Why does Ruger state it "OK to dry fire .22lr revolver"?

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Orion8472

Orion8472

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I was watching a youtube video of a guy showing his Ruger Single Ten [because I have one coming . . . . yay!]. He said that the owner's manual stated that it was okay for the gun to be dry fired. Now, I know that most .22lr firearms are best NOT being dry fired because of the firing pin hitting the frame just above the chamber.

Why does the Transfer Bar on the Ruger keep the firing pin from hitting the cylinder where it shouldn't? If that system [upon pulling the trigger] strikes the rim of a .22lr bullet, how does that not potentially damage an empty cylinder?
 
The transfer bar is not the reason the gun can be dry fired without damaging it. The firing pin's travel is limited by a cross pin through the frame. It can only get close enough to the chamber wall edge to crush the primer. It cannot go any farther. (unless the firing pin or the pin that limits its travel are damaged. Even with this system I would still not dry fire it without an empty case in the chamber. And then I wouldn't hit it more than 4 or 5 times before replacing it with another empty case. I always pick up a handful of empty brass while at the range and keep a box of them on my bench.
 
Not sure about the single ten but I have a Mark III and the manual says the same thing. In the Mark III there seems to be a firing pin block mechanism. The Mark III needs to be dry fired for disassembly. There must be a transfer bar block or firing pin protrusion limitation in the somehow.
 
Yup, the Ruger MK pistols use a limiting pin in the bolt. Unfortunately the small pin can fall out when reassembling the gun without being noticed. If the gun is then dry fired chamber edge damage WILL result. Don't ask me how I know this. Ruger has had many MK pistols returned from owners doing this. They are able to iron out the chamber edge in most cases. If you have a MK pistol and tear it down frequently always MAKE SURE that pin is in place.
 
I know that most .22lr firearms are best NOT being dry fired because of the firing pin hitting the frame just above the chamber.
Click to expand...
Not exactly true.
Most modern .22's do not allow chamber damage when dry fired.

Many .22 semi-autos don't even have a bolt hold-open feature on the last round so they often get dry-fired every time the magazine runs dry.

Years ago, cheap 22's would damage the chamber if dry fired.
Higher quality 22's like the 1890 Winchester & later pumps, Browning semi-auto, Colt Woodsman pistol, etc. would not.

Today, most decent quality 22's can be dry fired.
But it is still not something you should set around and do all day thousands of times.
With any gun.

rc
 
I have a Mark II that I have to clean [perhaps tonight]. I think I know which pin you're talking about. As for my coming Single Ten, I doubt I will be doing much dry firing anyway, just found it odd that it was "ok to dry fire". I'm sure I will understand better when I actually get mine in and take the time to really take a look at its characteristics.
 
In the case of the Single Six or Single Ten revolver it's simply that the firing pin in the frame is made just the right length that it stops in the recessed housing in the frame before the end of the firing pin can contact the edge of the chambers.
 
I will never dryfire a rimfire revolver, regardless of what even the manufacturer says. I love Rugers and own a passel of them but they are not exactly precision instruments. The only one I ever had to return to Ruger was a brand new stainless Bearcat that had been dryfired extensively at the shop. The chambers were all so badly peened that cartridges could be be inserted. Now, this sixgun had some obvious issues but if it could be so far out of spec, then any of them could be out of spec just enough for the firing pin to contact the chamber. It's simply not worth the risk and I'd rather be shooting anyway.
 
rcmodel said:
Not exactly true.
Most modern .22's do not allow chamber damage when dry fired.

Many .22 semi-autos don't even have a bolt hold-open feature on the last round so they often get dry-fired every time the magazine runs dry.

Years ago, cheap 22's would damage the chamber if dry fired.
Higher quality 22's like the 1890 Winchester & later pumps, Browning semi-auto, Colt Woodsman pistol, etc. would not.

Today, most decent quality 22's can be dry fired.
But it is still not something you should set around and do all day thousands of times.
With any gun.

rc
Click to expand...

Well said. I have three .22's that are almost impossible to know when the last shot is fired (Browning Semi-Auto Rifle, Marlin 39A, Ruger 22/45).

On the 39A I try to check when the bolt is open to see if there is another round to be chambered but don't always do it (it really takes away from the fun of rapid fire plinking). But after 30 years and tens of thousands of rounds and hundreds of dry fires, zero damage to any parts of the rifle.

On the semi-autos I just run 'em dry. No damage at all from dry firing after the last round.

Dan
 
The owner's manual of my Mark IIs (I have three of them) clearly states to be careful the limiting pin has been replaced in the bolt before reassembling the gun. I don't sit around and dry fire them all day, however I do point them in a safe direction and dry fire them once after shooting or after reassembling. Do it all the time. Not a problem as long as the pin has been replaced.
 
My Single Six has dimples on it's cylinders from dry firing. The manual said it was okay, so I just went ahead and did it a few times and did not notice the dimples until later. I am a little bent out of shape about it, but it's not bad enough to impede inserting or extracting cartridges. So I don't know. I feel like if I called Ruger they would probably just tell me it was "within spec" or something, and I don't feel like screwing with FedEx shipping an arm back and forth.
 
SGW42,

I see absolutely no harm in giving Ruger a call about your peening issue, just calmly explain what happened and put the ball in their court.

High Standard used to machine a notch in their rimfire cylinders that would allow you to dry fire all you wanted, seems like it was a good idea but no one else did it. I think most found it cheaper to limit the firing pin travel.

I guess in the OP's case he has the green light to dry fire away and should any preening occur, off to Ruger it goes for warranty work.
 
Owners of Ruger Mk. series pistols should be mindful of more than just losing that bolt cross pin. I recently did a complete detail-strip and cleaning of a friends late '70s Mk.I Target and found that pin split in two. From what I could tell, repeated dry-firings had then hammered the pin's holes out of round in the bolt and eventually allowed enough firing pin travel to strike the breech face.

The chamber cleaned up fine, and I found a new pin for it... but it should never have happened to begin with. Regular cleaning (not once every ~30 years! :what:) would have probably spotted the problem right off lol.

One in a million I'm sure, but still something to watch out for anyway. :scrutiny:
 
I will not be dry firing [on empty cylinder] the Single Ten when it comes in. I will keep spent brass for any dry firing I do.

As for the Mark II, that bar you all are talking about. . . . I cleaned mine last night and, for the first time, pushed that bar out to discover that it comes in two pieces? Anyway, since I did that, I decided to take the firing pin and spring out, though I was really unsure if I should do that, not really knowing how it goes together. However, after I saw the mechanism, I gave it a good cleaning and got it all back together.

I have an odd thing about my Mark II [and will post a new post about it], and may store it and just shoot the Single Ten when it gets here.
 
I purchased a pack of .22 plastic 'snap caps' (just a cheap hollow plastic cone with a flange) so that my wife could safely practice / dry fire her new Heritage Rough Rider revolver. They do not last very long with the flange taking a beating. Empty .22 shells also get beaten up quickly and need to be replaced soon. I will now be looking in my household hardware drawer for the #4 drywall anchors - thanks for the tip!
 
The plastic drywall anchors are not that great either. They take a beating and really can only be used a few times to cushion the FP during dry firing.

These days the quality rimfire guns generally have a FP travel limit of some sort. If I were to get a gun where there was a limiter but it was still allowing the FP to strike the chamber I'd likely stone down the end of the FP enough to avoid the issue. But then I'm the sort that has done metal working for literally decades and recently I've been applyng this sort of skill to my amatuer gunsmithing. So I could do this with a clear conscience and every expectation of not ruining the gun I was working with.

I still do not dry fire any rimfire gun extensively. But I don't leave them at the end of the day with the hammer cocked. Rugers or S&W422, they all get a mag inserted and the hammer dropped at the end of the day. I've got a few lever and pump rimfire rifles as well and they almost always find themselves looking for that last shot which isn't there with the hammer and firing pin. Due to the hidden nature of the chamber in these rifles during use it would be sad indeed if they had firing pins with excess travel that caused chamer rim strikes.
 
Let me see. Ruger designed it. They built it. They literally wrote the book on it. They will have to fix it if they're wrong.

I think I can take their word for it. They seem to know what they're talking about.
 
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