Dry-firing a Mark II/expert opinions

jpsshack · January 26, 2011, 11:37 AM

This comment only relates to the Ruger–I'm aware of the common knowledge regarding dry-firing and rimfire guns.That said, I was told I could dry-fire my Ruger Mark II all day with no snap-caps and no ill effects. What is it about their design that tolerates this?

Sixer · January 26, 2011, 11:41 AM

I've always been told not to dry fire your rimfire guns... the firing pin is going to hit on the side of the chamber and cause potential damage.

Not sure if there's any truth to that, but it kinda makes sense

jpsshack · January 26, 2011, 11:45 AM

Yeah, that's what I'd always been told, too. However, the guy that told me this is a hardcore shooter and I have every reason to trust him on anything gun related.

Japle · January 26, 2011, 12:02 PM

That used to be true, but not anymore. Modern .22s, certainly including the Ruger automatics, have firing pins that are designed for dry-fire. They have a built-in stop that keeps them from hitting the chamber mouth.

My old Mossberg 144LSA target rifle has a firing pin that will damage the chamber. I always used a fired case as a snap-cap.

You can dry-fire a Mk II as much as you want. I've been doing it for many years with no damage.

jpsshack · January 26, 2011, 12:40 PM

Ah! a built in stop. That's the missing piece.
Thanks Japle. I'll stop saving my .22 cases now.

doofus47 · January 26, 2011, 01:28 PM

Quote:

I've always been told not to dry fire your rimfire guns... the firing pin is going to hit on the side of the chamber and cause potential damage. v

Absolutely true; I buggered up the extraction of my Marlin 2000 biathlon rifle by dry firing. My gunsmith told me he was going to beat me with rolled up issues of GnA if I did it again....

scottl · January 26, 2011, 02:31 PM

I've seen pics over at rimfirecentral of boogered up chambers from dry-fire.One was even of a new Buckmark guy had just bought and not even fired.It had a light mark on it.

pilpens · January 26, 2011, 02:46 PM

Depends on pistol but in general it is not a good to dry fire.

I currently have two browning buckmarks. 1 seems like it has a firing pin stop (accidentally dry-fired a couple of times and no marks on the chamber) but the later manufacture does not.

I have Ruger MKIIs - I do not dry-fire for practice but after cleaning and after a range trip, they get dry-fired. One is clean- no marks on the chamber. The other one has a deep firing pin mark/guage on the chamber -- dry-fired when I assembled the pistol without the firing pin bar. Pistol performs same as before the gauge (.

MythBuster · January 26, 2011, 04:36 PM

It is harmful to some rimfires and some it is not. It will not harm your Ruger.

Kleinzeit · January 26, 2011, 05:06 PM

Does anyone have pictures of the damage dry-firing can do? If I was buying a used Buckmark, what would I be looking out for? Actually, my concern isn't with a used Buckmark so much as with a new one out of the LGS display case. I'm concerned about customers having dry-fired it in the store before I got to it.

PDW292 · January 26, 2011, 05:17 PM

When you can get a dozen snap caps for about $5, why take a chance.

Mike38 · January 26, 2011, 06:31 PM

If memory serves me, on a Ruger .22 pistol the only thing stopping the firing pin from damaging the breech face is a small dole pin that crosses threw the firing pin. If the bolt is assembled minus that pin, or the pin breaks (and they have) damage will result. I don’t dry fire Ruger .22’s.

Walt Sherrill · January 26, 2011, 06:45 PM

I've had a number of Ruger .22 semis, and they all have firing pin stops, which allows dry-firing without damage. A few other .22s have this too, but it's rare. (I think the S&W 41 does it, too.)

And, of course, you HAVE to dry-fire the MK II during assembly*. The manual calls for it.

----
* I wrote assembly, but as noted below, it's disassembly that requires dry-firing. (I remember it was a required step, but forgot WHEN the step was needed.) Haven't shot mine in a while...

Willie D · January 26, 2011, 10:48 PM

From the manual:

Quote:

The pistol can be dry fired as
long as the firing pin stop is in place (See NOTE in step 5 on page 21).

...

NOTE: Before sliding bolt into
receiver, BE CERTAIN that the
firing pin stop (part number
A03500, a small pin) is in the
bolt. Without this pin, the first
time the trigger is pulled on an
assembled pistol, the firing pin
will fly so far forward so as to
irreparably dent the rear end of
the chamber of the barrel,
making the pistol useless. (See
Figure 5).

Like Walt said: you need to dry fire the gun to release the mainspring for dissasembly.

chris in va · January 26, 2011, 11:46 PM

There you go. Dryfire a Ruger Mk, won't hurt it. And yes I had two.

jpsshack · January 27, 2011, 12:32 AM

Cool. Thanks again, all.

OcelotZ3 · January 27, 2011, 12:58 AM

I just buy drywall anchors in the right size from Home Depot (the yellow ones) and use those for dry firing... Cheap and they work great.

Then I don't have to know if this gun or that gun can/cannot be dry fired...

OJ · January 27, 2011, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Japle
Senior Member

That used to be true, but not anymore. Modern .22s, certainly including the Ruger automatics, have firing pins that are designed for dry-fire. They have a built-in stop that keeps them from hitting the chamber mouth.

Yep - that's true - but only if you've been careful when stripping it down and reassembling it and checked to be sure that pin didn't drop out of the bolt during the cleaning -

DAMHIK

This one still has the pin -

This one doesn't -

January 26, 2011, 11:37 AM	#1
jpsshack Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2008 Location: Northern New England Posts: 144	Dry-firing a Mark II/expert opinions This comment only relates to the Ruger–I'm aware of the common knowledge regarding dry-firing and rimfire guns.That said, I was told I could dry-fire my Ruger Mark II all day with no snap-caps and no ill effects. What is it about their design that tolerates this? Last edited by jpsshack; January 26, 2011 at 11:53 AM.

January 26, 2011, 11:41 AM	#2
Sixer Senior Member Join Date: April 16, 2008 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,867	I've always been told not to dry fire your rimfire guns... the firing pin is going to hit on the side of the chamber and cause potential damage. Not sure if there's any truth to that, but it kinda makes sense __________________ Hopp Custom Leather <------ click for HOLSTER awesomeness!! -There is no theory of evolution... Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.

January 26, 2011, 11:45 AM	#3
jpsshack Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2008 Location: Northern New England Posts: 144	Yeah, that's what I'd always been told, too. However, the guy that told me this is a hardcore shooter and I have every reason to trust him on anything gun related. Last edited by jpsshack; January 26, 2011 at 11:56 AM.

January 26, 2011, 06:45 PM	#13
Walt Sherrill Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 1999 Location: Winston-Salem, NC USA Posts: 3,749	I've had a number of Ruger .22 semis, and they all have firing pin stops, which allows dry-firing without damage. A few other .22s have this too, but it's rare. (I think the S&W 41 does it, too.) And, of course, you HAVE to dry-fire the MK II during assembly. The manual calls for it. ---- I wrote assembly, but as noted below, it's disassembly that requires dry-firing. (I remember it was a required step, but forgot WHEN the step was needed.) Haven't shot mine in a while... Last edited by Walt Sherrill; January 26, 2011 at 11:02 PM.

January 26, 2011, 12:02 PM	#4
Japle Senior Member Join Date: October 12, 2004 Location: Viera, Florida Posts: 1,128	That used to be true, but not anymore. Modern .22s, certainly including the Ruger automatics, have firing pins that are designed for dry-fire. They have a built-in stop that keeps them from hitting the chamber mouth. My old Mossberg 144LSA target rifle has a firing pin that will damage the chamber. I always used a fired case as a snap-cap. You can dry-fire a Mk II as much as you want. I've been doing it for many years with no damage.

January 26, 2011, 12:40 PM	#5
jpsshack Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2008 Location: Northern New England Posts: 144	Ah! a built in stop. That's the missing piece. Thanks Japle. I'll stop saving my .22 cases now.

January 26, 2011, 02:31 PM	#7
scottl Senior Member Join Date: January 17, 2007 Location: Morehead,Ky Posts: 697	I've seen pics over at rimfirecentral of boogered up chambers from dry-fire.One was even of a new Buckmark guy had just bought and not even fired.It had a light mark on it.

January 26, 2011, 02:46 PM	#8
pilpens Senior Member Join Date: April 24, 2008 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,090	Depends on pistol but in general it is not a good to dry fire. I currently have two browning buckmarks. 1 seems like it has a firing pin stop (accidentally dry-fired a couple of times and no marks on the chamber) but the later manufacture does not. I have Ruger MKIIs - I do not dry-fire for practice but after cleaning and after a range trip, they get dry-fired. One is clean- no marks on the chamber. The other one has a deep firing pin mark/guage on the chamber -- dry-fired when I assembled the pistol without the firing pin bar. Pistol performs same as before the gauge (.

January 26, 2011, 04:36 PM	#9
MythBuster Senior Member Join Date: March 8, 2007 Posts: 629	It is harmful to some rimfires and some it is not. It will not harm your Ruger.

January 26, 2011, 05:06 PM	#10
Kleinzeit Senior Member Join Date: January 30, 2009 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 562	Does anyone have pictures of the damage dry-firing can do? If I was buying a used Buckmark, what would I be looking out for? Actually, my concern isn't with a used Buckmark so much as with a new one out of the LGS display case. I'm concerned about customers having dry-fired it in the store before I got to it.

January 26, 2011, 05:17 PM	#11
PDW292 Member Join Date: January 3, 2011 Posts: 60	When you can get a dozen snap caps for about $5, why take a chance.

January 26, 2011, 06:31 PM	#12
Mike38 Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2009 Location: North Central Illinois Posts: 946	If memory serves me, on a Ruger .22 pistol the only thing stopping the firing pin from damaging the breech face is a small dole pin that crosses threw the firing pin. If the bolt is assembled minus that pin, or the pin breaks (and they have) damage will result. I don’t dry fire Ruger .22’s.

January 26, 2011, 11:46 PM	#15
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 11,723	There you go. Dryfire a Ruger Mk, won't hurt it. And yes I had two.

January 27, 2011, 12:32 AM	#16
jpsshack Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2008 Location: Northern New England Posts: 144	Cool. Thanks again, all.

January 27, 2011, 12:58 AM	#17
OcelotZ3 Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2008 Posts: 152	I just buy drywall anchors in the right size from Home Depot (the yellow ones) and use those for dry firing... Cheap and they work great. Then I don't have to know if this gun or that gun can/cannot be dry fired...