Glock 23 Soft pin strike

[ExAgoradzo]

I inherited my dads G23. So far a I know he actually fired it on two occasions with me (2004 manufacture). He probably shot it at least one other time because I saw he bought a magazine I never saw before when I was going through his stuff in January.

When I got it home I decided that I should spend some money and bought an extended mag and slide release. I also bought new sights, a new take apart lever (name?), and a Timney trigger.

I didn’t shoot it before I did all this stuff (stupid me!).

Took it to the hills, pull trigger, nothing. Rack, trigger, nothing.

Took it home, took it apart and put it back together again. Two pulls and two bangs.

Back to the hills trigger, bang. trigger nothing. Look at bullet and it had a strike on the primer but no bang. Rack, trigger, bang. Trigger, no bang. But again a soft pin strike.

I thought later I should shoot that Winchester white box ammo through my Sig to see if it works. I could also buy another box of some other brand of 40 SW and see if that works in the Glock…

Any ideas?

Thank you everyone!

Greg

 

[Pat Riot]

How deep was the primer strike?
Did it look normal?

 

[ExAgoradzo]

No, it looked soft.
But you see the other one looks overpressured…
Greg

 

[ExAgoradzo]

 

[Pat Riot]

Definitely light strikes. The one that looks overpressured looks like some of the 9mm ammo I fire. Especially Sellier & Bellot and Fiocchi ammo. It runs a bit warm.

Perhaps the striker (firing pin) channel is dirty or the spring may need replacing.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

“Channel dirty” definitely possible, I’ll look into that.

I’ll also look up to see how to tell a spring is bad. That was a thought I had but didn’t want willi nilli to go buy one…

Thanks,
Greg

 

[N555]

My striker fired sten used to make soft hits like that on pistol primers. So I put in a longer firing pin and a stronger striker spring. Now it fires cci41 primers like nothing.

 

[JohnKSa]

I see one case that looks pretty normal for one fired from a Glock and two light strikes.

It looks to me like the new trigger is dropping the striker before it has completely deactivated the firing pin safety. So sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

I didn’t shoot it before I did all this stuff (stupid me!).

Unless you threw them all away you can always put the original parts back in the gun and see if it works.

I would absolutely do that before I spent any more money on parts or any more time looking for some other possible solution.

 

[jonb32248]

Ck the striker channel and replace the striker spring.

 

[Rexster]

Add me the the chorus that is recommending checking the firing pin channel. Even if there is not much solid debris inside it, there may well be hardened/concealed lube, or hardened/congealed cleaning product.

 

[Otto]

Make sure the Timney assembly is completely down inside the Glock's frame and the washer is in place and the screw is tight. If it rises just a little it impedes the firing pin causing the light strikes. Perform the firing pin pencil test to confirm.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

“Firing pin pencil test”?

Please educate me…
Greg

 

[JTQ]

“Firing pin pencil test”?

Please educate me…
Greg

 

[5-SHOTS]

Put all the stock parts back and enjoy.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

So, the pencil test barely passed. The pencil only just comes out of the barrel.

I checked the channel for the pin and it looks fine. I bought a new spring it is on its way. Unfortunately I’m leaving town for a week so I won’t pick it up again for a bit.

I really appreciate your help High Road!

Greg

 

[Otto]

^ Call Timney and they will likely send you a new trigger. Their customer service is excellent.
When you install a Timney, it's important to keep all other parts factory stock (including springs).
If all else fails (highly unlikely) Timney offers trigger installs for 75.

 

[JTQ]

So, the pencil test barely passed. The pencil only just comes out of the barrel.
Greg

I don't know what a striker gun is supposed to do, but a hammer fired gun like the 1911 in the video is really going to drive the pencil. It may not be what you'd expect with a striker gun.

 

[Hartkopf]

Can you hear the firing pin tinking when you shake the gun back and forth (same axis as the firing pin runs)? The channel should be dry, no lube on the firing pin.

 

[JohnKSa]

So, the pencil test barely passed. The pencil only just comes out of the barrel.

That's pretty normal. They don't have a ton of firing pin energy, that's why they have the oddly shaped firing pin tip.

I bought a new spring it is on its way.

There is very little chance that it needs a new striker spring. As far as I know there is no recommended replacement interval for the striker spring--Glock doesn't expect it to wear out with normal use. I suppose you could replace it every 20,000 rounds along with the spring cups if you wanted to be really proactive.

The mostly likely situation is that there is some kind of an issue with the Timney trigger or how it was installed.

 

[epags]

Add me the the chorus that is recommending checking the firing pin channel. Even if there is not much solid debris inside it, there may well be hardened/concealed lube, or hardened/congealed cleaning product.

Yes, yes, yes.

 

[Master Blaster]

It's the Trigger put the stock trigger back in the gun and it will work fine.

 

[epags]

And just for reference, let me tell you my experience last month and make a (when all else fails) recommendation.
I shoot a Glock 36 (45ACP), bought in 2005 and, along with my Colt 1911, has been shot extensively. Last month (YES it failed to eject) it fired but had several failures to eject. Upon inspection I found that the slide lock lever had broken and the slide lock was missing. Upon tearing it down I found the slide lock spring was missing and apparently the integral slide lock spring retainer gone.

I contacted Glock and was told that: Glock owners can send their pistol in to the factory for inspection and repairs anytime they like. While the comprehensive one year warranty begins at the time of purchase we honor a limited lifetime guarantee on all Glock pistols and parts. We will inspect the pistol in detail, perform any necessary repairs or replacements, and test the pistol thoroughly in our range to ensure the pistol is functioning correctly. There is no charge for this service and we will cover the return shipping to you. The whole process should take about two weeks. So my recommendation is that you consider doing that .

Which I did and they did. If you should to do so, be aware: #1. You have to send it UPS overnight air (FedEx no longer accepts firearms from us deplorables) Overnight air did cost me about $55. UPS offers 3 options and I chose the 'slowest' of the three; #2. Glock has very good email communications; #3. They will send it back to you @ their expense; AND #4. They replace all non-Glock parts with OEM parts and (maybe) send the non-Glock parts back to you. I was pretty careful to replace the extended mag with the original mag but I forgot I had installed a lightened trigger. They replaced it with an OEM trigger but did not return the old one.

In my case because the frame had to be replaced, it had a new serial number and had to be sent to a FFL holder. So, I had to DROS it, pay the FFL holder a processing fee and wait 10 days due to lovely California regulations'