Dry firing killed my Sig!

[David Sinko]

This afternoon while unloading my Sig 229 DAK duty gun I noticed that the pin which goes through the rear of the slide from side to side was protruding a bit more than "usual." I have no idea if "usual" is normal or if it has been broken for the numerous months that it has been loose, but this time it stuck out a bit more than usual and I was able to grab it and pull it out. I dry fired it, and immediately the firing pin seized up in the forwardmost position, sticking out the breachface by almost a full quarter inch! It will not retract. If I put in a loaded magazine and drop the slide from slidelock, I don't think it will slam fire, but the cartridge will likely get jammed up against the bottom of the protruding firing pin. I am thoroughly disgusted by this whole affair. I have always hated this gun but I am forced to use it. In my estimation, I have dry fired this gun only 20,000 times or so but looking back, it appears that the pin broke a long time ago but did not tie up the firing pin until the broken piece actually fell out. I can't wait to hear what my department "factory certified parts replacer" has to say about this. Can any of you who know Sigs tell me if this is a problem with these guns?

Dave Sinko

[DougCarden]

Dave,

Other than replacing all the factory mainsprings on my guns with the new improved heavier damn mainspring we have not had that problems with our 35 DAKs......(6.5lbs my ass......now about 8.5).

I too share your expert assessment of the unit..... \

I have a marine that dry fires alot, I will have to check out his gun......Thanks for the heads up.....

The only thing that made the gun tolerable for me was grip tape on the front strap and grip tape on the outside grip panel as well.....( I shoot it twice a year at range, that is all.....)

DougC

[hf219]

Did you dry fire the gun after taking that pin out of the slide, is that what your saying? It could be that if you just drove the pin back into the slide you locked up the firing pin! The pin should certainly not have fell out. The gun should be serviced periodically, I dont have the specs in front of me, Id say something like once a year and every two years the slide should be disassembled and checked. If your dry firing that much, your department armorer should know this so the appropriate interval for inspections of your gun be modified. Whats done is done, make sure you get your gun fixed first thing. Im a Sig armorer and it may just be that you need to have your gun serviced more often than what they think the general periodic inspections should be. Oh yeah, im an officer as well and fight the same battles with my department. We use the P220 in .45, im on my fourth gun in 5 years, the current soon to be retired dept. armorer fixed guns by giving you a new or recently retired one and putting your broken gun into a pile in his desk drawer. Nice isnt it! Oh yeah if your department isnt inspeting and repairing your gun as Sig says to, make sure you tell your family about this and record it, I have, if anything unfortunate were to happen at least its recorded and the appropriate parties will be held accountable. I know that wont help you, i can also appreciate the restrictions we have with our firearms as well. If your armorer wont do anything about it, then right a letter through the chain of command and file a copy. Sometimes you just dont know how dirty the floor is until you turn on a light. Hope this helps H!

[double_pedro]

Sounds like you broke your firing pin positioning pin. When you dry-fire, do you use a snap cap? I've heard people caution against extensive dry firing without a snap cap or risk breaking this pin. 20,000 dry-fires without a snap cap would probably qualify. You may find others to who have had this problem on the Sigforum (www.sigforum.com).

[JThompson]

This isn't a good gun to dryfire without snap caps... You broke the firing pin position pin. You want to also look at the firing pin, spring and plunger. I'm not smith, but a friend of mine has this as a duty weapon and had the same issue. He put in a call for their armorer and he found another broke in a five person force.

Both guys did extensive DF with no caps.

EDIT: ON the positive, since using caps he has not had any problems.

Edited November 24, 2008 by JThompson

[SiG Lady]

When I had both my Sigs (P239, P229) something told me not to dry-fire them too much. I consulted a 'smith about it and he definitely suggested I NOT dry-fire them without snap caps. Better still, not at all. So, not abusing them with dry-fire, I never had a problem with them during the time I had them.

[lugnut]

A little annoying... since Sig will say you can dry fire till your heart's content. I had an older roll pin model (p228) have the spins break... that was an easy fix. The newer pins are different (staked?) and I heard they are a PITA to replace.

[David Sinko]

I dry fire this gun a lot for two reasons:

1. It is an ergonomically poor design and therefore very difficult to shoot well. Since I am not allowed to burn up the department's supply of live ammo, I simply MUST dry fire. This gun demands a vigorous dry fire regimen for the shooter to maintain any degree of proficiency.

2. I am first and foremost a revolver shooter, and dry firing a DA auto with a rotten trigger pull does wonders for my revolver shooting.

I suspect the pin broke a long time ago. I could see that it was loose in the slide, but I figured it was normal. The gun also has a loose ejector (as does every other department Sig that I have examined) and our "factory certified parts replacers" couldn't even tell me if a loose ejector is normal or not! I even shot our night qualification two weeks ago without any problems. It's nice that the gun continued to function properly and that the broken pin fell out when I was unloading it. I would've been in big trouble if the thing had fallen out on the street.

Previously I had no desire to be a "factory certified parts replacer" since in modern law enforcement "gun guys" are considered dangerous types. An accident waiting to happen. It is now clear to me that I will have to learn to maintain this gun on my own, since the consequences of NOT doing this can be disastrous. I need to look out for myself since I can expect nobody else to look out for me.

I will have this thing examined tomorrow.

Can anybody recommend a good reference for disassembling and maintaining the Sig 229 DAK?

Dave Sinko

[Jim Watson]

There is a DVD on the subject but unfortunately it does not cover the DAK. One post in the thread on Sigforum says the differences are not great once you have seen the bits.

http://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/150...m/260107403/p/1

Maybe the folks on that board could help.

[DougCarden]

Dave, PM me with whatever you need......

DougC