Bent firing pin

[quliming]

Happened twice to me on two new firing pins. Same situation. I was practicing empty start with dummy rounds(no primer, so empty primer pocket).

The hammer is down. Insert mag, rack slide, pull trigger. Then slide can't be opened. Tried really hard to push it open, and found that the firing pin was bent, about a quarter inch from the tip, and it won't go back into the tunnel. Had to push it back really hard.

Can someone explain to me what's going on and how to avoid? Will it also happen if I do this in live fire empty start for a match?

 

Gun is SVI single stack.

 

Thanks.

[mach1soldier]

It will always happen if there is no primer for it to hit. It pushes the firing pin so far forward it binds in the FP hole. 

 

All my 1911’s do this. Make dummy rounds with a spent primer in them. 

[Powder Finger]

be very careful with dummy rounds with spent primer as you can't tell that between a round that didn't fire.

[Toolguy]

You can make dummy rounds with aluminum cases so they look much different than live ammo. This is assuming you don't normally shoot alum. case ammo.

[rishii]

I fill my primer pockets with silicone 

[ClangClang]

2 minutes ago, rishii said:

I fill my primer pockets with silicone 

 

I like to do the following: Get some prepped brass, then drill out the entire primer pocket. Since I normally shoot normal FMJ, my dummy rounds are blue bullet projectiles (for instant visual differentiation) loaded into the brass, but obviously with no powder. Then use the large hole through the primer pocket to fill the rest of the case with glue from a hot glue gun all the way up to the rim. This provides a cushioned surface for the FP to impact, and also fills the case so that the projectiles don't suffer setback over numerous chamberings.

[ltdmstr]

I am pretty sure SV now use an extra long firing pin that protrudes past the breach face when the slide is forward and the hammer is down.  If so, you need to cock the hammer before you load the magazine and rack the slide.

[IHAVEGAS]

Interesting. I have never owned a similar design competition handgun (2011's, Les Baer-Springfields-S&W 1911) that I did not dry fire on any empty chamber 100's of times with zero concerns of the firing pin hanging up. The one exception being that I did have a custom 2011 that got grit contamination in the firing pin hole when brand new and it stuck the firing pin one time. I think I would be tempted to verify that the firing pin hole was the correct size & location & also look at the pin profile, maybe chuck a pin in a drill and polish it/slightly reduce diameter at the point where it binds. 

 

Maybe I do not understand the issue. Somebody shows me his new open/limited/single stack gun and I always ask to check the trigger by dry firing the empty gun and it is just not a thing. 

 

 

[quliming]

Thanks for the reply guys.

I just looked at all my guns. 2 of infinity single stacks(one 5.4, one 5 inch) both have the firing pin protruding a little bit, maybe 1/16 inch past the breach face when firing pin was pushed flush with firing pin stop. 1 infinity double stack does not protrude. 2 of my other 1911 maker guns are also not protruding.

Is this a problem for empty start? I would think that if you insert an empty mag, the top round will drag the firing pin?

[IHAVEGAS]

32 minutes ago, quliming said:

 

Is this a problem for empty start? I would think that if you insert an empty mag, the top round will drag the firing pin?

 

When you insert mag with slide closed the bottom of the slide stops the top round so that it can not travel up and touch the protruding firing pin.

When you rack the slide the hammer gets pushed back off of the firing pin stop sooner than the bottom of the slide clears the top round in your magazine so the firing pin should be back and not protruding when the round raises to the breech face. 

Can not think of a reason why you would have a problem with an empty start.

 

If the firing pin is able to bind in the firing pin hole that sounds like a potential safety issue (slam firing when slide closes with firing pin stuck in position to allow contact with primer). As much as you paid for those guns I would give the manufacturer a call & let them figure things out. 

[ParaGunner]

Done this once also, learned to never drop hammer on a dummy round with a empty primer pocket. As mentioned above, fill empty primer pocket with silicone or hot glue from glue gun.

[1981Shooter]

There should be absolutely no difference between dry fire and dummy round with empty primer pocket firing.  If you're bending firing pins, there's either something wrong with your gun or your dummy rounds.  If you can dry fire the gun without damage, then obviously the problem is with your dummy rounds.

[IHAVEGAS]

1 hour ago, ParaGunner said:

Done this once also, learned to never drop hammer on a dummy round with a empty primer pocket. As mentioned above, fill empty primer pocket with silicone or hot glue from glue gun.

 

Hmmm, firing pin long enough to travel all the way to primer pocket flash hole & bind there ?

 

[N3WWN]

I have a Sig 1911 that bends EGW firing pins when I use dummy rounds without a primer. I'm about 90%+ sure it's due to dummy rounds with off-center flash holes that cause the issue.

I've done several things to stop breaking pins:

I don't chamber dummy rounds in dry fire any more unless I really want/need to.

When I do chamber dummy rounds (unloaded start drills, for instance), I use commercial dummy rounds with rubber "primers", homemade dummy rounds with the flash hole completely drilled out or homemade dummy rounds with hot glue filling the case and drilled out flash hole and primer pocket. No issues with bent firing pins with any of these methods.

The commercial dummy rounds are really expensive and the bullets deformed after only a few tens of reps, but the primer cushions the firing pin well.

The "primers" in the hot glue filled rounds don't hold up to firing pin strikes (permanent hole after a few reps), but the bullets don't set back. The bullets don't deform much, either, when I use jacketed bullets.

I have tried putting spent primers in upside down, or leaving the spent primer in a fired case, to give the pin something to strike against, but the firing pin punched through after only a few reps and bent my firing pin again, so that wasn't a long term solution.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[ParaGunner]

9 hours ago, IHAVEGAS said:

 

Hmmm, firing pin long enough to travel all the way to primer pocket flash hole & bind there ?

 

Yes, I use a DP extended fp. 

[rishii]

Yep

i also use extra long firing pins with stock colt FP spring and had the same thing happen

ive since switched to Wolff Extra power FP springs which limits the FP travel

[johnsonian85]

I've always put snap caps on the top of the mag and in the chamber for this reason.  They get pretty beat up but still do the job.