Is it better to dry fire a semi auto .22 rimfire or leave the firing pin engaged?

IMO it never a good idea for dry fire anything.

Fire it off with an MT case in it to save the spring tension.

Don't dry fire a rimfire gun.

Never dry fire a rimfire. Without a cartridge in the chamber the firing pin has nothing soft to hit , so it strikes the rim of the steel barrel.

Your opinion is sage advice for a RF.
I used to dry fire my 22 when I was a kid, until I learned why it a terrible thing to do to a rimfire. Having said that, that old Savage is still shooting today. My centre fires I dry fire though.

I use snap caps.

OK thanks guys, I thought it was better than leaving the firing pin engaged. Glad I asked, lol.

So no one has said they incurred damage by dry firing a weapon made in the last 100 years? Do I hear “Old wive’s tale”? I’m in my 70’s and never had a problem. And besides, I’d rather know my barrel is clean and empty.

Just get some plastic caps to use. It makes me feel better but the Ruger marks have in there manual to dry fire before storing. And need to in order to clean. I'm with Dixie.

Don’t dry fire rim fires.


Dry fire the snot out of center fires.


Wanna get good?

Dry fire 100 “rounds” for every live one!

They make a reaming tool for 22 LR chambers. That alone tells me that a rimfire caliber should not be dry fired if the corrective action is to machine the chamber yourself. You are moving metal into where it shouldn’t be due to the firing mechanism striking where the rim should be, in the chamber.

That is with semiautomatic’s.

Bolt actions can typically de-(This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) by dropping the bolt with the trigger pulled.

When I am instructing a new shooter, early on, they don't get any bullets. I want them to focus on their fundamentals without them worrying about recoil.
If they do everything correctly while dry firing, they will perceive no movement of anything way after the trigger breaks. I want their focus on that right from the get go. That lesson will carry on to when they actually move on to live fire.
I am not concerned with dry firing a modern quality rimfire. If it breaks, it was a piece of junk to begin with and it was past time for getting a better gun.