S&W 929 Light Primer Strikes-Extended Firing pin.

[pjb45]

I have an extended firing pin with the assorted TKC upgrades.

 

Previously I was getting 98% reliability on factory ammo.  Now I am getting 50% with light primer strikes.

My federal primers SR are also having light primer strikes.

 

An experienced 929 shooter told me he replaced the extended firing with the stock and he has not problems.

 

What your y'alls thoughts?  Replace the extended with factory?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ysrracer]

I always got light strikes with factory ammo. Now I only shoot reloads, with a extended firing pin, Federal Small Pistol Primers, and a 6 pound double action trigger pull.

 

100% reliable

 

.

Edited June 6, 2021 by ysrracer

[Cherokeewind]

Factory primers are not all created equal. some brands are much harder than others.

 

 Personally, I wouldn't use Small Rifle primers for handgun loads.

[pskys2]

Yes try it, and keep adding weight to the hammer fall until you don't have light strikes.  SRP's are usually a bit harder than SPP's and as Cherokeewind states, not all factory primers are equal, and only Federal would be likely to use Fed Primers.

I take a Zero Tolerance policy on Light Strikes, have one (unless I KNOW what the reason is and expect them) and I increase the weight of the hammer fall.  I never want a light strike in a match.

[MikeyScuba]

Swap the srp’s for SPP’s.  Wonder how hard they are?

 

are you seating deep enough?

[mchapman]

Ditch the SRP's and use SPP, as for factory , Federal ammo would be my first choice. The actual material that the primers are made of is 1-2 thousandths thicker on the RP so it can handle the higher pressures that they develop. For some reason, the hollow factory firing pin for the 929 has always worked better for me in getting a reliable light trigger with 100% ignition, I think that it may be the shape of the firing pin nose or the fact that it is hollow [lighter?] and is more responsive. That's why we lightened the actual weight of our hammers isn't it? Now my 627 are totally different, I use Apex or TK extended firing pins in all of them and get 100% with Federal SPP.

[tomjerry1]

Have you bobbed the hammer or replaced it with a bobbed hammer, like the TK hammer? The reduced weight will reduce lockup time, has cured my issues. As everyone above has suggested, use the Federal SPP, it does make a difference.

[pskys2]

12 hours ago, mchapman said:

Ditch the SRP's and use SPP, as for factory , Federal ammo would be my first choice. The actual material that the primers are made of is 1-2 thousandths thicker on the RP so it can handle the higher pressures that they develop. For some reason, the hollow factory firing pin for the 929 has always worked better for me in getting a reliable light trigger with 100% ignition, I think that it may be the shape of the firing pin nose or the fact that it is hollow [lighter?] and is more responsive. That's why we lightened the actual weight of our hammers isn't it? Now my 627 are totally different, I use Apex or TK extended firing pins in all of them and get 100% with Federal SPP.

I did not realize that the 929 FP's were hollow?  Wonder how they would work in a 627?

[roundabout]

Interesting that I stumbled upon this thread. I have two 929’s; one I bought already tricked out; the other I bought new and had tricked out. The one I bought tricked-out has never missed a lick. The other I never shot before sending off. It has a custom trigger, hammer, and firing pin. The main spring is on the heavy side and will set off any factory ammo. The crappy thing is it will occasionally not have a solid hit on the primer, i.e. can hardly see a mark on the primer, and I cannot figure out why tf this is happening.  Timing is good; cylinder stop isn’t too tight. Disassembled everything and cannot see a thing wrong. It appears the hammer either isn’t delivering energy to the firing pin or the firing pin isn’t reaching the primer. I realize it doesn’t make any sense, but figured I would ask if someone else experienced anything like this. Short of putting all of the factory parts back in the frame, I don’t what else to do to get it 100% reliable. 

[AHI]

primers set to high.?

primers need to be set below flush and then some.

Edited June 22, 2021 by AHI

[ysrracer]

11 hours ago, roundabout said:

Short of putting all of the factory parts back in the frame, I don’t what else to do to get it 100% reliable. 

 

Send it to a well known revolver smith?

[Toolguy]

Roundabout- take out the firing pin and spring. Make sure neither is broken and that the firing pin channel is clean and dry. You can clean it with a Q-Tip. Put the firing pin in the fp hole from the front to make sure the hole isn't too tight on the fp nose. It needs to be a free slip fit.

 

If you have a trigger stop, make sure that the bottom of the hammer isn't contacting the rebound slide any at all when it's all the way down on the firing pin. A shorter trigger pull (trigger stop) means the rebound slide is not going all the way back. If the hammer can touch the rbs, it acts as a shock absorber and dampens the hammer blow.

Edited June 22, 2021 by Toolguy

[pskys2]

Another thing to look at when you open up the side plate are the hammer and trigger pins.  Check that they are not broken, very obvious, or loose/cracked, do this by gently attempt to wiggle them.  They should not seem loose and move, without considerable force.

[roundabout]

The Revolver came from a reputable revolver smith. I absolutely do not want this to come across as a slight against them. Everything works fine except for the random failure to fire.

 

I broke into the guts and couldn’t find anything out of place or misaligned. I removed the firing pin and spring to ensure there wasn’t something going on there; ran a q-tip up in the hole checking for burrs; everything checked out okay. If I tear it apart again, will probably put the factory firing pin back in it just see if it eliminates the issue. I was not aware of the possible trigger stop issue so I will explore that possibility.  

 

Thanks for for the tips. 

[ysrracer]

When you guys talk about the "trigger stop", are you talking about the roll pin at the back of the trigger?

[Toolguy]

Yes, a pin sticking out the back of the trigger.

[pskys2]

10 hours ago, ysrracer said:

When you guys talk about the "trigger stop", are you talking about the roll pin at the back of the trigger?

Maybe, S&W has sometimes put a loose pin inside the Rebound Spring to act as a trigger stop.  I never have understood why but found it in my 625 PC I believe.

I've even had adjustable trigger stops that I put in the trigger myself.  I don't like trigger stops in my Revolvers anymore though, never saw an advantage in accuracy or performance.

[ysrracer]

1 hour ago, Toolguy said:

Yes, a pin sticking out the back of the trigger.

 

Mine seems too short (the roll pin, not my ****). Should I have it replaced with a longer one? (again, the roll pin not my ****)

[Toolguy]

The pins in the rebound spring are worthless, they're always too short. To get one of those to work, it has to be within about .002 of optimal length. Very finicky to fit. Sometimes they can bend the pin that holds in the spring.

 

The factory ones on the back of the trigger are always too short, too. You can replace it with a longer one that you fit yourself, but sometimes that causes other problems, as mentioned above. I don't use trigger stops anymore, either.

[pskys2]

2 hours ago, ysrracer said:

 

Mine seems too short (the roll pin, not my ****). Should I have it replaced with a longer one? (again, the roll pin not my ****)

When I first started to heavily shoot Revolvers in competition I came from over 25 years of competing with a 1911, and 20 years of them having over travel stops.

So I fretted and fussed and used them on my Revolvers.  After about 10 years I finally got a 627 PC without an adjustable stop.  I shot it so much better than the 625 PC or M29, both of which I had drilled and tapped for an adjustable stop, that I "finally" quit worrying about it.

Now I've taken all of the over travel stops out of all of my Revolvers.

 

Note Warren aka Toolguy shoots Bianchi Cup, quite well I would add, and he doesn't like them.  

[SSGGlock]

On 6/23/2021 at 12:16 PM, Toolguy said:

The pins in the rebound spring are worthless, they're always too short. To get one of those to work, it has to be within about .002 of optimal length. Very finicky to fit. Sometimes they can bend the pin that holds in the spring.

 

The factory ones on the back of the trigger are always too short, too. You can replace it with a longer one that you fit yourself, but sometimes that causes other problems, as mentioned above. I don't use trigger stops anymore, either.

So if you gave one that’s setup and works. What reason would you take it? What reasons to not have one? Just trying to gain some knowledge. Just to clearify I’m talking about the stop on the back of the trigger. Not the pin in the rebound slide.

Edited June 25, 2021 by SSGGlock

[MikeBurgess]

13 hours ago, SSGGlock said:

So if you gave one that’s setup and works. What reason would you take it? What reasons to not have one? Just trying to gain some knowledge.

I do not stage revo triggers, one long smooth pull with speed varied as needed, I don't want that smooth press interrupted by a hard stop 

[Toolguy]

If you have one that works, make sure the hammer is not touching the rebound slide when it's all the way down. You can check this by pulling the trigger, hold it back all the way, then hold the hammer down against the frame. While holding the hammer down, work the trigger front to back a little bit and see if there is some play between where the trigger is all the way back and where the rebound slide touches the hammer going forward. If there is play, you're good to go. If no play, the hammer is hitting the rebound slide and damping the hammer fall. You don't need to take the gun apart to do this test.

[SSGGlock]

10 hours ago, Toolguy said:

If you have one that works, make sure the hammer is not touching the rebound slide when it's all the way down. You can check this by pulling the trigger, hold it back all the way, then hold the hammer down against the frame. While holding the hammer down, work the trigger front to back a little bit and see if there is some play between where the trigger is all the way back and where the rebound slide touches the hammer going forward. If there is play, you're good to go. If no play, the hammer is hitting the rebound slide and damping the hammer fall. You don't need to take the gun apart to do this test.

Thanks, did not know that. Man there’s so many tips with these guns.

[SSGGlock]

10 hours ago, MikeBurgess said:

I do not stage revo triggers, one long smooth pull with speed varied as needed, I don't want that smooth press interrupted by a hard stop 

I understand that.