40x and Dry Fire

[LoneWolfUSMC]

I dry fire A LOT!

I know it's no problem with just about any centerfire. I also know it's not a good idea with most rimfires.

Does this apply to the 40x .22LR as well? Will dry firing it put a burr on the breech face or damage the firing pin?

 

[KAZ]

Re: 40x and Dry Fire

You are correct, no dryfire. Here is something I found helpful:
trigger adjusting screw is the one on the bottom, it has that tiny ball bearing held at the top
trigger engagement screw is on the back (towards the shooter)
trigger stop screw is the one on the front towards the top of the trigger(away from the shooter)

Remove all the adjusting screws and springs. Be careful you do not lose the little ball bearing when you remove the "Trigger Adjusting Screw" - the spring might send it flying.
No Screws you say? Most of the time Remington fills up the screw holes with wax or something so the Lawyers are happy. Just carefully dig around a little with a pick to expose the screw heads and the top of the trigger adjusting screw stake.
Next you want to flush out all the oil, grease and other junk with lighter fluid. If you have some aerosol brake cleaner then hit it hard with that first. Then use some lighter fluid. Go ahead and give it a good soaking. Do not oil the trigger the lighter fluid will take care of that.

After you get it clean go ahead and put a little oil on the screws and spring. Lets put the trigger adjusting screw, spring and bearing in first. Adjust it so the it just barely holds in the bearing. Now put an empty case in the chamber and close the bolt. It should stay cocked.
(you never want to dry fire a good rimfire)
Now put in the trigger engagement screw and slowly tighten until the sear releases and the firing pin drops. Now try backing out the this screw 1/3 turn. Re-cock the bolt and see if the sear stays engaged. You can also see this by looking through a hole at the top center of the trigger.
If the firing pin drops when you close the bolt then try backing out the screw another 1/4 turn and repeat the above.
Now lets work on weight of pull. If it is still way too heavy then you can try cutting a coil off the spring.
Do not cut so much that the trigger will not positively return! Now put in the trigger stop screw and adjust it so you have very little over travel after the sear releases. (Turn in till it is snug and back-out 1/4 turn usually works)
Now go back and readjust (fine tune) the trigger engagement screw you might even be able to turn it in a little.
If I made sense on all of the above & you understood what I was saying you should now have a nice 20 to 30 oz trigger.
Make sure you do some 'Thump and Bump' tests to insure it does not fire. Do these with the safety on and off. Open and close the bolt a few times between bump tests to make sure it stays cocked and does not slam fire. BE SAFE - TEST - and TEST AGAIN!
Remington makes a great trigger.
Regards

 

[4570sharpshooter]

Re: 40x and Dry Fire

Kaz, I will save this tidbit of information. Thanks,45/70SS

 

[Anchor Zero Six]

Re: 40x and Dry Fire

Get some snap caps they are cheap.

 

[clmayfield]

Re: 40x and Dry Fire

The big concern here is peening the chamber. I have read the government issued instruction book saying that dry fire is fine... the chamber is much harder than the firing pin. But I just don't have the faith. Sooner or later, one of two things will happen:
1) You will fire the "lucky shot" that peens the chamber
2) Your accuracy will degrade for whatever reason (could even be the shooter) and you will be trying everything to get it back. This leaves one less rock to look under.

What I do is something I learned here... I put in a spent casing and fire until there are about 8 dents in it. Then I do another one... and another one. I have boxes and boxes of these. I need to post a pic. It looks kind of cool.

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

Re: 40x and Dry Fire

The "spent casing" is what I usually do on my Savage MkII. I cleaned up the FP so that it doesn't leave a mark, but I still don't trust it not to damage the breech in that rifle. I figured the 40x would be the same, but wanted to check.

KAZ, thanks, but my 40x will be a trainer for my duty rifle so the pull will be set the same. You did confirm for me that the 40x has the "40x trigger" though.

I just went through the Remington Armorers School on how to adjust those triggers. After seeing all the internal schematics, I definitely won't be trusting and super-light factory triggers. Remington still recommends a drop of Rem-Oil on either side of the sear for lubrication. I think I will probably stick with a dry trigger.

When my 40x gets here, it's going to get a full strip and I will probably tear down the whole trigger assembly and clean/readjust it.

 

[Marksman]

Re: 40x and Dry Fire

DONT! This is a picture of a 40X that I sent back to the CMP after I was having misfire problems. The missing chunk of metal from the barrel wouldn't allow for the firing pin to cause ignition half the time.

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

Re: 40x and Dry Fire

OUCH. Saving that picture for future reference.

 

[Chiller]

Re: 40x and Dry Fire

point made

 

[9H_Cracka]

Re: 40x and Dry Fire

save a few fired cases from your range sessions and use them as snap caps. You need cases fired in your chamber. Just lift the bolt handle to cock and dry fire away. Rotate the case after 5-10 firings.