Abnormal firing pin strike? (pic)

[howelljeffrey]

Not sure if this is the right section to post this in but... I am getting some weird strike marks on my primers. Gun: xd 40 sc, only 200+- rounds through it. The gun shoots fine just seems like the firing pin isn't striking correctly. Does this look right?

 

[olyeller]

They look ok to me.
Just a little primer smear.
Does it do that with factory ammo?
If so, good to go.

 

[a5werkes]

If you look closely at the shape of the firing pin aperture on the breech face of your XD you will see it has a "tear-drop" shape to it......same as the imprint on your primer. It is designed this way because the gun has a dropping barrel breech locking mechanism. Any pistol using a dropping barrel locking system drags the case head downward across the breech during unlocking. The depression creates a cam action on any primer cratering or other primer deformation that may otherwise tie the pistol up - it particularly improves functionality with higher-pressure ammo. Striker fired pistols are somewhat more prone to this difficulty than hammer fired pistols with floating firing pins.

Think of its a breech face shoe horn to let the cartridge cases with deformed primers to easily slip off the breech face.

Glocks, M&P's and other striker fired weapons employ a similar striker pin aperture geometry.

 

[straitnate14]

My XD 45 does the same thing

 

[azyogi]

FWIW I had a Zastava do this, on really close inspection there was a small burr on the back side of the firing pin aperture delaying the retraction of the firing pin during ejection. Once I stoned this off and smoothed the body of the firing pin with 0000 steel wool the mark or pin smear went away. I have heard this described as 'normal' for some guns, and I am not familar with XD's.