Dry Firing Rim Fire

[Dobe]

I realize that .22 LR's are rim fire guns, and that dry firing is potentially harmful to those guns. Yet, I have heard that many modern guns are unaffected by this practice.

I would like your oppinion on this, because I have just purchased a Ruger MK II, and dry firing is a routine part of my daily workouts.

Thank you in advance,
Dobe

Note to moderator:
It was my intention to place this on the auto forum. Please feel free to move this post to its appropriate location.

 

[hksw]

Although generally not a good idea for rimfires, the Ruger Mk II is an exception. There is a firingpin stop in the bolt (merely a cross pin) that prevents the firing pin from hitting the edge of the chamber. Safe to dry fire.

Part number A 35B.

 

[Dobe]

Thanks...

Thanks Ron for the quick response. And by the way...I'm off to the range.

 

[Jim K]

Hi, Dobe,

Do an occasional check on it, though. Long time dry firing can peen the firing pin and/or cross pin enough to allow the firing pin to contact the breech face. Normally this is no problem but you say dry firing is a daily routine, so you could ultimately have a problem over months and years.

Jim

 

[Dobe]

Thanks Jim,

Will I be able to easily see this by removing the firing pin and cross pin?

 

[Graystar]

I used to remove the firing pin from my Mark II for dry-fire practice. Then I didn't have to worry about it.

Now, I'm of the opinion that dry firing doesn't do much for you. I think it's much better to learn to focus intensely on sight alignment and to squeeze the trigger dilibrately.

The main problem, as I've observed in myself and a couple others, is that you get the sights aligned, and then treat the process of squeezing the trigger as a single act that, once set in motion, completes itself. This is the wrong way to view it. You should first focus on sight alignment, then make a concerted effort to maintain sight alignment as the trigger is being pulled. You don't have to squeeze the trigger slowly, but every micron of movement should be completely under your control.

One thing that I do is to feel for the trigger stop. That is, when I start squeezing the trigger, I'm not looking for the release of the hammer, but for the point in which the trigger stops moving. To me, *that* is then the shot is completed. This allows me to squeeze through the release point.

Another exercise I found interesting was to shoot at nothing. Go to range, but don't put out a target, just shoot the gun. People never do that. But when there's no target to worry about, you can focus your efforts on other issues. You can practice focusing on the front sight and squeezing through the release.

People want to see the results of their efforts. The problem is that you rarely get positive results on the first mag. So a target that looks as bad as your previous targets is discouraging.

There a couple experts out there that also agree...pulling a trigger without a BANG is not useful because it's unrealistic. It may fix a flinch momentarily, but the underlying problems are still there. You simply have to get away from making the BANG the focal point of activity. Think of BANG as part of the shot, not the end of the shot. Maintaining sight alignment through the trigger motion is the main activity, and it doesn't end till the trigger stops moving.

Hope this help!

 

[Dobe]

Dry FIring

Graystar,
I like your philosopy on trigger control, and I agree wholeheartidly. I respectfully disagree about the value of dryfiring though. The reason that I feel it is so valuable is that that with live fire is recoil. If there is recoil, there is only a limited way to check the sight alignment and sight picture once the cartridge fires. I realize that checking the target reveals much, but this in not immediate, and most of all there is a break in concentration. I prefer to have the results while I am in this level of concentration. Therefore, at that exact moment I can make an immediate mental adjustment for the next shot. It saves time, ammo, and feedback is immediate.

What I mean by this is that (using your philosopy) the trigger is pulled while sight picture and alignment are maintained and corrected. The trigger breaks, and the sight alignment and picture are revealed at that instant. To me, it has been very beneficial. I also feel that muscle memory is enhanced this way.

Another advantage is that I can perform this excercise while at my home almost daily. It cost nothing, and is very safe. This is an excercise that my father started for me when I was much younger. I have continued it to this day.
I suppose the single most noticed attribute of dry firing for me has been learning off-hand shooting. If I were to point to any one technique that has helped with this mode of shooting, I would have to credit dry firing.

Thanks,

Dobe

 

[Jim K]

Hi, Dobe,

You can look at the cross pin and firing pin. Or just push in on the rear of the firing pin and look to see if the front end protrudes past the line of the front of the bolt.

This is a good check with many RF guns.

Jim

 

[Dobe]

Thanks Jim

 

[TheMariner]

Well, there are little plastic chamber blocks that one would place in teh chamber to stop the firing pin.... we use them in practice and I know one came with my P22

 

[huaco]

How 'bout a Buckmark?

If it's ok to dry fire the Ruger Mk II how about a Browning Buckmark? Mine has at least 40 bricks through it and works about like it did when new. I've always heard that dry firing is not good for guns but only recently learned that it's especially hard on rimfire guns. I assume that's because the pin hits the hard breech. I have kept dryfiring to a minimum with my Buckmark but after all there's no other way to put it at rest when finished shooting or for that matter any time you rack the slide and don't shoot.

 

[Dave R]

Coupla more ideas...

A spent .22 blank would prolly chamber (maybe with some help) and serve as a snap cap.

Someone does make commercial .22 snap caps. They are all plastic. I'm guessing that the rim just self-destructs over time, so you can't use 'em forever...

I use spent .22 cases in my revolver, but I don't think a spent case would chamber in a semi-auto...

 

[hksw]

The Buckmarks I have seem to allow the firingpin to hit the breachface. Not good. The problem with dry firing rimfires is that the firing pin does not function at the center of the chamber but to the edge where the rim of the cartridge is located. If the firingpin hits the breachface in this area, it could eventually pound a burr that intrudes into the area of the chamber. This could lead to misfeeds as the burr would prevent the catridge from chambering.

For the Buckmarks, I use either a spent case or a Pachmayer snap cap. You can only use them so much before replacing, though, as the dents eventually beat them (cases and caps) up flat.

 

[Jim K]

FWIW, the reason dry firing some RF guns is not good is because the firing pin can hit on the edge of the chamber and deepen that part and also drive a spur of metal into the chamber itself, preventing a round from loading properly.

If the metal is battered, the rim will not be properly supported for the firing pin and even if this does not cause misfires it will cause erratic ignition and inaccuracy.

Most modern (post WWII) rimfires are designed so the firing pin stops on something other than the chamber edge or the end of the barrel. If yours does not, do not dry fire it; use a plastic "snap cap".

An easy way to check is to put a piece of paper over the end of the barrel, and dry fire the gun. If the paper is cut, do not dry fire the gun. Sometimes, due to an error in manufacturing, even a gun designed to allow dry fire may cause a problem, so check each gun rather than assuming that the gun is OK.

Some folks get a bit paranoid, though. Even in the worst case condition, it is a good idea to let the firing pin or hammer down to relieve spring tension, even if it means a "once a shooting session" dry snap. Center fire rifles and pistols rarely give a problem, though some (the Luger for example) should not be dry fired and if at all possible, either a snap cap should be used or the hammer/firing pin tension relieved some other way.

Military rifles like the Mausers, the M1903 Springfield, the M1, M1 carbine, M14 and M16 are made to be dry snapped and it is/was done thousands of times in training.

Jim