Bosshoss Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Just got a new 617 and getting ready to do a trigger job and some other things. Was wondering if the extended firing pins help on this gun. Does it take the same ones the centerfires take? Has anyone checked if it contacts the cylinder if dryfired? I usually leave the plastic wall anchors in the gun when dryfiring but was curious if the extended firing pin would hit and do damage. Thanks for any input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 (edited) I have used my 617 as it came from the factory - almost 10,000 runds fired. The trigger has smoothed out quite a bit since it was originally purchased. I would not advise replacing the standard FP with the extra length FP it will cause some damage to the cylinder face. I have not experienced any relability issues with the standard FP. Edited December 3, 2011 by TonyT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granderojo Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Read this: http://www.brianenos...dpost&p=1353550 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Awhile back, I did some testing with rimfire revolvers and concluded that an extended length pin may be helpful with ignition, on at least some Model 617 specimens. The factory pin on a 617 is different that the pin used on the centerfire guns. The groove on the side of the 617 pin is designed to stop forward movement of the pin before the tip contacts the edge of the chamber mouths. Sometimes this limited range of movement seems to inhibit the full ignition potential on rimfire ammo. I have found that I can further reduce the DA pull on most guns by implementing an extended (C&S) firing pin. The downside is that the gun cannot be dry-fired without snap caps or empty casings, or it will damage the chamber edges. Even snapping the gun a few times around will cause significant peening. Given the trouble I have had getting 617s to work reliably with significantly reduced mainspring tension, I think it may be worth the trade-off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Awhile back, I did some testing with rimfire revolvers and concluded that an extended length pin may be helpful with ignition, on at least some Model 617 specimens. The factory pin on a 617 is different that the pin used on the centerfire guns. The groove on the side of the 617 pin is designed to stop forward movement of the pin before the tip contacts the edge of the chamber mouths. Sometimes this limited range of movement seems to inhibit the full ignition potential on rimfire ammo. I have found that I can further reduce the DA pull on most guns by implementing an extended (C&S) firing pin. The downside is that the gun cannot be dry-fired without snap caps or empty casings, or it will damage the chamber edges. Even snapping the gun a few times around will cause significant peening. Given the trouble I have had getting 617s to work reliably with significantly reduced mainspring tension, I think it may be worth the trade-off. I might add that for extended periods of time- for dry firing- the extended/regular FP is easily swapped out. I find the snap caps and/or empty cases tend to get wrecked up pretty quick and it's a PITA... when they really get distorted they can jam up the action to an extent. Personally... I'm keeping the std FP in and dealing with the slightly heavier trigger pull. Guess it depends what you are doing with your gun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian B Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I have a model 617. And I have shot many of thousands of rounds through the last 17 years. A failure to fire always what's extremely rare. I believe the extended firing pin was designed to work in center fire revolvers only. I put an extended firing pin in my S&w model 610. My intention was to accommodate small warpages in the moon clips. I also find it useful detonating harder lead free primers. Good luck and have fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 So are the pins the same on like wise same frame centerfires ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gargoil66 Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 10 hours ago, Joe4d said: So are the pins the same on like wise same frame centerfires ? Yo, J4D: Take a look at the dates for the postings in this thread. 2K11. Read Carmoney's post. He thinks that a long firing pin as we would use in any of the frames gives more reliable ignition and states why. Also that if a guy uses one of them, he must use snap caps or something to protect the chambers from being peened by the firing pin. I got a Rev Up Action hammer for my 617 with a extended firing pin. Very reliable and from what I can tell visually, it is the same extended firing pin I have used in my N frame revolvers. Use snap caps or empty brass if you want to dry fire, even one time. GG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DS-10-SPEED Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 (edited) I've made some firing pins and made a tool to measure the maximum extension so it can never hit the cylinder. I think the recess in the cylinder is about 0.041" or 0.042" then I make sure the pin extension is no longer than that. You have to push the firing pin as far as it can go then adjust the gauge to the max extension of the pin and then measure the depth on the tool with my calipers, then cut the pin to fit. Edited June 23, 2023 by DS-10-SPEED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 dont see why the date is relevant ,,same folks still here. if I started a new thread, some one would cry that I shoulda done a search.. Didnt see it mentioned Carmony was using the same extended pin.. Currently not home so trying to wrap my hear around same hammer and firing pin working in center and rim fires. My 617 cant be dry fired without snap caps, pin will hit the cylinder,, Oh what size dry wall anchors work best, my aluminum snap caps didnt last long, . ANd have heard of folks using them. Really enjoying rimfire for now, cheap ammo not worrying about brass, and the games I enjoy have rimfire, Icore and steel challenge were fun and I will do more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Schwab Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 My 617 didn't like an extended FP, she preferred the stock FP. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 far as I know mine is factory,, but it is too long to dry fire and will hit the cylinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gargoil66 Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 5 hours ago, Joe4d said: dont see why the date is relevant ,,same folks still here. if I started a new thread, some one would cry that I shoulda done a search.. Didnt see it mentioned Carmony was using the same extended pin.. Currently not home so trying to wrap my hear around same hammer and firing pin working in center and rim fires. My 617 cant be dry fired without snap caps, pin will hit the cylinder,, Oh what size dry wall anchors work best, my aluminum snap caps didnt last long, . ANd have heard of folks using them. Really enjoying rimfire for now, cheap ammo not worrying about brass, and the games I enjoy have rimfire, Icore and steel challenge were fun and I will do more. J4D: I used the wall anchors and they never lasted more than a couple of shots before the rims got chewed up and tore off when extracting them. I do not think the aluminum dummy rounds are made for dry firing. The plastic ones break immediately. I dump twenty or thirty spent cases into a bag and go through them. You have to rotate them periodically like you would the anchors but they tend to last longer. GG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 10 hours ago, gargoil66 said: J4D: I used the wall anchors and they never lasted more than a couple of shots before the rims got chewed up and tore off when extracting them. I do not think the aluminum dummy rounds are made for dry firing. The plastic ones break immediately. I dump twenty or thirty spent cases into a bag and go through them. You have to rotate them periodically like you would the anchors but they tend to last longer. GG the ones I got were specifically marketed for dry fire,, I saw others that wernt. They held up pretty good though,, 500 or so shots a couple times with a bit of rotating and deburing. DIdnt know about the dry wall anchors, had just read on here people using them,, Like you will probably just start saving a handfull of empties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower40 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 (edited) This discussion talks about firing pin shapes and points of contact on the rim of the 22 cartridge. My 617 firing pin strikes are more towards the outside perimeter, not ideal as per the following link. I know it's a rifle forum but I find the discussion potentially relevant to the 617 misfire condition. Might need to cut/paste..can't get the link inserted. Check out the drawings in the last post. rimfireaccuracy.com/Forum/index.php?threads/firing-pin-strike.30181/ Edited February 4 by Lower40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 All you have to do is put a 5/16 OD rubber O ring around the back of the firing pin where the hammer hits. This saves wear & tear on the firing pin, spring, hammer, and cylinder. The gun will dry fire as normal. One O ring will go for thousands of hits. This works for all calibers, unlike snap caps. It also will prevent an AD if you load the gun and forget it's loaded. Remove the O ring to shoot live ammo. Nothing else is cheaper, simpler, or works as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower40 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 (edited) Warren Guess my post was confusing, was addressing the 617 history of misfires. In the drawing above my 617 "firing pin hits" are locate toward the outer rim area. My 617 hits resemble the far left. They should be more inside the perimeter as in the drawing on the right..better primer crush. Would be interesting to see how the Colt rimfire revolvers strike the rim since I hear the Colt doesn't have the history of misfires. Edited February 4 by Lower40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower40 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 OK here is a pic of my firing strike on an ELEY case...BTW had to cycle it twice to get ignition. According to the Eley drawing my hits are on the rim and not inside it where they should be. The extra metal thickness at the outer rim prevents the firing pin from properly collapsing the primer cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 It's not just revolvers, 22 lr ammo is notoriously finicky across all platforms. Ro'ing a steel challenege match is quite enlightening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 I should have been more specific. I was addressing dry firing with a rimfire, not getting better primer strikes. Sorry for the confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower40 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 (edited) 5 minutes ago, pskys2 said: It's not just revolvers, 22 lr ammo is notoriously finicky across all platforms. Ro'ing a steel challenege match is quite enlightening. 10-4 ...but the 617 appears to own the title ...I suspect an off center firing pin could help? ie a little off the top...or angled as in the other drawing on that forum link. Edited February 4 by Lower40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 1 hour ago, Toolguy said: All you have to do is put a 5/16 OD rubber O ring around the back of the firing pin where the hammer hits. This saves wear & tear on the firing pin, spring, hammer, and cylinder. The gun will dry fire as normal. One O ring will go for thousands of hits. This works for all calibers, unlike snap caps. It also will prevent an AD if you load the gun and forget it's loaded. Remove the O ring to shoot live ammo. Nothing else is cheaper, simpler, or works as well. can you post a picture of that ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 (edited) Here are pictures. Here it is installed in a 617. This works for K,L, and N frames, any caliber. Edited February 4 by Toolguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 good night Irene.. infamous barrel over torque ? or humm maybe under torque in this case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower40 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 53 minutes ago, Joe4d said: good night Irene.. infamous barrel over torque ? or humm maybe under torque in this case Would be helpful to see some Colt or Ruger "revolver" rimfire hits for comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now