Is this normal?

[pwrstrkd]

New sig 220... On sigs it looks as if the hammer never touches the firing pin. When dry firing the hammer never goes all the way against the pin. Am I missing something here??

 

[GarySTL]

We need to see the high speed video!

Have you shot the pistol? If so, then the hammer is hitting the firing pin. I suspect the hammer hits the pin and rebounds too fast for you to see.

 

[Kiln]

Trigger probably needs to be pulled all the way back through the entire trigger pull for it to fire. This is probably what you're doing wrong, when you're letting the hammer down are you easing off of the trigger at all?

I'd just try firing it and see what happens.

 

[Solo]

Your gun is broken. Please send it to me for repairs.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Do a PENCIL test. Hold the gun vertically, put a pencil in the barrel of the EMPTY gun, and then pull the trigger, either double-action or single-action. See if the pencil moves. If the hammer is actually striking the firing pin, it'll move the pencil, often substantially. It may be striking the firing pin and you just can't see it.

 

[stonecutter2]

Do a PENCIL test. Hold the gun vertically, put a pencil in the barrel of the EMPTY gun, and then pull the trigger, either double-action or single-action. See if the pencil moves. If the hammer is actually striking the firing pin, it'll move the pence, often substantially. It may be striking the firing pin and you just can't see it.

Yep.

When it strikes it, it can be very fast.

 

[Bobson]

Is the pencil test safe (assuming proper backstop and doublecheck empty) to do in all CF semi-auto handguns?

 

[9mmepiphany]

New sig 220... On sigs it looks as if the hammer never touches the firing pin. When dry firing the hammer never goes all the way against the pin. Am I missing something here??

Yup, you are.

Whether in live fire or dry fire the hammer strikes the back of the firing pin whenever you pull the trigger...you just aren't fast enough to see it

SIG's Classic P-series pistols are equipped with rebounding hammers. That means that the hammers spring back after they contact the rear of the firing pin. You can push the hammer forward into contact with the rear of the pin, but the pin won't move forward unless you hold the trigger to the rear to lift the FPS block out of the way

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Is the pencil test safe (assuming proper backstop and doublecheck empty) to do in all CF semi-auto handguns?

If the owner's manual doesn't warn against dry-firing, it should be safe. (It is, in effect, the same as dry-firing.)

 

[rcmodel]

Is the pencil test safe (assuming proper backstop and doublecheck empty)

It is safe.

But unreliable at best.

Pistols with inertia firing pins like the 1911 Colt will stick a pencil in the ceiling tile.

SIGS, Glocks, etc, with FP block safety's or striker fired will barely move them far enough to fall out of the barrel on the floor.

It is not a reliable test of most modern pistols.
And should not be used as a judge of reliability unless you have a 1911 or older S&W revolver to try it in.

rc

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Re; the Pencil Test...

It is safe.

But unreliable at best.

It's PERFECTLY reliable in this case -- which is simply to show that the hammer is hitting the firing pin. It was not suggested for any other purpose.

It seems reliable in the cases you cited, too, but not particularly indicative of anything meaningful except that the firing pin is moving when struck.