The 4 Rules saved my butt today...

[[email protected]]

Maybe literally... I was out at the range, home on vacation from overseas, finally getting to work on my recalcitrant Kareen Mk II 9mm that wasn't behaving. I was trying a stiffer recoil spring, and now I know that's a really, really, bad idea. At least without replacing the sear spring as well. The gun doubled two different times. I thought maybe if I put some rounds (carefully and safely) through it the recoil spring might "loosen up" a bit and the gun would behave. No such luck... then the fun part...drop the slide on a loaded mag and BANG!! Thank God for whatever anal retentive instructor, relative, mentor, whatever, that finally made the 4 Rules stick in my head. As the muzzle was pointed safely downrange, I survived with my anatomy, and since I was alone out there my dignity, intact. The really funny thing was the CLANG!!... the round even hit the &^@$# steel target I was using!! Yeah, the 4 Rules were kind to me today... would have been pretty embarrasing to have to flip through my NRA instructor certification cards to find my insurance card at the ER. Would have been even more so to have an EMT find them while looking for my next of kin... The really bad part is... the empty cases are still overriding the ejector... so the recoil spring change didn't even help.
I guess what I really wanna say is... even "gun guys"... hell, especially "gun guys", have to respect firearms and follow the Rules. It will definitely set a good example for other shooters, and just might save you some dry cleaning. That's my story... I'm going back to Bosnia where I'm safer!

DanO

 

[JohnKSa]

I'm not a gunsmith, but IMO, it should take more than a heavy recoil spring to make a gun double or fire on dropping the slide.

Glad you and everyone else are safe.

 

[Amish_Bill]

Heavier recoil springs increase slide velocity. Increased velocity can get the firing pin moving (with the slide) fast enough that the firing pin spring can't deal with the momentum.

That's why Wolff Extre Power recoil springs most always come with stronger firing pin springs. After a certain point, they need to be used as a set, or you can get doubles or runaways.

 

[[email protected]]

Oh yeah... the Wolff kit did come with the FP spring, and I did change it. The hammer was actually resetting and falling. I think maybe the recoil spring was slamming the slide back into battery so hard that the old, tired, sear spring wasn't resetting the sear fast enough, or maybe the sear was setting and the collision of the slide was jarring the innards enough to screw up sear engagement. The hammer was not cocked after about 2/3 of the shots fired. Obviously the biggest problem is I know alot more about shooting pistols than fixing them... and I don't know much about shooting them. I didn't really mean for this to turn into a "help-me-fix-my-gun" thread, but if anybody can... by all means, let me know. Or if anybody wants to buy an anchor for a very small boat, maybe a paperweight...

DanO

 

[Amish_Bill]

Hmmm... i AM going to be in your area shortly.... ;-)

I'm trying to recall how the HP sear is sprung, but I'm having a problem with that, umm... Ah, yes... that "memory" thing....

 

[Pylon]

I'm not a super whiz at knowing the internals for handguns, but as far as i know most guns have some sort of a firing pin block that makes it virtually impossible to fire off a round without pulling the trigger.

Anyways, how did his gun manage to slamfire (am i using the right term here?) with the firing pin block?


-Pylon

 

[Jim Watson]

Firing pin blocks are a relatively recent innovation. Real BHPs did not get them until the Mk III, Colt at Series 80 (1980, get it?), Smith autos at the three digit model number changeover, etc.

However, the half cock of that Kareen *should* have caught the hammer on the way down. Something is bad wrong with that gun and the spring swapping just aggravated it.

 

[PCRCCW]

Id agree....the firing pin spring can help with the increase of slide velocity and should assist in that relation to this problem. But doesnt sound like the problem. It sounds like you have sear/hammer issues. Id take it to someone who is BHP savy in your area.

Shoot well.