IronKells Armory | GunBusters

Never Dry-Fire Rimfires

Will pulling the trigger on an empty .22 really ruin the gun? Sometimes repeated dry-fire can absolutely damage a rimfire. Other rimfires are specifically designed to tolerate it. The real answer depends on firing-pin travel, chamber geometry, the firearm's design, how much dry-fire you're doing and — most importantly — what the manufacturer says about that exact model.

Verdict

PARTLY TRUE.

The old warning exists for a legitimate mechanical reason. On susceptible rimfire designs, repeated empty-chamber firing can damage the chamber edge, firing pin or related parts. But “never dry-fire any rimfire” is too broad. Some current-production rimfires are specifically approved for dry-fire while others are explicitly not.

The Claim

“Never dry-fire a rimfire. You'll destroy the firing pin or dent the chamber.”

A lot of shooters learned that rule before they learned what a firing pin actually looked like.

Dad said it.

Grandpa said it.

The range officer said it.

The guy behind the gun counter said it.

Eventually it became one of those rules nobody was supposed to question.

Unlike a lot of gun folklore, though, this one started with real mechanical damage.

The clue is in the name:

rimfire.

A centerfire cartridge has a primer located in the center of the case head.

The firing pin strikes that primer.

A rimfire cartridge works differently.

Priming compound is distributed inside the cartridge's hollow rim.

The firing pin has to crush part of that rim against the edge of the chamber to ignite the priming compound.

So when a rimfire cartridge is chambered, there's soft brass sitting exactly where the firing pin is supposed to land.

Remove the cartridge and the geometry changes.

On a susceptible design, the firing pin can now travel far enough forward to strike the steel around the chamber instead of cushioned brass.

That steel-on-steel contact is where the old warning came from.

What Can Actually Get Damaged?

Depending on the design, repeated empty-chamber impacts can affect:

• Chamber edge: metal can be displaced inward into the chamber.
• Firing-pin tip: repeated impact against hard surfaces can wear, chip or deform susceptible parts.
• Breech face: the firing-pin impact area may show marring or deformation.
• Extractor or nearby components: some designs can accumulate wear in other areas during repeated cycling.
• Springs and action parts: even a firearm designed to tolerate dry-fire is still accumulating mechanical cycles.

The chamber damage is the one most shooters associate with old .22s.

Chamber Peening: The Classic Rimfire Dry-Fire Damage

Repeated firing-pin impact can displace a small amount of chamber-edge metal.

Instead of removing material, the impact can push or raise it inward.

That's peening.

The damage may start as nothing more than a tiny shiny mark or ridge.

Keep beating on the same spot and that displaced metal can begin protruding into the chamber.

Now the gun can start showing:

• Cartridges that don't fully chamber
• Rounds that require extra force to seat
• Cases that become difficult to extract
• Semiautomatic feeding problems
• Scratches or marks on inserted cases
• Revolver extraction problems at a damaged chamber mouth

At the extreme, that tiny burr can stop a cartridge from fully entering the chamber.

Shooting Sports USA has documented exactly this type of damage and the specialized gunsmithing tools used to restore peened chamber mouths.

So Why Doesn't Every Rimfire Get Damaged?

Because not every firing system allows the firing pin to travel the same distance.

Different designs can control empty-chamber movement through:

• Firing-pin stops
• Bolt geometry
• Firing-pin shape
• Different strike locations
• Mechanical travel limits
• Buffers or dedicated dry-fire systems

Two firearms chambered in exactly the same .22 LR ammunition can therefore have completely different dry-fire instructions.

And that's the key to the entire subject:

The cartridge is the same. The gun isn't.

That's enough to kill both blanket claims: neither “never dry-fire rimfires” nor “modern rimfires are all fine to dry-fire” is accurate.

Example: Ruger 10/22

The 10/22 is one of the easiest examples because Ruger's instructions actually tell owners they can dry-fire it for practice.

That matters.

We're not relying on:

• A forum post
• A buddy at the range
• “I've done it for thirty years”
• A YouTube comment

The manufacturer allows it.

So telling a 10/22 owner that one empty trigger press will ruin the rifle isn't being cautious. It's ignoring the instructions for the actual firearm.

Example: Ruger SR22

Ruger's SR22 is another useful example because its instruction comes with a condition.

Ruger says the pistol may be dry-fired without damage to the firing pin or other components as long as the magazine is inserted.

The SR22 uses a magazine disconnect.

That means the magazine isn't just holding ammunition during this discussion — it's part of how the action is allowed to operate.

Again: model-specific instructions matter.

Example: Browning Buck Mark

Then we go completely the other direction.

Browning's current Buck Mark instructions are blunt:

Do not dry-fire the pistol.

Browning warns that dry-fire may damage components and could potentially leave the firearm inoperable.

That's why we don't overrule the manual because somebody online says:

“Modern .22s can handle it.”

Maybe his can. Yours may have different instructions.

Example: Smith & Wesson .22s

Smith & Wesson's current FAQ is another good reality check.

S&W generally permits dry-fire on many of its firearms.

But the company specifically excludes several .22 pistols and .22 revolvers.

S&W states that dry-firing those .22s can damage the firing pin.

That includes rimfire revolvers such as models S&W specifically lists in its FAQ.

So no — switching from a rimfire semiauto to a rimfire revolver does not automatically make dry-fire harmless.

Example: CZ 457 — The Middle Ground

The CZ 457 is useful because the manufacturer doesn't frame the issue as an absolute yes or no.

CZ says it does not recommend excessive dry-fire and advises snap caps for dry training.

That distinction makes sense.

There's a difference between:

one empty click during normal handling

and:

2,000 trigger presses every week for competition practice.

Volume matters.

Competitive Rimfire Shooters Take Dry Practice Seriously

Biathlon and smallbore shooters may dry-practice far more than the average recreational shooter.

Thousands and thousands of repetitions change the conversation.

Anschütz currently sells a dedicated dry-training adapter for its 1827 F Fortner biathlon action.

That tells us something important even without turning it into a universal rule:

when dry training becomes a serious part of the firearm's job, manufacturers and competitors may use dedicated equipment rather than simply letting the firing mechanism hammer away empty.

High-volume use deserves high-volume thinking.

American Hunter performed one of the more interesting practical tests on this subject.

Two new rimfire firearms were used:

• A Henry pump-action .22 rifle
• A Browning Buck Mark II .22 pistol

The chambers and firing pins were inspected before testing.

The guns were live-fired to establish a baseline.

Then each firearm received:

1,000 dry-fire cycles.

Afterward, they were inspected and live-fired again.

What They Found

The Henry showed slight marring where the firing pin contacted the breech/barrel area.

The Browning did not show the same firing-pin chamber marring, although the test found slight wear from the extractor in another area.

Neither firing pin showed visible damage.

The firearms continued functioning after the test.

That is important because it knocks down another exaggeration:

1,000 empty clicks did not instantly destroy either test gun.

But the test also found measurable wear.

So the opposite conclusion would be just as dumb:

“See? Dry-fire can never hurt a rimfire.”

The better conclusion is that damage is design-dependent and cumulative — exactly what the manufacturer differences already tell us.

What That 1,000-Cycle Test Does NOT Prove

It doesn't prove every Henry will behave exactly the same.

It doesn't prove every Browning can ignore Browning's current manual.

It doesn't tell us the exact number of empty strikes required to cause a functional failure in another model.

It doesn't account for every metallurgy change, production tolerance, old firing pin or already-worn chamber.

A test sample is evidence. It isn't a new owner's manual.

So How Many Dry-Fires Does It Take to Cause Damage?

There is no universal number.

Not:

10.

100.

1,000.

It depends on:

• Firing-pin travel
• Chamber geometry
• Steel hardness
• Firing-pin hardness
• Firing-pin shape
• Spring energy
• Existing wear
• Model design
• Manufacturing tolerances

A gun designed so the firing pin never contacts the chamber edge has a very different risk profile from an old rifle whose pin smacks the same spot every time.

Anybody giving you one magic number for all rimfires is guessing.

Did You Ruin Your .22 Because You Accidentally Dry-Fired It Once?

Probably not.

This is where the old warning sometimes becomes unnecessary panic.

A firearm that is susceptible to peening can accumulate damage from repeated impacts.

That doesn't mean the first empty click instantly turns the barrel into scrap.

If you accidentally dry-fired an unknown rimfire once or twice:

• Don't freak out.
• Don't make a habit of it.
• Check the manual.
• Inspect the gun if you have reason to suspect damage.

There's a big difference between accidental occasional dry-fire and intentionally doing thousands of repetitions.

Especially on an older used .22, pay attention to:

• Visible dent, notch or burr at the chamber edge near the firing-pin strike location
• Shiny displaced metal intruding into the chamber mouth
• Cartridges suddenly becoming harder to chamber
• Cases becoming difficult to extract
• Repeated feed stoppages beginning at the chamber mouth
• Cases showing unusual scraping at the same location
• Visible firing-pin-tip deformation or damage

Some peening can be subtle.

You may notice the function problem before you notice the actual burr.

If the chamber is visibly damaged, fix the damage instead of repeatedly forcing ammunition through it.

Used Rimfires Are Where This Knowledge Pays Off

You don't know what the previous owner did.

That old squirrel rifle might have been:

• Dry-fired every time it was unloaded
• Used for decades of youth training
• Stored dirty
• Fired with a worn firing pin
• Already repaired once

When inspecting an older .22, the chamber mouth is worth looking at.

Especially if cartridges are mysteriously hard to chamber or extract.

A tiny chamber-edge defect can explain a surprisingly annoying reliability problem.

Can a Peened Rimfire Chamber Be Repaired?

Often, yes.

Gunsmiths have long used specialized chamber-ironing or swaging tools that reshape displaced metal at the chamber mouth rather than simply cutting material away.

The exact repair depends on:

• How severe the damage is
• Where the firing-pin strike lands
• The firearm's action type
• Whether other parts were damaged too

The important lesson for this GunBuster isn't the repair procedure.

It's the fact that a specific gunsmithing tool exists because rimfire chamber peening is a real, well-known failure.

This wasn't invented by somebody's grandpa to scare kids away from pulling triggers.

If your manufacturer says to use a snap cap for dry practice, there's no reason to fight the instruction.

A proper rimfire dry-fire aid gives the firing mechanism something appropriate to contact rather than letting a susceptible firing pin repeatedly impact the chamber edge.

They can also be useful for:

• Trigger-control practice
• Reload practice
• Magazine manipulation
• Function exercises
• Training without live ammunition

Even on a gun that permits occasional dry-fire, a manufacturer may still recommend a protective device for high-volume repetitive training.

That's not contradictory. Occasional function checks and thousands of training cycles are different workloads.

What About Using a Fired .22 Case?

This is old-school advice you'll hear constantly.

A spent case can put brass back between the firing pin and chamber edge.

But it isn't automatically a perfect unlimited-use snap cap.

The rim has already been crushed where the cartridge originally fired.

Hit the same area repeatedly and the brass continues deforming.

Cases can also become damaged from repeated handling.

For serious dry-fire volume, we'd rather use whatever dedicated dry-fire method the firearm manufacturer actually recommends.

Rimfire Revolvers Are Not Exempt

A .22 revolver still has to strike the rim of the cartridge.

Depending on the design, empty-chamber firing can allow the firing pin to contact the rear edge of the cylinder chamber.

Smith & Wesson's current guidance explicitly tells owners not to dry-fire several of its .22 revolvers.

That's useful because it destroys another lazy rule:

“Semiauto rimfires are fragile, but revolvers are fine.”

Nope. Check the revolver.

.22 WMR, .17 HMR & Other Rimfires

The same basic ignition principle applies beyond .22 LR.

.22 Magnum and .17 HMR are still rimfire cartridges.

The firing system still has to crush the cartridge rim.

But that does not mean every firearm chambered in those cartridges shares the same firing-pin geometry.

Same rule: check the actual firearm.

Aftermarket Parts Can Change the Equation

This gets overlooked.

Your owner's manual describes the firearm as the manufacturer built it.

Now change:

• Firing pin
• Bolt
• Barrel
• Receiver
• Trigger system
• Springs

and you may also change clearances or impact relationships.

That doesn't mean aftermarket rimfire parts are bad.

It means:

“Factory model is approved for dry-fire”

doesn't automatically prove every heavily modified version has identical geometry.

Know what you changed.

Because People Actually Saw the Damage

Old .22 rifles with visible chamber-edge dents aren't imaginary.

Gunsmiths have repaired them for decades.

Because “Never” Is Easy to Teach

Imagine teaching twenty kids on a youth rifle line.

It's easier to say:

“Don't dry-fire .22s.”

than:

“Well, Johnny's rifle is okay, Emily's isn't, Tim's can do it with the magazine inserted, and this target rifle needs an adapter.”

As a general protective rule, “don't do it” worked.

Because Some Current Manuals Still Say Don't

The rule isn't just historical.

Browning and Smith & Wesson still publish rimfire guidance restricting dry-fire on specific firearms.

Because the Risk Is Easy to Avoid

When you're unsure, not pulling the trigger costs you nothing.

Checking the manual costs you a minute.

That's why the old advice survived even as firearm designs changed.

Where Both Sides Get Stupid

“One dry-fire will ruin any .22.”

Too absolute.

“Modern rimfires can all be dry-fired.”

Also wrong.

“I dry-fired mine for twenty years, so yours is fine.”

Different gun.

“The manufacturer is only saying no because lawyers.”

Maybe. Maybe not. We're still not throwing away the official instruction because somebody online guessed at the reason.

“If it didn't break immediately, dry-fire can't hurt it.”

Cumulative wear exists.

“If it's dry-fire safe, unlimited dry-fire causes zero wear.”

Every mechanical cycle is still a mechanical cycle.

Train Smarter

If the manufacturer says normal dry-fire is okay:
Follow those instructions.

If the manufacturer limits excessive dry-fire:
Use the recommended snap cap or dry-fire aid for repetitive training.

If the manufacturer says don't dry-fire:
Don't.

If a dedicated dry-training adapter exists:
That's probably a clue that serious dry practice should use it.

If the gun is old, heavily modified or the manual is unknown:
Don't assume. Identify the exact model and configuration first.

If you're doing hundreds or thousands of repetitions:
High-volume training deserves more care than the occasional function check.

If you see chamber damage:
Stop beating on it and address the damage.

The Rule That Actually Works

If the manual says you can dry-fire it — you can.

If the manual says use a snap cap — use one.

If the manual says don't — don't.

If you don't know — don't guess.

Related Forge Files

Revolvers Never Jam
Why mechanical simplicity does not make a firearm immune to stoppages, wear or ammunition-related problems.

Hard Primers = Bad Ammo
Primer construction, firing-pin energy and why ignition reliability depends on the complete firearm-and-ammunition system.

Do Aftermarket Parts Void Your Warranty?
Why replacing a component and losing warranty coverage are not automatically the same thing.

Maintenance & Tools Forge Files
Inspection, wear, cleaning and the tools that actually help keep firearms running correctly.

Bottom Line

The old warning wasn't bullshit.

Rimfire dry-fire damage is real.

Chamber peening is real.

Firing-pin damage can be real.

Manufacturers still restrict dry-fire on certain modern rimfires.

But the word never is where the myth stops working.

Some rimfires are designed for dry-fire.

Some permit occasional dry-fire but recommend protection for heavy practice.

Some manufacturers still tell you flat-out not to do it.

And one accidental click is not automatically the death of your favorite .22.

So stop asking:

“Can you dry-fire rimfires?”

Ask:

“Can I dry-fire this rimfire?”

That one-word difference — this — is the difference between gun-store folklore and actually understanding the machine in your hands.

Sources & Receipts

IRONKELLS ARMORY | GUNBUSTERS

Part Myth. Part Damn Good Advice.

Know the gun. Check the manual. Understand the mechanism. Stop turning one old rule into a universal law.