Ruger Super Blackhawk .44: Dry-fire with plastic rim okay?

[Retro]

This is my first revolver! And I went old-school getting a single-action one!

So I obtained a Stainless Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum 5.5 inch barrel (no adaptor for scope mounts) for $500 total NIB. Did I get a good deal?

And I am dry-firing the gun with the factory plastic rim/buffer installed on the cyclinder, and I was wondering if the plastic rim is an appropriate snap cap for dry-firing?

And would dry-firing without any snap cap be appropriate for this gun? I probably think not?

Inputs will be appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[19-3Ben]

That little yellow plasitc ring that they put on the back of the cylinder? I'd bet it's fine for the gun, but I started dry firing my SP101 that had the same plastic thing, and after enough dryfires, the ring just broke apart.

 

[Nickotym]

Check your owner's manual, I believe they recommend agaoinst using the "ring" for dry fire practice.

Dry fire without snapcaps should be fine, last I checked .44 is no longer rimfire.

 

[Wedge]

No need for ring or snap caps, you can dry fire to your hearts content with the Blackhawk...I know I have.

 

[Retro]

Yep, I went back and checked the manual. it says:

" The Ruger new Model Revolvers can be dry-fired without damage to the firing pin or other components.

Never fan any revolver. Fanning is an unsafe way to fire a gun and it is abusive to the revolver mechanism"

I was hoping to fan fire the pistol like in those old western movies. oh well.

Why is dry-firing ok for the Ruger mechanism... ?

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

awww...bun fanning looks so cool....

 

[HiWayMan]

Never fan any revolver. Fanning is an unsafe way to fire a gun and it is abusive to the revolver mechanism"

Of course it is abusive. But one should not let a little abuse stand in the way of fun.

 

[Jim March]

Why is dry-firing ok for the Ruger mechanism... ?

A combination of frame-mounted firing pin and good metallurgy.

The older-style firing pins mounted on the hammer face are more delicate.

If you look at the rear of your frame above and to the left of where the firing pin is, you MAY see a little "pinprick" in the metal. Open the loading gate and on the frame metal in there you are more likely to spot the other one. These are the places where a long pin is visible going clear across the frame at an angle, retaining the firing pin assembly.

Since it's a royal pain to get that pin out and swap firing pin/spring/mount assemblies, Ruger made the firing pin assembly out of damned good metal.

 

[stevekl]

Isn't it true that generally any centerfire is ok to dry fire?

And heck, even nowadays, modern .22s are ok to dry fire, at least according to the owner's manuals.

 

[Old Fuff]

Ruger (and others) say it's O.K. to dry-fire their center fire revolvers. Maybe, but I've seen Rugers that were dry-fired and had broken firing pins. It may also tend to mash firing pin springs.

Snap caps are extra insurance. Maybe they aren't necessary, but then again, maybe they are. Given they're relatively modest cost I prefer the extra insurance. Replacing a firing pin on a Ruger single action requires that a pin be driven out that's contoured to match the frame. It's almost impossible to put it back and get a perfect fit, and anything else looks like.....

But to each his own...

 

[Retro]

Yes, as an insurance run. I purchased 6 "tradition" 44 mag snap caps made in Italy for the Ruger...

However, in comparison to other snap caps that has a rubber piece at the percussion site, the "tradition" caps has a copper piece that is spring operated. I hope this copper piece will not damage the firing pin?

 

[Old Fuff]

No problem... the spring is there to take the impact.

 

[Bear41mag]

Thats how I smoothed the action out on my .41 blackhawk.
Squirted a gritty of brand of toothpaste in the action and dry fired the heck out of it for hundereds and hundereds of times, then washed, cleaned and oiled the action. Now its nice and smooth, and no bad effects from all the dry firing.

 

[rudolf]

I use a small strip of leather which is has the form of an "L".
One end is pushed in between the sight and the frame, the other part then rests between hammer and frame. The hammer then falls on the leather, keeping it from hitting the transferbar/firing pin. This isn't really necessary but it makes the gun and me feel better.

 

[Retro]

But doesn't that interfere with action of the revolver? What if you need to fire real rounds through it and the leather jams up the hammer transfer bar?

 

[Malamute]

"The Ruger new Model Revolvers can be dry-fired without damage to the firing pin or other components."


I read that years ago also.


I have 3 broken transfer bars in my parts box from various Rugers that were dry fired without snap caps.

 

[springmom]

Do not use the little ring that came in the revolver. Take that out. Snap caps certainly won't hurt anything, but Ruger says they are unnecessary.

But enough guys have suggested that they have seen dry-fire damage that if I were you, I think I'd get the snap caps. Come to think of it, I may get some for my SRH. It, and I, could use some dry fire practice.

Springmom

 

[bigmedicine]

another snap cap plus

While not significant, the snap caps (especially the metal ones) also add some weight to the revolver, thus making your dry-fire practices even more like live round shooting. It just is nice to have the balance the same as when you are shooting/hunting/etc.

 

[Biff]

The only purpose that the plastic ring is supposed to serve is as an empty chamber indicator. With the white or yellow ring in place, it is instantly apparent to the Ruger factory people that the weapon has been cleared and there there are no cartridges left over from the proof test loaded.