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TheFirearmsForum.com
FOUNDED: February 9, 2001 |
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03-08-2003, 09:15 AM
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#1 |
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Advanced Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Wazzu WA
Posts: 2,413
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CHECK YOUR FIREING PIN SPRINGS!!
CaliCollector
Member Posts: 41 (9/12/02 9:35:04 pm) Reply CHECK YOUR FIRING PIN SPRINGS!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i dont know if this incident is solely my experience or not, but heres what happened: i was dry firing my colt 1991-a1 compact (officers) practicing trigger control, when i finished, i locked the slide back, inserted a loaded magazine, and was just about to return it to its resting place, after chambering a round and placing the safety on( this is my home defense pistol) when i noticed the firing pin was sticking out past the bolt face. i dropped the mag, and pushed against the firing pin, it was stuck out solid.. so i pulled the slide off and removed the firing pin. when i did i noticed that 3 peices of spring had broken off and wedged the firing pin forward. i have since replaced the friing pin spring and resolved the problem, but had i NOT noticed the firing pin sticking out, it may well have been a nasty situation. 6 rounds of .45acp slam firing in a residential neighborhood.. not the best thought in the world. i got lucky. hopefully my experience here will help keep someone else from potentially having the same thing happen to them. i will now on religeously check the position of the firing pin and check the spring after shooting. Ray in California "Beware the man with only one gun, chances are he KNOWS how to use it." shooter45 us *TFF Chief Of Staff* Posts: 1801 (9/13/02 3:52:13 am) Reply Re: CHECK YOUR FIRING PIN SPRINGS!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's always a good idea to replace all the springs after firing 5,000 - 6000 rounds. Zigzag2 *TFF Senior Staff* Posts: 4174 (9/13/02 7:10:54 am) Reply Re: CHECK YOUR FIRING PIN SPRINGS!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's not a good practice to dry fire a weapon. Invest in snap-caps. In this age where truth is fleeting and mass manipulation is common, the ability to detect when something doesn't make sense is a valuable one. magnum74 Member Posts: 1 (10/23/02 9:21:33 pm) Reply True that... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First of all...I'm new to this board...so hello everyone !!! Yeah sounds like you probably messed up the spring from dry firing...take Zigzag's word...invest in a snap cap...and dry fire to your heart's content!!! Tac401 Administrator Posts: 6148 (10/23/02 10:26:26 pm) Reply Re: True that... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome Aboard magnum74! Tac TFF VMBB Email Tac LIKTOSHOOT *TFF Senior Staff* Posts: 6477 (10/24/02 7:20:12 am) Reply Re: True that... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome 74, enjoy yerself.... Another reason for using a charger magazine. LTS Xracer *TFF Senior Staff* Posts: 2909 (10/24/02 8:36:09 am) Reply Re: True that... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi magnum74......and welcome to TFF. Have we recruited another 1911Nut here? Chas Member Posts: 15 (10/24/02 1:50:00 pm) Reply Re: True that... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Are these "snap caps" available at local gun shops or do you have to special order them...if so, from where? I usually put a spent case in my semi-auto rimfire in order to release the hammer and protect the chamber...is this okay? I guess I've never heard of a snap cap and I thought it was okay to dry fire a center fire pistol or revolver. I hope this isn't too stupid, but what's a "charger magazine?" Thanks for the heads up!! Chas "Whopped 'em again Josey" Edited by: Chas at: 10/24/02 6:01:14 pm Xracer *TFF Senior Staff* Posts: 2914 (10/25/02 8:17:10 am) Reply Re: True that... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yeah, Chas.....you can buy snapcaps at most gunshops. Some centerfire guns are OK to dry fire, but why take the chance. Snapcaps are cheap, and good insurance. Your idea of dry firing with a spent rimfire round in the chamber is a good one.....just make sure that you turn it (the cartridge case) a bit ever 3 or 4 "snaps" so the firing pin isn't continually hitting on the same indentation. Chas Member Posts: 24 (10/25/02 10:17:41 am) Reply Re: True that... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks Xracer! fxrhm Member Posts: 1 (10/31/02 12:14:47 am) Reply Re: CHECK YOUR FIRING PIN SPRINGS!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have been told by numerous 1911 gunsmiths that it's ok to dry fire and to dry fire a lot 1911's. So why the advice on using snap-caps? I've even heard from a noted 1911 custom builder not to use snap-caps and just dry-fire away! Chas Member Posts: 33 (10/31/02 12:58:33 pm) Reply snap cap -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome aboard fxrhm Enjoy yourself. I was of the same opinion until I read this string. I'll look forward to hearing from the rest. Chas "Whopped 'em again Josey" rayra V.I.P. Member Posts: 375 (11/4/02 4:07:00 am) Reply Re: snap cap -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- old guns + poor metallurgy - NO dry firing. modern weapons and hoped for improvements in spring steels = dry fire away. and just to be on the 'better safe than sorry' side, use a snap cap. There are 3-4 brands of snap caps, check cabelas.com or dillonprecision.com for listings. And large firearms, reloading, or hunting supply store should carry them. Rich db4gt Member Posts: 1 (11/10/02 1:52:14 am) Reply FP springs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The concensus here seems to be that you destroyed a firing pin spring by dry-firing; I think it more likely that a tired spring broke WHILE dryfiring, not because of it. The spring is highly stressed and needs to be replaced regularly (Wolff supplies one with every recoil spring they sell for this reason), but it takes no more stress from dryfiring than live work. I think snapcaps are like chicken soup: they don't help, but what can they hurt? As to slamfires, i'm not sure if they will happen or not. The same spring failure happened to me in the middle of an IPSC practice stage and just tied up the gun; the base of the next round came up under the firing pin and everything stopped. The pin was protruding about 1/8" and the round would not clear it as it climbed the breechface. Could the pin stick out just enough to allow a round to feed and still slam fire the primer? That's the im'notsure part. The spring had 5-6000 rounds on it, and i started changing them with recoil springs, at about 2000. So in my experience, dryfire all you want, it's great practice, but don't neglect your maintenance. Bompa V.I.P. Member Posts: 54 (11/10/02 6:26:03 pm) Reply Re: FP springs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I believe there are some guns that can be dryfired with no problems,1911's for sure,but there are some that require a snap cap..The CZ75b is one that requires a snap cap or a modified firing pin..This is still a great gun though,probably only second to the 1911 in copies and clones.. I like them both... |
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