 nd some extra clips i want to practice dry firing blanks and switching out the clip for a full one whats the best way to get blanks? the litlle plastic .22 shells or old spent ones and will the one shells damage anything going through the clip?

 

[LoonWulf]

id go with the .22 snap caps, as spent casings rarely will load from a clip.

 

[KodiakBeer]

Clips are things that girls put in their hair. So, unless you're using some rare antique rifle, you are likely referring to magazines.

Neither blanks nor spent .22 brass will damage the magazine. If you're using spent .22 brass, You should probably keep rotating the firing pin mark as you load the magazine so that you hit a new place on the rim each shot.

Really though, .22 ammo is so cheap why not just practice with loaded rounds?

 

[fisher2]

i cant do live as often so i want to play with it whenever i can lol

 

[Robert Wilson]

I use the little plastic ones, because they feed through the magazine. You should consider them disposable, as the rims flatten with each hit. I can't generally get more than ten hits from each one. I have used the ones from Tipton and the ones from Pachmayr. The Pachmayrs tend to shatter, and the rims tend to pull off. The Tiptons have been much more consistent for me. HTH.

 

[fisher2]

so the plastic snaps work best? lol why cant they make the rims of rubber like on all other snaps

 

[10-96]

why cant they make the rims of rubber like on all other snaps

My guess is that the extractor would rip them off of whatever mounting was used to secure them to the case body.

I wonder... I don't know what type of .22 you have, but sitting here thinking- if the firing pin is easily removed, how much could it hurt to get a spare firing pin and cut/grind about 1/8" off of it so it doesn't strike the chamber face? I know there have been more than a couple rifles built that either have the pins riveted in, or are just plain difficult to take out on a regular basis- but I still wonder.

 

[stork]

Instead of pricey blanks, try using dry wall anchors. I believe its a #4 yellow. I've been using them for years. They feed just fine through the magazine, are capable of being reused multiple times and are very inexpensive.

FWIW

 

[Lee Roder]

I always believed dry firing .22's was a sin. Why? I could just look at the chamber face and see why.

BUT ...

I came across a recent discussion on dry firing High Standards and it seems that the real issue with damage resulting from dry firing is just that the firing pin is TOO LONG.

So maybe there is some truth to what 10-96 wondered above, may be no need for snap caps (or even firing pin replacement), just shorten the firing pin so it can no longer contact the chamber face and dry fire away! Will still light off ammo.