George Wood Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 Will dry fireing my Colt M4 cause any damage to the rifle? I have heard both ways and I know my Sig P232 recommends not to. Just asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microgunner Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 I'm a long time dry fire practitioner and have yet to damage a single firearm including my Colt M4, but the first moment any firearm I own does suffer damage from dry firing it will be sold, not something I want to own, too delicate. If dry firing worries you use snap caps or empty brass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techmike Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 Hi George - the only firearms I have direct knowledge of getting damaged from dry firing are the Jennings type handguns. Also, I have seen a few .22 revolvers where the firing pin impacted the edge of the cylinder and created burrs. That can make loading /unloading a chore, Brownells sells a tool to "iron" out the burrs. As MG stated, snap caps will insure no damage and are cheap insurance. I have a handfull of [plastic] .22 snaps, PM me your addy and I'll send ya a couple when I return home.TM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdavison Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 The short answer is YES.Dry firing a rimfire rifle of any sort can and likely will damage the firing pin.The reason is because on a centerfire firearm, the firing pin just hits air, as it is centered in the bore of the barrel.A rimfire firearm has the firing pin aligned with the face of the chamber. When you dry fire it, it slams the firing pin into the steel face of the chamber. After repeated dry firing, it WILL flatten the end of the firing pin.What you normally get is failure to fire malfunctions at that point, as the firing pin can no longer put a good dent into the rim of the .22 round.Dont do it.Also, there are NO .22 snap caps. They are dummy rounds. If you read the package, it specifically states "not for dry fire". While they may certainly be better than slamming it into the steel of the chamber face, since they are aluminum. I still wouldnt recommend doing it a lot.None of my .22 has ever been dry fired, and they never will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microgunner Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 A rimfire firearm has the firing pin aligned with the face of the chamber. When you dry fire it' date=' it slams the firing pin into the steel face of the chamber. After repeated dry firing, it WILL flatten the end of the firing pin. [/quote'] This is incorrect in as much as the firing pin striking the chamber when dry fired. Virtually all rimfires employ a firing pin stop, usually in the form of a perpendicular flat milled into their flat steel firing pins. This flat strikes an interior surface of the bolt prior to and preventing the firing pin from striking the chamber rim. Only the cheapest of rimfires do not employ a firing pin stop and it's for these firearms that Brownells offers their .22lr chamber iron. " Also, there are NO .22 snap caps. They are dummy rounds. If you read the package, it specifically states "not for dry fire"."http://www.dealerease.net/catalog/product.asp?ret_id=885434&pid=62385Please note what Pachmayr states about their "snap cap""22LR Plastic Safety Snap Caps/24 DescriptionPacked in handy 24 packs, these Pachmayer snap caps are precisely molded from a resilient polymer for many safe, damage-free hammer drops. After extensive experimentation and testing, these snap caps tough, polymer snap caps are proven to deliver long life and many hammer drops. In fact testing has shoen that these snap caps can withstand up to 5-times as many hammer drops as the other "disposable" rimfire snapcaps." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microgunner Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 George, this is the schematic for your Colt M4 on page 26. Part #39 is your firing pin. Note the flats protruding from the firing pin, these serve as a firing pin stop to avoid dry fire damage.http://www.colt22rimfire.com/uploads/pdfs/Manual-Colt-22-TacticalRimfire.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdavison Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 Again, I stick with my original statement. There are no .22 snapcaps.A snapcap contains a springloaded button, that the firing pin can strike, providing similar resistance as it would encounter when striking a primer.Due to the nature of the rimfire round, there is no way to construct a spring loaded version of the same. So as I stated, your firing pin is indeed striking something other than a crushable rimfire cartridge case. It is not a true snapcap, plastic, aluminum, lexan, whatever....its still not a snap cap. Its a dummy round.Also, if you want to test it to see if it will hit the chamber face, take it apart, remove the bolt, and manually push the firing pin all the way forward. If it extends beyond the bolt face....it will hit the chamber face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techmike Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 I was at the RK gun show in OKC today, and saw plastic .22 snap caps for sale at several booths. The ones I have at home are .22 short in size, and will not cycle through the action, but do act as a rim fire snap cap - no springs - the elasticity of the plastic acts as a cushion for the firing pin. They do not last forever, they can and do crack after awhile, which is no doubt why they come in packages of 5 or more.TM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asmurff Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 I do have .22lr "Action Proving Rimfire Dummy Rounds" from Pachmayr a Warning states: [glow=red,2,300]Action Proving Dummy Rounds are designed to teach safe firearms handling. They are not snap caps. They may be worked through the actions of any 22 long rifle for function testing. Dry firing will deform the head and will limit their use to 4 or 5 hits.[/glow] I use them for loading and malfunction clearing drills when practicing for the Tactical Rimfire matches. If you dry fire onto them it will deform the rims pretty fast, I've forgtten that a couple of times and it does screw up the rim pretty fast.Midway has the ones in TM's pic for $7.99. I'm ordering some now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Wood Posted March 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 I would like to thank all of you for your responses. It is so good that you are so willing to share you knowledge. Happy I found this site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a|ex Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 i just checked my dirty walther p22. haven't cleaned it in awhile and the chamber is all fouled up. i dry fired it a few times and rechecked. no contact marks on the chamber from the firing pin. if i remember correctly (before i sold it last year), i dry fired my sig 522 a few times to see if it made contact. i don't believe it did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.