Gordian Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 I have a bent firing pin in my STI 2011 (not exactly sure how this happened but it did). I'd like to shoot this gun tomorrow night but I don't know of any place that's local that has an STI firing pin. I do know of a local gunshop that stocks Wilson stuff and that will have a Wilson firing pin. Will this work? Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Neill Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 As long as you're not trying to use a 45 firing pin in a 9mm/38 firing pin tunnel - should work fine. Not good to use a 9mm/38 pin in a 45 tunnel either. Guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordian Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 Ok - good point. Will a .45 firing pin work in a .40? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Ok - good point. Will a .45 firing pin work in a .40? Take two minutes and call STI, but I know my .40s have the same firing pin as my .38/9s from them....so a .45 pin wouldn't work. I don't know if that has always been the case, so it's worth checking with them. R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordian Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 Great idea - thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Holy Moly, You are in the shooting mecca of the world in Phx. There are many excellent gunsmiths that will steer you in the right direction. Try Eddie C or Frank G to begin. Yost is there as is Angus, Don G. Call those guys first and get good info. Personally I use an extended pin from Matt McLearn in Payson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzYooper Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Holy Moly, You are in the shooting mecca of the world in Phx. There are many excellent gunsmiths that will steer you in the right direction. Try Eddie C or Frank G to begin. Yost is there as is Angus, Don G. Call those guys first and get good info. Personally I use an extended pin from Matt McLearn in Payson. pjb45 is right we have everything in this town. I do know that Ed Cameron is in the northwest valley which should be close to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankfan79 Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 I have heard of this before from someone dry firing on empty cases with ONLY a bullet seated. No primer? Is this your case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordian Posted July 29, 2010 Author Share Posted July 29, 2010 I found that there are basically two sizes of firing pin from both STI and Wilson. The small 9/38 and the large 45. My buddy picked up a 9/38 for me while I was at work and it works great. Yes - several calls were made around town, but didn't call Ed. Thanks to everyone for their help. I have a spare in the mail from Bob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordian Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 I have heard of this before from someone dry firing on empty cases with ONLY a bullet seated. No primer? Is this your case? This was probably the case but it was purely unintentional. I may have pulled the trigger on 5 or so rounds, but I guess that was enough. Usually I put hot melt glue in the primer pockets but laziness got me this time... Lesson learned not to do that again. Thanks again for the help and hope this helps someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnikoley Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I have heard of this before from someone dry firing on empty cases with ONLY a bullet seated. No primer? Is this your case? This was probably the case but it was purely unintentional. I may have pulled the trigger on 5 or so rounds, but I guess that was enough. Usually I put hot melt glue in the primer pockets but laziness got me this time... Lesson learned not to do that again. Thanks again for the help and hope this helps someone else. Same thing happened to me tonight. Dry fire, dummy rounds w/no primer. Pin got bent on the 5th round. I straightened the pin, but decided to order a new one. When looking for a replacement, I measured the old pin. It was .065" (9/38/40). Odd thing was, my gun is a 45 ACP (standard pin dia = .091"). I confirmed by trying my "45" firing pin in my STI .40. It fit. Has anyone else come across this? The .45 in question is an STI Sentry, BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastarget Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 a number of manufacturers use the 9mm firing pin in their 45, so it is not unusual. what is the firing pin breech hole diameter?..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnikoley Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 a number of manufacturers use the 9mm firing pin in their 45, so it is not unusual. what is the firing pin breech hole diameter?..... I wasn't able to measure it with my calipers, only the firing pin itself. I tried to insert a .088" dia punch through the breech end, and it wouldn't fit. The firing pin hole is noticeabley smaller, and the .065 dia firing pin fits with no slop, so I'd guess the firing pin hole approximately the same size. I emailed STI tech support to confirm, but I can't figure if they use the same size firing pin for all calibers, why they offer two size firing pins. Maybe this is a recent change across the board, or a simple manufacturing error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastarget Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Sounds like your gun is a newer model and uses the 9mm pin, most manufacturers have gone to the smaller firing pin, more positive primer strike, less erosion possibly? most older kimber and colts have the larger size pin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnikoley Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Sounds like your gun is a newer model and uses the 9mm pin, most manufacturers have gone to the smaller firing pin, more positive primer strike, less erosion possibly? most older kimber and colts have the larger size pin. Makes sense. It is a brand new STI. Glad I measured it first before ordering the replacement. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastarget Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 when the replacement get there, assemble it in the slide then use a plastic or wood instrument with the slide off and make sure the firing pin will extrude through the breech and return in the tunnel without binding......best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnikoley Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Follow up: STI tech support responded that they use 9/38 (small) firing pins in all their guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z40acp Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I think Caspian uses the same diameter pin in all their slides. This is probably more of a what slide you have than what caliber. Springfield uses an oddball size in their slides also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle O Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Sorry, but how did the pins get bent? I've dry fired my 1911 maybe 6,000 times?? Is it something to do with the 2011, or an empty primer pocket not lining up correctly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A63111 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Sad to say I have done the same. Hard lesson learned. Dry fire on a round without a primer = firing pin stuck in flash hole of case. When trying to eject the case the firing bent. Took some doing to straighten it enough to even remove it from the frame. Lesson learned don't dry fire on a case with an empty primer pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle O Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I have some dummy rounds made up without primers, but I only use them for mag loading (keep the chamber empty) After reading this thread, I'm gonna drill out the flash holes so that they are the same size as the pocket. Just in case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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