Why for is dry-fire of rimfire bad, but centerfire OK?

[mrcpu]

I think the subject says it all. I see signs saying don't dry file rimfires, I stand in gun stores, and the guy tells me to go ahead and try the trigger on that .45...

What's the big deal about rimfire that gets apparently so toaster by dry-firing?

Or is this just urban-legend type stuff?

 

[ugaarguy]

With a rimfire the firing pin will strike the rim of the chamber where the cartridge rim would normally sit, whereas a centerfire firing pin aligns to the chamber's center so it doesn't strike anything. Rimfire firing pins are also generally smaller and more delicate than their centerfire counterparts. Then, there are some older centerfires with weak and/or brittle firing pins that shouldn't be dry fired. Finally, there are some modern designs where dry firing slams the hammer into the frame and should therefor be avoided to prevent frame & hammer impact wear.

 

[GRIZ22]

Dry firing with most centefires is okay. You have to be aware of the manufacturers cautions. Last I looked dry fire with Beretta and Taurus without a snap cap is a non-no. The firing pins have a shoulder that whacks into the slide if you do dry fire on an empty chamber. I used to think this was bull until I broke a firing pin on a Beretta 84 some time ago.

 

[kb2iaw]

dry fire

my chief gunnersmate told me years ago to use a spent cartridge to dry fire . so the firing pin would strike the soft brass .

 

[Vairochana]

I prefer to use an empty when dry firing a centrefire but I am overcautious about damaging the pin, definite no-no to dry fire most rimfires tho.

 

[strat81]

Problem I see with using a spent case is that it resembles live ammo WAYYY too much. If you're anything like me, I check once, twice, three times (a lady) when I use bright blue snap caps. Racking the slide and seeing brass...

 

[Franco2shoot]

Snap for me

Nothing like re·pet·i·tive·ness and that's why for safety sake I always stick a snap cap in..

Physical damage aside, if you train yourself to always put an orange snap cap in prior to pulling the trigger you ensure no accidental discharge and minimize any ill mechanical effects.

KKKKFL

 

[Jim K]

Most modern .22's (the only common rimfire today) can be dry fired because there is a positive firing pin stop that prevents the firing pin from touching the chamber edge. A snap cap is a good idea, but if you are dry firing an auto pistol that has to be operated for each "shot" (Ruger, Buckmark), you may want to cut away the part that is engaged by the extractor so you don't have to be finding the snap cap all the time.

Jim

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Some guns--rimfire and centerfire--are designed to allow
dryfire.
Some guns--rimfire and centerfire--are NOT designed to allow
dryfire.
The owner's manual should state if the gun can be dryfired
with outdamage. If it does not say, assume no.

The CZvz52 centerfire pistol should NOT be dryfired especially.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

My Colt Woodsman has a tiny nick in the chamber from dryfiring. I make it a point to always chamber an empty case when unloading, then drop the hammer on that.

And now and then I forget, and when I go to load the pistol, the empty comes flying out as I chamber the first round -- which serves to remind me, all guns are always loaded.

 

[Pat McCoy]

Our junior rsmallbore rifles have been dry fired thousands of times without damage to the rifles.

occasionally a firing pin will break, then the next few dry fires allows the fron tpart of the firing pin to peen the rear of the chamber.

Some guns are not to be dry fired according to hteir manufacturers.

 

[Roccobro]

I have all kinds of snap caps including .22LR, but I cannot for the life of me find any .22 WMR ones! A-Zoom makes a "action proving dummy round" that will only last 30 dry fires before being junk. Too short a lifespan for me!

Any leads for another dry firing enthusiast?

Justin

 

[Lupinus]

Basic rundown-

Centerfire (generaly speaking, some centerfires have brittle firing pins and should therefor not be dry fired) is ok to dry fire because it would normally stike the center of a primer. When the primer is absent the fireing pin strikes nothing but empty space and the part of the gun that holds it in place. As it touches nothing there is nothing for it to damage or to damage it.

Rimfire is not ok to dry fire for several reasons. Foremost is that the firing pin on a rimfire hits jsut as it says, the rim. And as the rim sits over the breech face unlike center fire there is now something for the pin to hit, the breech face. The rare occasional dry fire in a modern rimfire isn't likely to hurt anything but repeated dry fire can have a few side effects. The most likely is a dinged breech face and/or the pin moving and distorting it just enough that a burr pushes into the chamber. This obviously can cause feeding and extraction issues. The second likely result can be a broken firing pin which is obviously bad juju, no firing pin means no boom from your boomstick. Also the pin on a rimfire is generaly more brittle then those of a centerfire.

 

[RyanM]

Just as a general rule for centerfire pistols, if the firing pin is retained by a plate, it's probably okay to dry fire. If the firing pin is retained by a pin, it is probably not okay to dry fire.

The ones with a plate (Glock, 1911, etc.), the shoulder of the firing pin hits the inside of the slide, and all is well as long as the metallurgy is good. The ones with a pin (Beretta, CZ, etc.), the retaining pin arrests firing pin travel in both directions. So if you dry fire, the firing pin slams into the retaining pin, and eventually bends and breaks it.

 

[hksw]

The dry firing of rimfires will depend mostly on what make model gun you have. Some will allow it, others you shouldn't.

I have all kinds of snap caps including .22LR, but I cannot for the life of me find any .22 WMR ones! A-Zoom makes a "action proving dummy round" that will only last 30 dry fires before being junk. Too short a lifespan for me!

Rimfire A-Zooms are strictly for function testing only, it even says so on the package. Being lathed aluminum, they would be very expensive snap caps if dry fired with regularly.

I use mostly spent casing. They are essentially free. You do have to watch out about using a case that went through a loose chamber and jam it into a tight chamber, though.