Dry Fire Device For Smith & Wesson Model 41

I bought a S&W Model 41 last year and haven't dry fired it nearly as much as I should have.

A lot of people say it's OK to dry fire a Model 41, but a lot of people say it's not, and S&W themselves advise not to. Putting a spent casing or a drywall anchor or whatever in the chamber is kind of a pain. Today I made a different kind of dry fire device and it works much better.

I had some extra 2-part rapid setting silicone compound from one of the Radians custom earplug kits. I mixed it up, stuck it in the back of the slide behind the firing pin, let it start to set for a few minutes, put the slide back on the frame, dry fired it once to let the hammer fall in the silicone, took off the slide, cleaned away the excess, and let the rest of it set.

What's left is a perfectly molded silicone pad to catch the hammer, so the firing pin never gets struck. It takes about 10 seconds to put it in and take it out.

It's so much better than messing with something in the chamber to catch the firing pin.

Very cool and a great solution!
Here is what I have used for a while. Just a small piece of plastic cutting board bent over in a U. It's elastic enough that it holds itself in place around the pin, and rigid enough to stop the hammer from hitting the pin.

pgg wrote:I bought a S&W Model 41 last year and haven't dry fired it nearly as much as I should have.

A lot of people say it's OK to dry fire a Model 41, but a lot of people say it's not, and S&W themselves advise not to. Putting a spent casing or a drywall anchor or whatever in the chamber is kind of a pain. Today I made a different kind of dry fire device and it works much better.

I had some extra 2-part rapid setting silicone compound from one of the Radians custom earplug kits. I mixed it up, stuck it in the back of the slide behind the firing pin, let it start to set for a few minutes, put the slide back on the frame, dry fired it once to let the hammer fall in the silicone, took off the slide, cleaned away the excess, and let the rest of it set.

What's left is a perfectly molded silicone pad to catch the hammer, so the firing pin never gets struck. It takes about 10 seconds to put it in and take it out.

It's so much better than messing with something in the chamber to catch the firing pin.

I made something similar. Just don't forget to take it out when done dry firing.  Not a good feeling when you go to a match, pull the trigger, round doesn't go off and you can't figure out why.  Ask me how I know about that.

Virgil

pgg wrote:I bought a S&W Model 41 last year and haven't dry fired it nearly as much as I should have.

A lot of people say it's OK to dry fire a Model 41, but a lot of people say it's not, and S&W themselves advise not to. Putting a spent casing or a drywall anchor or whatever in the chamber is kind of a pain. Today I made a different kind of dry fire device and it works much better.

I had some extra 2-part rapid setting silicone compound from one of the Radians custom earplug kits. I mixed it up, stuck it in the back of the slide behind the firing pin, let it start to set for a few minutes, put the slide back on the frame, dry fired it once to let the hammer fall in the silicone, took off the slide, cleaned away the excess, and let the rest of it set.

What's left is a perfectly molded silicone pad to catch the hammer, so the firing pin never gets struck. It takes about 10 seconds to put it in and take it out.

It's so much better than messing with something in the chamber to catch the firing pin.

I need to make something for dry firing my model 41.  Your molded insert looks like it will do the trick.  How do they hold up to repeated dry firing?
Doug

Very ingenious! That device will also come in handy when you need to depress the firing pin when reinstalling the bolt in the slide.

BTW, I've used these stainless dummy rounds for dry firing and they work very well, standing up to repeated firings without a problem.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X1ZS5JG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You could make and sell them!

CalJ wrote:You could make and sell them!

I would take one. I'm sure a few guys in my League would as well.

I’d buy  at least 2. My team would like them as well. I’m curious as to how they hold up with many firings.

I'll take  two also Thanks

Stewboy wrote:Very ingenious! That device will also come in handy when you need to depress the firing pin when reinstalling the bolt in the slide.

BTW, I've used these stainless dummy rounds for dry firing and they work very well, standing up to repeated firings without a problem.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X1ZS5JG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'd be concerned about the firing pin repeatedly striking these as they're likely even harder material versus the barrel breech face.  I use a folded up piece of duct tape as a hammer block.  Others use a small piece of wood sized to fit into the slide.  Agreed it is disconcerting to have your first slow fire shot just go click! 

targetbarb wrote:

Stewboy wrote:Very ingenious! That device will also come in handy when you need to depress the firing pin when reinstalling the bolt in the slide.

BTW, I've used these stainless dummy rounds for dry firing and they work very well, standing up to repeated firings without a problem.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X1ZS5JG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'd be concerned about the firing pin repeatedly striking these as they're likely even harder material versus the barrel breech face.  I use a folded up piece of duct tape as a hammer block.  Others use a small piece of wood sized to fit into the slide.  Agreed it is disconcerting to have your first slow fire shot just go click! 

That's surely a concern, but I noticed right away that the rims of these dummy rounds are dented with every dry fire. Not as much as a brass case to be sure, but visible. So it must be a fairly soft stainless steel.

How about the edge piece cut from a trash can that Ed from Arizona (I think) designed?

Hiya,

I was at an 1800 yesterday, the shooter to the right of me saw I was shooting a pair of 41's for both the RF 1800 and EIC and asked me if I had ever seen a dry fire adaptor for them. Nope, I hadn't until he whips one out of his box to show me. It's a piece of walnut that fits into the slide and just allows the hammer to drop a slight amount when the sear releases. He demonstrated on his at the break between Rf and CF, it worked well, about as easy to use as the one from Pardini for my SP.

I only had a minute to take the pictures between the CF and EIC so I snapped pictures using my lip balm tube as a reference for size. 

Here's the link to the pictures: https://1drv.ms/f/s!Ampm53DSMQMig7NW8ieDlC0rl9b-JQ?e=59GHO9

Tom

Tom,
Nice idea.  It seems like the dryfire device will fall out when the pistol is cycled.  Or was the pistol cycled upside down?
Doug

I just rotate my 41 to be sideways (like laying it on the bench) when pulling back the slide to reset the trigger.

This is from TargetTalk.Org post by tenex Dec 22, 2008

I made this block a few years ago, here's a bullseye list msg from back a ways...

I made this block to fit in my model 41 for dryfire practice. All you
need to do is place a block of wood in the slide cavity that only allows
the hammer to move up 1/8 of an inch or so, allowing it to cock, but not
hit the firing pin.

I got fancy and put in a notch for the firing pin and a ledge in the
middle so I can cock the pistol by only moving the slide 1/4 inch or so
(not enough to reach the slide lock, very convenient), but a rectangular
block will work just as well, you just have to normally retract the
slide to cock the pistol.

The nice thing about this type of hammer block is that it will last
forever, since it blocks the hammer long before it gets a full head of
steam, unlike a snap cap that gets trashed in a few dryfire cycles.

I made a few of these out of a little piece of maple, and they work
great but any wood would work (a friend made this one for me out of
delrin, but that's not necessary). Be warned that the various
generations of 41's have different dimensions. I have a 3rd gen. gun
(~1999) and it has a larger cutout than the 2nd gen guns.

Steve.

Here's my take on a dry-fire device, but for my Hammerli 208's. For M-41's, this will work just as good, but sizes may need tweaking.

I start with a rubber "foot" for DIY electronic cabinets. Size is 3/4" diameter by 3/8" thick (.750 x .375").

Using a single edge razor blade, I cut the foot in half, bisecting the .750" dimension. I then thin the .375" thickness so that it's just very slightly (approx .010") thicker than the width of the side-to-side hammer clearance slot in the slide. This allows the dry fire device to fit up into the slide and be held in by a friction fit, so that it doesn't fall out of the pocket when the slide is cycled to reset the hammer.

I also cut a firing pin clearance pocket in the front of the device, and a small pocket in the rear so that you can get in there with a pointed object to pry it out of the slide when you are done with a dry fire session.


When it's in place, the hammer falls just a slight amount when the trigger is pulled, and is stopped by the rubber bumper. The slide only needs to be slightly retracted so the hammer is recocked by the bumper. Then you're ready for the next "shot".





I've been using these for years and they work 100% perfect. I can't see that there is any stress on the hammer or the firing pin (firing pin is not touched by anything due to the pocket in the front of the bumper) and have never had any wear or breakage while using it.

I can't remember where I got my original feet, but these from McMaster-Carr will work fine: https://www.mcmaster.com/9540K703/

If you need a different size, you can start here: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/feet/unthreaded-bumpers-6/

Relatively new guy here, throwing myself under the bus. I did a lot of dry fire this week on my M41, and I made a few new of the trash can hammer blocks. In the middle of a dry fire session, I noticed the hammer block was missing. I assumed it fell out, put another one in, and went on with my day.

When leaving the house for a match tonight, I pulled out the hammer block, and went to the match. Total disaster. First shot didn’t fire. I got 10 shots off in slow fire, but had 4 FTF’s.  Looking at the rounds, I saw light hits, and no-hits. Timed fire I got 6 off, and rapid I got 2 off.

Got home and disassembled the gun, expecting to find a broken or peened firing pin, but I actually found pieces of the missing hammer block. 

Don