dry firing
- Thread starter divil
- Start date
Is there a good reason to leave it cocked, would seem to be a reasonable question regardless of what affect it has on the springs? Some rimfires should not be dry-fired because the firing pin will strike the breechface, and the resulting peening can cause functional issues. If the Buckmark is OK to dryfire, why would it be preferable to leave it cocked? 90% of my practice is dry-fire, so it would be nice to know if a gun can be dry-fired without damage (to any of the components).
Store the gun with all springs at rest as recommended by all manufacurerers and by those who DO know what they're talking about.
Another "you don't agree with me then you're stupid" comment.
I don't believe the firing pin goes forward far enough to hit the edge of the chamber (and ding it up) on modern pistols. Don't see any ding marks on my Woodsman, which I've been decocking by dryfiring since 1967.
I do not, otherwise dry fire my rimfire firearms, unless necessary to test--such as trigger pull adjustment.
Mark the edge of the chamber with magic marker if you need to, and SEE if the firing pin hits anything.
For other rimfireds, Ruger, for example, points out that, with regards to their 10/22, dryfiring for that purpose won't hurt a thing. For a bolt action rifle, just pull the trigger before closing the bolt and that will decock the gun on models I'm familiar with. Of course, I'm an 'ol geezer used to firearms made a while back. Who knows how they work today.
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montelores
New member
Purchase some snap-caps for storage of the pistol. Or save some fired .22LR cases and position the rim so that some un-dented area will be beneath the firing pin.
monty
monty
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Wilkenstein
New member
First off, congrats on a great choice. I love my buckmark and shoot it more than any of my other firearms.
What I did with mine is simply slide a piece of printer paper in front of the breech, close the slide and pull the trigger. It will let you know if the firing pin is striking the breech face or not.
Put a thousand rounds through it and then consider a trigger job. It's relatively easy and fun to do.
What I did with mine is simply slide a piece of printer paper in front of the breech, close the slide and pull the trigger. It will let you know if the firing pin is striking the breech face or not.
Put a thousand rounds through it and then consider a trigger job. It's relatively easy and fun to do.
g.willikers
New member
Why not hold the bolt very slightly open when pulling the trigger?
The hammer should fall ok, without the risk of the firing pin hitting anything.
The hammer should fall ok, without the risk of the firing pin hitting anything.
I never thought of that.
If in doubt, that should prevent the fp from hitting what it shouldn't. Most RF's these days are built so the fp hits the rim, but doesn't go far enough forward to hit the chamber edge. But, If Divil wants to clear things up one way or the other, he only needs to put some magic marker on there and see if the fp hits.
OR:
Believe it or not, sometimes the manual will tell you. Or, an Email to the company, if not a phone call.
I recently spoke with a gunsmith at S&W about dry firing. I had sent my Model 41 in for repairs. He said that relieving the spring tension by pulling the trigger after you were done shooting would not cause any harm to this pistol. On the other hand, regular dry firing would cause damage.
Next time you shoot it save some of the empty shells and after you're done cleaning it insert one into the chamber. Now dry fire it. The firing pin will strike the soft brass and will not be damaged. Leaving it cocked won't hurt anything if you'd rather do that. I would never dry fire a rimfire gun without an empty casing or a snap cap - I have seen guns damaged that way.
I always have to read these threads, just to see if there are any new answers.
I don't know about BuckMarks, they look like they might be the type that can be field stripped with the hammer left cocked.
However, many rimfire (as well as centerfire) pistols must be de-cocked first in order to field strip. That means, on a good number of models, that you'll have to "dry-fire" them at least as often as clean them.
For this reason, I surmise that occasional dry-firing isn't going to harm anything.
But, most of the rimfire pistol owner's manuals that I have read, have cautions against frequent dry-firing. I think this is becuase the firing "pin" on many rimfires make contact with the face of the chamber and can cause peening when theres no round chambered.
As far as leaving cocked, it would makes sense that a spring left under tension would develop a set. Just think about the suspension in the old jalopy you may have rode around in in highschool. But, again, I suspect that unless you're gonna store it that way for years, its just not going to be a problem.
I don't know about BuckMarks, they look like they might be the type that can be field stripped with the hammer left cocked.
However, many rimfire (as well as centerfire) pistols must be de-cocked first in order to field strip. That means, on a good number of models, that you'll have to "dry-fire" them at least as often as clean them.
For this reason, I surmise that occasional dry-firing isn't going to harm anything.
But, most of the rimfire pistol owner's manuals that I have read, have cautions against frequent dry-firing. I think this is becuase the firing "pin" on many rimfires make contact with the face of the chamber and can cause peening when theres no round chambered.
As far as leaving cocked, it would makes sense that a spring left under tension would develop a set. Just think about the suspension in the old jalopy you may have rode around in in highschool. But, again, I suspect that unless you're gonna store it that way for years, its just not going to be a problem.
Wilkenstein
New member
Na, doesn't matter if a buckmark is cocked or not during disassembly.