Pistol Dry-Fire Practice

[SlartyBartFast]

So far, many of the Olympic and competition videos I've watched have said how important dry-fire practice is for trigger discipline. And many serious shooters have a SCATT system.

But, except for very expensive target pistols, all the rim fire pistols say not to dry fire the gun or damage to the firing pin or breech will result.

So, is dry fire practice just something you do with an expensive pistol and anyone starting out with anything "less" is just out of luck, or are there other approaches to practice?

[Chia]

But, except for very expensive target pistols, all the rim fire pistols say not to dry fire the gun or damage to the firing pin or breech will result.

To my knowledge, most modern 22s can be dry fired with little danger. I remember my Ruger Mk. III manual stating that it can be dry-fired (although with the magazine release safety it's a pain, but that's a different issue). I'd check the individual manual and see what the manufacturer has to say. I dry-fired it for months with no issue. I don't dry-fire anymore, but that's only because I don't use the Ruger much at the moment. If I got back into it, I would go right back to dry-firing.

Absent that, there are a few posts about this on here. I don't have them off the top of my head, but you should be able to find them with a search of this forum. Generally, you can purchase dry fire plugs, or go the DIY route.

[rmca]

Use a spent cartridge to absorve the firing pin "punch" .

Hope this helps

[rmca]

Double post...

[aprilian]

Dry firing with spent cases does not work in either of my .22s as the case has expanded too much to rechamber.

I use dry wall anchors. I have developed the habit of cutting off two opposing sides of the anchor rim so that the anchor A) can stay in place as the ejector has nothing to grab onto when recocking for next dryfire and B) can be rotated 180 degrees for a second use when the anchor has started to thin out from the firing pin strikes.

I did not have good luck using the aluminum dummy rounds feeding through the magazine for dry firing, and now reserve them for testing magazine/chambering action only.

Many modern .22 pistols can not be dry fired, for example all Brownings. They develop firing pin dents in the breech which causes feeding problems.

[SlartyBartFast]

I'd check the individual manual and see what the manufacturer has to say.

Yeah, I'll download the manual of any pistol I might be interested in before purchasing it. Store emplyees seem adamant that all rimfires shouldn't be dry-fired. And the SW 22 Victory that I've kind of got my mind set on specifically says:
"WARNING: NEVER DRY-FIRE YOUR PISTOL, DAMAGE TO THE PISTOL WILL RESULT."

Then again they also warn against going further than a field strip. Despite most parts being easily accessed and replaced.

Use a spent cartridge to absorve the firing pin "punch" .

Hope this helps

But isn't that only good once per spot, requiring the casing to be rotated between trigger pulls?

Snap caps are only good once per spot.

I use dry wall anchors. I have developed the habit of cutting off two opposing sides of the anchor rim so that the anchor A) can stay in place as the ejector has nothing to grab onto when recocking for next dryfire and B) can be rotated 180 degrees for a second use when the anchor has started to thin out from the firing pin strikes.

Thanks for the input. I had seen that as a suggestion elsewhere.

I also saw on the packaging and description online of the aluminum dummy rounds that the .22lr ones were not to be used as snap caps and were for feed and ejection function testing only.

I'll try search the forums.

[rmca]

Use a spent cartridge to absorve the firing pin "punch" .

Hope this helps

But isn't that only good once per spot, requiring the casing to be rotated between trigger pulls?

Snap caps are only good once per spot.

You can use a spent cartridge a good 5 or 6 times per spot, as long as it doesn't break the rim. Then rotate it a bit and continue.
Snap caps or dry wall anchors work the same way.

All of them will be a bit finicky to work with... but that's one reason why a "proper" match gun costs more...

Hope this helps

[SPPcoach]

Many firearm manufacturers recommend that you do not dry fire their rimfire firearms. Some manufacturers owners manuals are ambiguous about dry-fire.

The solution you seek is this . . .
Nope. They are NOT designed for this but . . . we use a LOT of them. We get between 4 and 10 dry fires out of each of them before they go in the trash. Great for Dry-fire practice. Great for ball and dummy excercises. Have team mates load each others magazine, then have the athlete load the magazine into the gun 'blind' so they can not see if / where the dummy is. When they find the 'dummy' on our team, the work through it just like a match. These wall anchors will feed, extract and eject just like a live round if done with enthusiasm. Just what we need for good practices.

Do NOT use the alumimum cartridges from A-Zoom. It is a great product but it is NOT for dry fire. Those are "action proving dummies" designed to test the firearms feeding, extraction and ejection while manually cycling the semi-automatic. Hard anodized aluminum is hard on the firing pin.

I do not like the Pachmayer dummies. The plastic is brittle and when struck by the firing pin it cracks and shatters and those little parts end up in the trigger group. There are also some solid orange plastic dummy rounds that get handed out in Hunter Education classes. They are OK but more expensive than the hardware store wall anchors.

[SlartyBartFast]

Looks like I'll try the wall anchors when it comes time to test/practice. Have a few 100 of them in the workshop already.

If my gun club can work past their current troubles (currently "temporarily" closed by the city) and stay open, I'll be buying a pistol shortly. Don't want to risk buying the pistol now and having to put it on the market unfired if the club doesn't re-open. Don't know if I want to join one of the other clubs in the area and you can't own a pistol without being a member of a club.

Removing and installing the firing pin mechanism seems very simple on the SW22 Victory. Maybe I can find a replacement and dryfire to my hearts content...

[Gregbenner]

Use a spent cartridge to absorve the firing pin "punch" .

Hope this helps

I tried this on my Buckmark. After a few dry fires the case became wedged/stuck in the breach, had to use a hammer and cleaning rod to knock it out! Would personally never try it again. The LGS I use told me it's ok to dry fire most 22s, just check the firing pin first. Both Volquartson (Scorpion) and Brezvonvich (AW93) told me it was completely ok to dry fire their pistols. However, Earl (Earl's Repair) told me definitely NOT to dry fire the GSP. Just FYI.

[davidjohngoode]

Snap caps are cheap and effective for dry-firing training and practice.