Rule 1 Rule 1 Rule 1

NIGHTLORD40K

NIGHTLORD40K

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So, brought another Pico home yesterday from 3-day wait jail and was going to do some plinking in the back yard. I had inspected it at the shop before buying, so I knew there were no barrel obstructions, catastrophic cracks, or whatnot- but I have a hard rule about doing a strip and lube before shooting any new gun.
This is what I found-
IMG_0555.jpg

The firing pin was seized in the fully extended position.

I had to give it a good whack with a punch to get it free. I have no doubt that it would have resulted in a discharge if I had chambered a live round. Indeed, it could have done a full-auto mag dump....

I was able to duplicate the problem by pushing hard on the pin. I took out and de-burred the pin and channel with chrome polish and a rotary tool. It now moves like oiled glass and will not bind even when hit hard with a tack hammer.

I can only assume the shop dry-fired the gun before I took possession. This wouldn't happen during live fire because the pin could never extend that far with a primer in front of it- we are talking almost 3mm of protrusion.

Lessons reinforced:
1) RULE 1 (ALWAYS POINT MUZZLE IN A SAFE DIRECTION AT ALL TIMES)!!!!
2) Always thoroughly inspect any new firearm before shooting OR LOADING.
3) RULE 1
4) Never underestimate the stupidity of people handling your guns.
5) RULE 1

Be safe out there, ya'll.
 
Last edited:
NIGHTLORD40K said:
I have no doubt that it would have resulted in a discharge if I had chambered a live round. Indeed, it could have done a full-auto mag dump....
Click to expand...

If the pistol is controlled feed, that one is sticking out far enough I'd have guessed it would have just eliminated the ability for the case to slide up high enough in the breech face to even close the action.
 
jmorris said:
If the pistol is controlled feed, that one is sticking out far enough I'd have guessed it would have just eliminated the ability for the case to slide up high enough in the breech face to even close the action.
Click to expand...
You may be right, if one were to feed the first round from the mag. Would still probably go off if the slide were dropped on a chambered round, as I was planning to do- though ya, no mag dump in that case.
 
Probably would not chamber the next round, but yeah, that's not good. Smart moves on your part. Whenever I buy a pistol new or otherwise I always follow this short plan:

Strip, inspect, clean and lube, understand the firing mechanism and any safety features.
Load one round via magazine and fire it. Check for function.
Load two rounds via magazine and fire them. Validate no auto fire.
Full mag +1 and run it for a few boxes, etc.
 
If it was stuck well enough and the round was already in the chamber that would do it.

None of the fixed firing pin SMG's I have are controlled feed. They are snapped under the extractor as the bolt slams home vs slide under it as they are stripped from the mag.

3EFA5A8C-4DD9-4C09-84DA-9BF6517E3E87.jpeg
 
I worked on a Savage .17 Mag. yesterday that someone must have won in a raffle. (It is a gun we often put in local raffles.)
They had a 50% ignition rate. I took it apart and it still had the thick packing grease from the factory in it! I got it all out relubed it with CLP, and lo and behold they all went off!
Definitely both good reminders to always inspect any gun you acquire!
 
entropy said:
I worked on a Savage .17 Mag. yesterday that someone must have won in a raffle. (It is a gun we often put in local raffles.)
They had a 50% ignition rate. I took it apart and it still had the thick packing grease from the factory in it! I got it all out relubed it with CLP, and lo and behold they all went off!
Definitely both good reminders to always inspect any gun you acquire!
Click to expand...
May I add to your good story ? The first cleaning before first use to check for machining chips and slivers . To rid it of cutting oil. Lube it where and with what the manual says. Might help new enthusiasts.
 
jmorris said:
If the pistol is controlled feed, that one is sticking out far enough I'd have guessed it would have just eliminated the ability for the case to slide up high enough in the breech face to even close the action.
Click to expand...

Saw it happen. A Colt S80 stuck the firing pin forward, probably driven far enough to hang on the firing pin obstruction when dry fired at the IDPA ULSC of the previous stage. The next attempt to load it, the round slid up the breechface and stopped against the protruding firing pin. That was a high profanity clearance.
 
History lesson: Some older original Colt 1911's suffered from improperly tempered slides. I had one which I used extensively....one day I was shooting it and it slamfired. Seems the face of the slide (where the firing pin hole was) deformed enough that it seized the firing pin.
Contacted Colt and was informed the new Colt owner (at that time) would not honor the original warranty. I had to send it out to have a sleeve inserted in the face of the bolt at my expense. No problems since.
 
Last edited:
entropy said:
I worked on a Savage .17 Mag. yesterday that someone must have won in a raffle. (It is a gun we often put in local raffles.)
They had a 50% ignition rate. I took it apart and it still had the thick packing grease from the factory in it! I got it all out relubed it with CLP, and lo and behold they all went off!
Definitely both good reminders to always inspect any gun you acquire!
Click to expand...
My buddy bought a well-used, but apparently well cared-for M92 Beretta couple years ago. It was a retired Prince George's County Sheriff's Department gun.
Gun looked clean inside and out, but no-fire at all on his first range trip. We discovered the firing pin was bound up solid in rock-hard dried grease. Had to to soak the slide overnight in carb cleaner to get it freed.
I shudder to think that an unsuspecting Deputy may have been carrying that brick for who-knows how long. 😳
 
I always remember my oldest brother giving me his gun safety lesson. Rule 1 is "never point a gun at any person". Okay, I said. Rule 2 is listen to everything I say. I said, "okay". Then he said, "point the (bb) gun at me. I did and he slapped me across the head and said, Remember Rule 1.
 
As for the fairly common situation where an SKS rifle has a stuck firing pin, so many novices don't read about this before they buy an SKS with dried cosmoline on the firing pin.
You should be able to shake the bolt and hear the pin "rattle" a bit.

💀This apparently was Not done, and was Fatal for a new owner (of an SKS) in California.:(
The gun went off like a machine gun, killed the owner at a gun range. The article was in the "Sacramento Bee" newspaper, but did not explain the mechanics of the tragedy.
 
Ignition Override said:
As for the fairly common situation where an SKS rifle has a stuck firing pin, so many novices don't read about this before they buy an SKS with dried cosmoline on the firing pin.
You should be able to shake the bolt and hear the pin "rattle" a bit.

💀This apparently was Not done, and was Fatal for a new owner (of an SKS) in California.:(
The gun went off like a machine gun, killed the owner at a gun range. The article was in the "Sacramento Bee" newspaper, but did not explain the mechanics of the tragedy.
Click to expand...
True with most military rifles with floating firing pins. 👍
Can't do a shake test on a handgun slide, though, as most - if not all- have spring-loaded or otherwise captured pins.
 
It ain't jut the gun. The old timers going after the sort of game that might take offense at being shot at used to say make sure all your ammo will chamber before going out. I have a small collection of factory ammo that won't chamber. Picture a buffalo getting bigger in your sights and the bolt won't close. Same could cause a self loader to hang up on a social occasion.
 
Ignition Override said:
As for the fairly common situation where an SKS rifle has a stuck firing pin, so many novices don't read about this before they buy an SKS with dried cosmoline on the firing pin.
You should be able to shake the bolt and hear the pin "rattle" a bit.

💀This apparently was Not done, and was Fatal for a new owner (of an SKS) in California.:(
The gun went off like a machine gun, killed the owner at a gun range. The article was in the "Sacramento Bee" newspaper, but did not explain the mechanics of the tragedy.
Click to expand...

One of those happened when I had my brother in law and a friend of his out to the farm to shoot. The friend had an SKS he'd just bought, so I asked him if he'd cleaned it well, he said "Yeah, I got all that grease off it."
Well, he didn't get it all out of it, and it machine gunned all 10 rounds. Fortunately, nothing hurt but his pride, and our guts from laughing at him.
I paused the shooting and took it into my shop. 15 minutes later, we were back out shooting.
 
The best thing you can do with an SKS is remove the bolt and send it to Murray's Gun Smithing to get a proper spring retracted firing pin installed. I have three Yugo's and after the first went full auto on me due to the firing pin sticking I sent them all down. Best money I ever spent. Murraysguns.com
 
entropy: Spending about 1-2 hours online before the purchase might have prevented what could have been very bad for somebody downrange.

These SKS specialists:cool: near Ft. Worth can do anything necessary with an SKS: add a firing pin Spring, perform low-cost, very precise and minimal "chamber reaming" if a Yugo SKS has had a nasty popped-primer incident-----and Far more.
They reamed the chambers on Both of my M59s (an "M59" is Not a 59/66).
No loss of accuracy and no more popped primers, and one of these "Popped" incidents blew the Firing Pin Out the Rear of the Bolt!o_O Think about this for a moment....:scrutiny: What stops an ejected Firing Pin from going into your eye?

----Steel Horse Rider: I typed all of this before seeing that you know all about Murray's.

To summarize, Murray's does excellent work at moderate prices, some of which can prevent fatal ☠️💀🤕situations. You really Don't want to be a "tight wad" if something doesn't seem, or is not normal.
Novices--get off yer' butt and read up any type of unfamiliar gun. Don't expect other people to "Spoon-Feed" you.
murraysguns.com

Murray’s Gunsmithing, Newport Texas

As a full-service gun shop, Murray's can repair or restore ANY firearm...modern or antique. Our parts fabrication experience should make Murray's Gunsmithing your first choice for repair or restoration of firearms of exceptional value. RIFLES SHOTGUNS
murraysguns.com murraysguns.com
 
Last edited:
Steel Horse Rider said:
The best thing you can do with an SKS is remove the bolt and send it to Murray's Gun Smithing to get a proper spring retracted firing pin installed. I have three Yugo's and after the first went full auto on me due to the firing pin sticking I sent them all down. Best money I ever spent. Murraysguns.com
Click to expand...


Ignition Override said:
entropy: Spending about 1-2 hours online before the purchase might have prevented what could have been very bad for somebody downrange.

These SKS specialists:cool: near Ft. Worth can do anything necessary with an SKS: add a firing pin Spring, perform low-cost, very precise and minimal "chamber reaming" if a Yugo SKS has had a nasty popped-primer incident-----and Far more.
They reamed the chambers on Both of my M59s (an "M59" is Not a 59/66).
No loss of accuracy and no more popped primers, and one of these "Popped" incidents blew the Firing Pin Out the Rear of the Bolt!o_O Think about this for a moment....:scrutiny: What stops an ejected Firing Pin from going into your eye?

----Steel Horse Rider: I typed all of this before seeing that you know all about Murray's.

To summarize, Murray's does excellent work at moderate prices, some of which can prevent dangerous situations. You really Don't want to be a tight wad if something doesn't seem, or is not normal.
murraysguns.com

Murray’s Gunsmithing, Newport Texas

As a full-service gun shop, Murray's can repair or restore ANY firearm...modern or antique. Our parts fabrication experience should make Murray's Gunsmithing your first choice for repair or restoration of firearms of exceptional value. RIFLES SHOTGUNS
murraysguns.com murraysguns.com
Click to expand...

You're both preaching to the choir here. I was a member on Survivor's SKS forum before I was one here, and I've been on here since 2004.

I probably should have taken his SKS apart first, as I did for a friend that bought one later, but took the guy at his word.
 
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