Help explaining weird firing pin problem

[zzt]

I'm shooting a Stock Leadstar Arms Prime PCC.  On the second stage I had a couple of light primer strikes.  On the next stage everything when fine for the first string.  On the second string I had a couple of light strikes, then nothing.  Click, click, click.

 

I went to the safe table, pulled the BCG and looked at the firing pin.  The tip was right at the breech face.  Using a tool I pushed on the back of the firing pin.  It moved forward stiffly.  I had to push the front back out to the breech face.  I did this a couple of times and figured I had a broken firing pin and it was jammed in.

 

At home I disassembled the BCG and found the firing pin was not broken.  It was in good shape.  There was something, or a bunch of gunk in the channel, mostly up front in the narrow portion just behind the rear of the breech face.  It took over a hour to remove using whatever tools I had and lots and lots of spay on solvent.  After I got most of it out I crushed what was left with the firing pin.  I'd drop it in, force it down with an Armorer's tool, then push it back from the front.  50-60 iterations of this with plenty of blowing out and solvent spraying in between, I finally got the pin to drop all the way in and through.  There is still something left in there, because the pin did not always drop completely through.  I reassembled and shot off five rounds at the club.  Went bang every time.

 

I just ordered a complete spare BCG.  When that arrives I'll strip the original one and soak it for 20 minutes or so in the ultrasonic cleaned.  Maybe that will get the rest of whatever is in there out.

 

My questions are how did anything get in there in the first place, and what tool is there that will reach all the way down into the channel?  I talked to several PCC shooters who said they never took the BCG apart, even after years of shooting and never had, or heard of my problem.  What's up?  I recently switched to Federal  (not Champion) primers and though maybe I had pierced a few.  I didn't recover any brass, but the five I shot at the club were not pierced.

[egd5]

I've wondered about a way to clean out that channel also. Whenever I do a good cleaning on my pcc, which isn't that often, I take the firing pin out and spray cleaner through it. I use Ballistol- doubt that it matters- but ....

I also take a wooden toothpick and carefully work it around in the hole the pin comes out of to strike the primer.

Sounds like you just had a buildup of gunk. A sonic cleaner should definitely get it all out.

[dwbethue]

+1 for the sonic cleaner. I've had a similar issue as what you described as well. While I don't have a perfect solution for you, I've had good success with a sonic cleaner and a set of tiny brushes from Amazon. 

[mgkrs]

I ran into this today, too - gunk builds up on the firing pin and channel so it won't reset properly and ends up causing light strikes. I replaced the firing pin recently so does seem like there was remaining gunk in the channel. Adding a bit of oil to the pin seemed to free it up enough to get through the rest of the match today. Came back and cleaned the channel with q-tips with a bit of the cotton tip removed, but it's hard to tell how dirty it still is.

 

Will probably continue to run the firing pin with a bit more oil than I normally would and clean it more regularly.

[grottulf]

6 hours ago, mgkrs said:

I ran into this today, too - gunk builds up on the firing pin and channel so it won't reset properly and ends up causing light strikes. I replaced the firing pin recently so does seem like there was remaining gunk in the channel. Adding a bit of oil to the pin seemed to free it up enough to get through the rest of the match today. Came back and cleaned the channel with q-tips with a bit of the cotton tip removed, but it's hard to tell how dirty it still is.

 

Will probably continue to run the firing pin with a bit more oil than I normally would and clean it more regularly.

Oil is a dirt magnet.

I'd try less oil instead.

[cecil]

anyone recommend a sonic cleaner that won't break the bank ?

 

tia 

[zzt]

37 minutes ago, cecil said:

anyone recommend a sonic cleaner that won't break the bank ?

 

tia 

 

I bought the mid-size Hornady.  It was under $100.  I'd post a link, but it appears it is no longer made.  I use it to clean gun parts, not cases.  

 

BTW, 12 minutes in the cleaner removed every trace of fouling in the firing pin channel.  Even though I just bought a spare BCG as a backup, I plan on doing this a couple times a year.

Edited July 9, 2021 by zzt

[cecil]

1 hour ago, zzt said:

 

I bought the mid-size Hornady.  It was under $100.  I'd post a link, but it appears it is no longer made.  I use it to clean gun parts, not cases.  

 

BTW, 12 minutes in the cleaner removed every trace of fouling in the firing pin channel.  Even though I just bought a spare BCG as a backup, I plan on doing this a couple times a year.

may i ask what cleaner you use in your ultra sonic cleaner ?

[zzt]

1 hour ago, cecil said:

may i ask what cleaner you use in your ultra sonic cleaner ?

 

Yes.  I use Slip 2000 725 cleaner.  It is water based.  It works superbly well.  Clean, rinse off in hot water and dry.  https://www.slip2000.com/slip2000_725.php

You will be amazed at how much gunk it removes from something you thought you cleaned well.  I would not use it on painted finishes like that on the original CZ 75 TS.  It is fine on everything else.

[TRUBL]

On most 9mm Bolts, with the 223 style extractor......a complete strip down will expose some of the firing hole.....specifically at the extractor pocket. Compressed air will pretty much blow any gunk out of there. Additionally, and this should be a VERY rare thing to do......you can go with the next size drill and clean out (enlarge) the firing pin hole in the face of the bolt as well. I personally do not recommend doing that, however I have used the correct size drill to clean out that hole.....could be that you had a burr on the inside edge that didn't rear it's ugly head until after many cycles.

[zzt]

44 minutes ago, TRUBL said:

could be that you had a burr on the inside edge that didn't rear it's ugly head until after many cycles.

 

That is possible, but there was a lot of crud in the firing pin channel in the cavity behind the small hole in the breech face. I had cleaned the hole in the breech face with the correct size drill, but the firing pin would not drop through.  As I wrote in the first post, I had to crush the crud with the firing pin, then blow it out, then shoot it with solvent.

 

My BCG does have a 223 style extractor, so I'll take your advice on that.  Thanks.  That could have been a contributing factor.  I still think most of the gunk was cased by pierced Federal SPPs.  Thousands of rounds with CCI 500 caused no problems.  Less than 150 of the Federal did.

Edited July 16, 2021 by zzt

[RaylanGivens]

14 hours ago, zzt said:

 

That is possible, but there was a lot of crud in the firing pin channel in the cavity behind the small hole in the breech face. I had cleaned the hole in the breech face with the correct size drill, but the firing pin would not drop through.  As I wrote in the first post, I had to crush the crud with the firing pin, then blow it out, then shoot it with solvent.

 

My BCG does have a 223 style extractor, so I'll take your advice on that.  Thanks.  That could have been a contributing factor.  I still think most of the gunk was cased by pierced Federal SPPs.  Thousands of rounds with CCI 500 caused no problems.  Less than 150 of the Federal did.

 

I've had trouble with the firing pin channel filling up with carbon in the past...  Sometimes you can see the extractor spaced away from the flat spot on the bolt where it is supposed to rest...  I clean my bolt before every match...  I remove the firing pin and squirt some Hoppe's 9 in the channel...  Clean the rest of the bolt, then squirt a bit more down the channel...  and blow it out with compressed air...  I cover the two holes in the bolt with my fingers so most of the air comes out of the firing pin area.

 

I also run a 1/16" drill bit through the firing pin hole in the bolt every time I clean it...  Seems to help.  I know 1/16" isn't the correct size...  It's a little bit smaller...  Not sure what the correct size actually is.

[cecil]

I clean my PCC  after every match...  after a thorough cleaning .. i noticed the firing pin would stick in the forward position.. it protruded out of the bolt..  I could manually push it back in...  after careful examination i found the firing pin was "peened" a little which caused it to stick out the front of the bolt... (by the way my upper is a complete Taccom upper) ... i changed the firing pin spring which did not correct the problem. so installed a new Taccom firing pin... which solved the problem.. i surmise the old firing pin has about 5 to 6 thousand hits on a primer... just curious --- what kind of service is everyone getting on their firing pins in their PCC's 

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