Question About Ruger Standard Pistol And Dry-Firing...

Allowing a newer shooter to shoot the Standard pistol, we had a couple of "dry-fires" after the magazine had been emptied on a couple of occasions - chamber empty, trigger pulled (pointing downrange, on-target).

I can detect no discernible damage or contact by the firing pin on the breech face.

Is this a concern?

I don't dry-fire rimfires, even if it's stated as acceptable by the manufacturer, for consistency's sake.

I save spent .22 LR cases for that.

Thanks for the input and shared experience -

Monty

I'm in your camp. I really try not to dry fire .22's unless I have a fired case or snap caps in the firearm. Yes, there are some mfg's that say you can, and they know their product, but for standardization I try not to let it happen.

When I am training a new shooter, I usually start them off with a .22 and go through all the safety instructions and the operation of the firearm. I then load it (if it isn't already) with snap caps to let them get a feel for the firearm and to instruct on sight picture, breath control and squeezing the trigger not jerking it.

I'd rather take the extra precautions with the snap caps/spent cases than to possibly do damage to the firearm.

I will also use snap caps/fired cases with my center fire handguns when dry firing them to help smooth things. Fired cases that have been deprimed and a rubber eraser or silicon put into the primer pocket makes inexpensive snap caps. I also have deprimed cases that I put silicon in the primer pockets and then seat/crimp various styles of bullets to make dummy rounds to practice speed loading.

I'm with you. I don't dry-fire ANY .22 without an empty in the chamber. (And not many centerfires without a snap cap, either, as I've broken a couple firing pins before I learned this.)

Ruger says dry-firing the .22 auto is okay, and I supposed it is, as long as the retaining pin is in place. (I once saw one where that pin had fallen out during a routine cleaning, and subsequent dry-firing severely peened the chamber horribly.)

A few dry-fires as you describe probably didn't/won't hurt anything. But I'm still with you: I don't do it. :wink:

RoninPA said:

I will also use snap caps/fired cases with my center fire handguns when dry firing them to help smooth things. Fired cases that have been deprimed and a rubber eraser or silicon put into the primer pocket makes inexpensive snap caps. I also have deprimed cases that I put silicon in the primer pockets and then seat/crimp various styles of bullets to make dummy rounds to practice speed loading.

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Ron, it's possible that you and I were separated at birth! :wink:

Thank you to both for the responses, including the help on instruction.

We actually began with a NM Single Six (fewer clicks, simpler loading, preceded by all the safety rules and firearm parts and operation). We began at the cowboy range, large and close steel targets, to ensure success and satisfying sensory feedback.

After the 6 rounds were fired, and it was pointed out that all cartridges were expended, we did practice more sight picture understanding and trigger control effects.

At this point, I can ask the shooter to keep count of the rounds fired - maybe just loading the magazine to 6 is an option, to mirror the number in the S/S.

(As a side note, I found that a better, more concrete understanding of the "rules" follows actual handing, loading, un-loading of the gun, because potential mistakes can be visually and manually understood and corrected. And the "primacy" of learning is paramount - we learn best what we learn first.)

Thanks again -

Monty

Great advice above. I too prefer to not dry fire any firearm.

However,, to disassemble the Ruger Standard,, you must pull the trigger, and allow the hammer to fall, & springs to go to their resting position. An empty gun is a must,, and to prevent any potential accidents,, you MUST clear a chamber before stripping & cleaning. So the occasional dry fire is a necessity.
I'd say "excessive" dry firing may cause an issue,, but the occasional dry fire is a necessity.

Dry fire practice is strongly taught as a method of learning gun handling skills. I always teach the use of snap caps for such practice.

I understand what all are saying but, if it is unsafe or would cause damage why does Ruger state in their manuals that it is OK to dry fire?

I don't like to store my Mk II with the mainspring cocked, so I always pull the trigger before I put it away.

You can pull the bolt back about 1/16" or so and drop the hammer and the firing pin won't come near the chamber. :wink:

Fox Mike said:

I understand what all are saying but, if it is unsafe or would cause damage why does Ruger state in their manuals that it is OK to dry fire?

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I never understand it , Old timers taught me you do not dry fire gun PERIOD !! :?

It is because many older guns,, and some newer ones,, the firing pin on RF guns will hit the rear of the chamber,, peening it, or damaging the firing pin. Remember,, a RF gun normally has the rim against the rear portion of the chamber,, and the pin uses that as the opposite pressure point for the ignition. W/o anything, such as a live round, or a snap cap in place,, the firing pin can hit the rear of the chamber.

Snake45 said:

I don't like to store my Mk II with the mainspring cocked, so I always pull the trigger before I put it away.

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-- This! --

I don't know how or why it bothers me to store a "cocked" gun - even unloaded - but it sure does!

contender said:

It is because many older guns,, and some newer ones,, the firing pin on RF guns will hit the rear of the chamber,, peening it, or damaging the firing pin. Remember,, a RF gun normally has the rim against the rear portion of the chamber,, and the pin uses that as the opposite pressure point for the ignition. W/o anything, such as a live round, or a snap cap in place,, the firing pin can hit the rear of the chamber.

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If that is so, and I am not arguing, WHY does Ruger, that builds them, say it is OK.

You all remember what flatgate would of said ....... RTFM!

hittman said:

You all remember what flatgate would of said ....... RTFM!

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WHO would ever do that?!

Ruger says to dry fire the gun for disassembly.
Disassembly isn't done often,, while dry-fire PRACTICE is done a LOT.
Folks who want to perfect their shooting skills, can & do much better by good practice to build motor skills. Draws, gripping, sight acquisition, & trigger control all can be practiced by dry-firing. Live fire practice isn't as easy as dry-firing for most people. And especially competition shooters who want to be tops in the game,,,or who want to stay in the top area do lots of dry firing practice. And all of those same folks will advise the use of snap caps.
Ruger says it's ok,, and in general,, for the most part it is.
Modern steels are better than older gun steel, and there is a lesser chance of damage. BUT,, it can still happen,, if a person spends a lot of time dry firing w/o a snap cap.

I don't often visit the CCW section here,, but for whatever reason, I just did. And GunnyGene had a post about a guy B.J. Baldwin & what he carried & used in his gunfight.

Now,, I do not know who B.J. is,, & never had heard of him,, so it tweaked my interest. I opened the post & read the posting. Then I went to the link at a firearms blog to read the story.
In the story,, B.J. mentions he trains a lot by DRY FIRING!!!
Since I had just wrote the post above,, I figured I'd mention it here.

Oh, his g/f,,, Tori,,, I do know & have met & been her RO several times. Now if she too had been carrying,,,, it would have been even funnier!

Snake45 said:

Ruger says dry-firing the .22 auto is okay, and I supposed it is, as long as the retaining pin is in place. (I once saw one where that pin had fallen out during a routine cleaning, and subsequent dry-firing severely peened the chamber horribly.)

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"What Snake45 said..."

I've had that pin fall out while cleaning. Putting a ~very~ slight curve into it can create enough friction to help keep that from happening. Perform at your own risk, as too much bend could defeat the purpose of the pin...

You can also visually check for the pin's presence (it's visible when the gun is assembled).

I don't haven't time to look up a reference, but I've seen posts on forums where EXCESSIVE dry firing of the MK series led to bent pins and/or elongated holes in the firing pin, resulting in dinged chamber mouths.

Not sure if there were metallurgical problems, or just a TON of dry firing. :shock:

Ruger also states that if an owner would like to do a bunch of dry firing, for instance like watching the TV show "Gangland", it's recommended that the bolt be taken out and the firing pin removed. You'll never get a chamber mouth ding using that procedure. I use and recommend to my Ruger Mark pistol customers that they use these #4-6 plastic drywall anchors:

Magazines can be loaded with these anchors and manually fed and extracted. Each anchor will easily absorb 10 hits with rotated position.

This might also be a good time for any Ruger Mark III owners to actually check their bolts "firing pin stop pin" to see if they have a short, slotted roll-pin in place rather than the much better solid, normal pin:

If you do spot the slotted pin, my recommendation is to replace it with a solid, normal firing pin stop pin ASAP. If you L@@K closely, you can see how the substitute pin has collapsed from the harder firing pin, which moves the firing pin that much closer to the breech face.

Snake45 said:

I don't like to store my Mk II with the mainspring cocked, so I always pull the trigger before I put it away.

You can pull the bolt back about 1/16" or so and drop the hammer and the firing pin won't come near the chamber. :wink:

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I never store mine cocked as well and always hated having to dry-fire before storing. Not anymore. Thanks Snake.

Pierow

I think you 'll find that Ruger s reference to "dry fire" means to simply lower the hammer, on an "EMPTY" chamber, to put the gun away, store it,,,NOT a "repeated". over and over, cock the bolt and pull the trigger, over and over and over,,,,you will end up doing no good....as noted above the plastic pieces DO work, as well as "dummy rounds"......or snap caps.......