Why not dry fire a .22

B

bullethole1

Moderator
I have a marlin 60. I bought it brand new and dry fired it a few times! Whats wrong with it? Does it cause an accuracy issue?
 
Judging by the mechanics of the Marlin 60 action, I don't see how it could ever cause a problem. That's just me though. Mine's 20 years old and been dry-fired more than a few times.
 
Dry fire

Well by doing that you slowly beat a groove in the barrel to the point that the rifle won't fire and you need to chain the barrel or have it set back or you can break the firring pin. Just had a customer that dry fired their 22 once and broke the pin. Just never know when or where **** happens.
 
What should I worry about then when Im sure many people dry fired a rifle,pistol,shotgun when shopping for a new arm? Should I send the gun back to the mfg. and worry what is going to happen next? :p:D
 
then they run the rist. when i was younger, i did that with an old remington revelation 22 and where the firing pin met the barrel, it put a dimple and made it where it wouldnt chamber a round
 
Dry fire

On a rimfire the firing pin hits the rim,hence the name rimfire.
The rim of the case lays on the rear of the chamber and when dry firing the firing pin hits the rear of the chamber eventually peening it enough that it will be difficult to chamber and extract rounds.
You could more than likely get away with it for a long time but sooner or later you will have a problem.
 
The problem here is that most 22s were designed so that when the firing-pin goes forward, it will just bounce off the flat face on the edge of the chamber, which both peens the firing-pin and hammers a groove into the edge of the chamber; this raises a dimple into the edge of the chamber, and causes feeding and extraction problems. SOME 22s are designed to avoid this problem, by making it impossible for the firing-pin to hit the edge of the chamber, even if they are dry-fired, but it's generally something to avoid anyway.
 
some rimfires have a firing pin that protrudes slightly farther out on the top than the bottom, and the bottom portion is what strikes the rim. So if the firing pin strikes the barrel (without a round inserted), it does not actually hit the area where the rim sits.

If it is just a flat firing pin with no protruding area then you should not.

On the other hand I have fired my 77/22 dry so many times I would expect to see a mark on the barrel near the chamber but there is none. I'm wondering if it was designed to not actually make contact and just come very close to making contact (which would be sufficient for striking a primer).
 
Thanks folks! I bought the gun from dury's gun shop in San Antonio,TX ! There is no telling how many times it was dry fired but they have a lifetime warranty! :D Thanks!
 
I bullocksed up my my Marlin 2000 by dry firing. It wouldn't extract. Snap caps (or used cartridges that you paint a safety color) are cheap.
 
Hi there -

I reviewed the Model 60 manual on-line out of curiosity (http://www.marlinfirearms.com/pdfs/manuals/MFC_Self_Load_RF_Tube.pdf), and Marlin does not seem to make a reference to dry-firing.

Typically, I use a Snap-Cap in the chamber to allow the firing pin a buffered place to impact, even if the manufacturer states that dry-fire is OK.

Another clever trick from some clever rimfire folks is to use a plastic dry-wall anchor (can't recall the size), as the circular edge will overhang the chamber face just like a .22 cartridge rim.

Some older .22s should not be dry-fired due to firing pin contact on the chamber face, but many newer .22s may be dry-fired according to the manufacturers.

You might give Marlin a call about this.

Monty
 
Depends upon the design.

My Ruger .22/45 is fine to dry-fire- the firing pin has a stop pi that keeps it from hitting the breech face. There is a warning in the manual about ensuring this pin is in there upon reassembly, as not having it in there will risk peening the breech face.
 
After long years of experience I would not dryfire a rimfire. You are talking steel beating against steel. Not good. A centerfire is completely different and it wont hurt one at all.

You are risking wearing out a 22 prematurely. Replacing the firing pin wouldnt bring the gun back to good shape. The dent on the base of chamber will still be there. You would have to replace the barrel. On a revolver you would have to replace the cylindar depending on the type and ejection system.

Also it is not unheard of for firing pins to shiver, splinter, crack or break horizontally even.
 
Is there any truth to the "crystallizing effect on the metal on the firing pin by striking it on the steel of the chamber" ? :confused:
 
Another clever trick from some clever rimfire folks is to use a plastic dry-wall anchor (can't recall the size), as the circular edge will overhang the chamber face just like a .22 cartridge rim.
Click to expand...

That's a good idea... thanks for sharing.
 
Wow,I called Marlin,and the service tech told me that if it was dry fired more than 2 times then the gun is ruined!:(:eek: .I guess I learn something new everday!:eek: Also can I see where the pin hits the base without having to dismantle the rifle?
 
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