Dry firing is a necessity when you're adjusting a trigger, and it's good practice for bullseye shooting when you're not at the range. Problem is that if you do it too much with a lot of guns, like this Ruger Mk-III Hunter, you'll eventually damage the firing pin or peen the surface of the breech. Ruger says it's okay to dry fire their pistols, so long as the firing pin stop is in place. But that stop will gradually get peened over time with dry firing, and eventually the firing pin will hit the breech face. To be on the safe side, it's best to use a snap cap.
Now .22 snap caps are not very common, and most are only good for a few impacts. My friend Ric showed me a great snap cap that works in any .22, costs pennies, and is available in any hardware store:
It's a #6 plastic screw anchor, something familiar to all our readers, no doubt. You can use them just as they come, or if you want to make multiple shots without having to constantly chase down and reload the screw anchor, cut or file a notch on one side and line that up with the ejector when you insert the anchor. As a plus, that bright yellow really stands out, and you can tell at a glance that you've got a plug in the chamber and not a live round.
CAN you check that size again, visited Home depot and the smallest size was # 6 or larger.
ReplyDeleteYou're right; I looked up the Home Depot listing and the callout was for a #6 screw. Sometimes they're listed as #4-6. Go by the color code, and get the yellow ones.
ReplyDeleteNope they had about 8 different sized yellows.. from size #6 to #14 you may be able to actually measure it some how..
ReplyDeleteLook for the ones for a #6 screw. They should also specify requiring a 3/16" drill hole. I notice you're posting from Canada, so I checked Canadian Tire. They list a yellow plastic #6 screw anchor of the same type seen in the photo.
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