How Hard does The Firing Pin Hit

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WALKERs210

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Learned a simple test on how to check on impact of the firing pin against shell without firing a single shot. I had a 45ACP that I took out for testing the pistol failed to fire, I examined the primer and not a single mark on the primer. While discussing this with the gun shop the owner showed me a quick and easy way to see if it hits and a good idea how hard it hits. Take a No. 2 pencil with a new rubber erasure, drop the pencil down barrel until it rest against the face of bolt and pull trigger. If it hits you will be surprised how high it will jump, and if it don't move , well you get the idea. Might be an old trick but its new to me so thought I'd share.
 
Fun test anyhow. My son was wondering why he was getting an occasional misfire and I told him to test it this way. I got out my own 1911 and reported to him that it shot the pencil straight up about 3 1/2 feet.

His made it less than a foot, which we thought pointed to the problem.

But I tried it with a new Dixon pencil on a Taurus 92 (both DA and SA) and the pencil only moved up the barrel about two inches.

The same with a Model 10, so I'm not sure how reliable a test this is... except to say that the 1911 sure threw that pencil out compared to the other two --both of which had no trouble with misfires or light strikes at all.

For general information, Hatcher reports that the standard tests for primer sensitivity back in the day went like this, with a ball dropped onto the firing pin.

.22 RF
weight of ball: 2oz
distance dropped: 21 in
results required: All fire

.22 RF
weight of ball: 2 oz
distance dropped: 2 in
results required: None fire

cal .30 M2
weight of ball: 4oz
distance dropped: 15 in
results required: All fire

cal .30 M2
weight of ball: 4oz
distance dropped : 2in
results required: None fire

Page 395. Elsewhere he states the same kind of specs but in terms of in-oz of energy.

Just FYI additional.

Terry, 230RN
 
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Some guns are also sensitive to primer hardness. I have a Luger that light strikes WWB every few rounds, but runs perfectly with Fiocchi. This leads me to believe the Fiocchi primers are softer. So, if I want to fire the Luger, guess what I buy.
I did the test using an oak dowell. The Luger (all new springs) pushed about three inches. A Glock threw the dowell up and out the barrel a good two feet. S&W 27-2, a bit further. The difference in your like models could just be firing pin/main spring strength.
 
I woulda never thought of that test. Man is it fun with a Bic ballpoint pen!
 
I would think strikers would tend to hit harder as they are driven fully forward with a spring. Most hammer fired pins do the opposite, having to overcome spring resistance after being struck to reach their full forward position.
 
Strikers operate in the same manner as hammers. When fired, the striker is accelerated by one spring, gaining momentum which pushes it against a second spring. Were it not for the second spring, what would retract the firing pin?
 
I stuck my finger in one of my .22's to dry fire. Considering how much punch it takes to strike a rimfire round, maybe I should have thought that one through a little more. It hits pretty hard :D.

I'll try the pencil next time.
 
I mus a don something wrong. I tried this and it just blew the pencil into a thousand splinters
 
Strikers operate in the same manner as hammers. When fired, the striker is accelerated by one spring, gaining momentum which pushes it against a second spring. Were it not for the second spring, what would retract the firing pin?
Click to expand...

Nope. Every stiker I have seen only has a spring behind it to propel it forward. No spring in front to bebound the pin back like a hammer fired gun. Upon firing, the striker rests against the breach until the slide recoils to the rear. When the slide is on its way forward the sear catches the striker, resetting it to it's semicocked position.

Edit: After thinking about it some more, maybe a Glock striker does rebound back. Using the same spring that drives it. They have an interesting spring design. I dont know, maybe a Glock owner can confirm. I know my SR9 definatly did not. Nor does my HiPoint carbine.
 
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Not a valid test of anything.

You will find if you try this on enough different gun designs that most striker fired guns, and most hammer fired guns will barely move a pencil.
Due to limited firing pin travel, limited by design.

I just tried several guns.
* Glock 23 .40 S&W = Barely move the pencil.
* Four different S&W revolvers .357, .44, & .45 ACP - Three with hammer mounted FP's - one with frame mounted FP = Barely moved the pencil.
* SIG P6 9mm = Barely moved the pencil.
* Colt SAA .45 Colt with hammer mounted FP = Barely moved the pencil.

* Two Colt 1911's and a S&W Model 39 = Pencils bounced off the ceiling!
And one from a 1911 stuck in it!

This is not to say one design is more likely to set off a primer then any other.
There are no more reliable guns then all of them I tested.

But, the 1911 & Model 39 use long inertia firing pins with almost unlimited travel to push a pencil out of the barrel.

All the others have short & limited firing pin travel.

They are all just as 100% reliable at setting off primers.
They just won't shoot a pencil out of the barrel.

rc
 
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As an aside.

We trained in the barracks in the 1960's with 1911's and pencils down the barrel.

A tiny sighter target spot was taped to a wall.
Then you stood a few inches from the target and dry-fired the pencil at the paper.

Your sight alignment, breathing, & trigger control was well represented by the pencil mark 'groups' on the paper.
The better you got, the closer the lead dots grouped together on the paper.

Also, balanced a coin on the slide and dry fired with that.
If the coin fell off, you jerked or flenched when the hammer fell!

Very cheap way to learn shooting basics.

rc
 
I stuck my finger in one of my .22's to dry fire. Considering how much punch it takes to strike a rimfire round, maybe I should have thought that one through a little more. It hits pretty hard .

I'll try the pencil next time.
Click to expand...



I did this with a Mossberg 500, left quite a mark.
 
"Strikers operate in the same manner as hammers. When fired, the striker is accelerated by one spring, gaining momentum which pushes it against a second spring. Were it not for the second spring, what would retract the firing pin? "

Some striker fired designs keep the firing pin fully forward to act as an ejector.
 
Glock firing pins stay forward when fired. They reset when the next round is being chambered. There is really nothing complicated about a Glock.
 
I have been doing that pencil trick for many years. Some guns will launch it across the room, others barely move, but all fire.
 
As an aside.

We trained in the barracks in the 1960's with 1911's and pencils down the barrel.

A tiny sighter target spot was taped to a wall.
Then you stood a few inches from the target and dry-fired the pencil at the paper.

Your sight alignment, breathing, & trigger control was well represented by the pencil mark 'groups' on the paper.
The better you got, the closer the lead dots grouped together on the paper.

Also, balanced a coin on the slide and dry fired with that.
If the coin fell off, you jerked or flenched when the hammer fell!

Very cheap way to learn shooting basics.
Click to expand...

One of my old 1911 manuals has that as a training aid in it. I think there was even a target page to hang up on the wall in there.
 
pencils down the barrel.
Click to expand...

I found that you can tighten up your groups by wrapping a little tape around the pencil until it is a sliding fit in the bore.

(Getting a good group with this method isn't as easy as it may sound....:uhoh:
After all, you're only inches from the target.....;))
 
I really don't expect this to be any type of a serious test but at the least it is fun. My 1911 will really launch the pencil across the room, next thing is to put a sewing needle in the end of pencil and see if I can hit a fly.
 
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