This is what happens when you try to make your own firing pin.

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LRShooting

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Some guy in the area (I don't know him, but some others do) broke a firing pin in his 300 win. I don't know what kind of gun it was, but he got a nail and fashioned a crude firing pin to use as a replacement. Problem occurred when he made it too long and closed the bolt fast and hard on a live round. Apparently, it shoved the bolt back through his hand. So don't be stupid and try to do that. Poor guy learned the hard way.

Just a disclaimer, the only parts I know for sure are true is that he tried to make a firing pin because the original broke and he made it too long. Also that he was hurt pretty bad after the round went off. I don't know what "going though his hand" involves. I say this because I don't know how many people it went through before it got said to me. I do know that several people told me the same general thing.
 
If you own a 300 Mag and you make a firing pin out of a nail, you are an idiot, plain and simple as it gets...
 
Kinda like those that shoot an auto with a thumb riding the slide.....

I imagine that he had a sore hand, but a lot of the pressure would have been bled out through the loading area of the action as the casing cleared the chamber on the way back. I bet he wont do that again. Hope he makes a full recovery and has a good memory.

Stupid hurts.
 
Hmm, I only tried making my own firing pin once for the 50 BMG I built and I never had any problems with it. Machining it was only half the battle, proper heat treat is the key to longevity.

I have made lots of things that were of better quality than what many companies send out, not to mention the folks that make parts or program the machines that do are just people too.

Maybe "Here is a story of what could happen if you don't know what to do, how to do it or how to test and make sure it's safe before using live ammunition." should be the title.
 
if you HAD to you could make a firing pin. Done properly it would work fine.
Proper measuring, hardening, testing.. it has been done, usually for guns that demand fabrication for most parts
 
I have made firing pins from drill rod for a couple of guns but I also spent a lot of time fitting them before firing to insure that they moved properly, retracted as designed, and did not protrude from the bolt face except when they were in the fired position. Darwin acts in predictable ways.....
 
Someone once told me that incidents like this only occur because of the serious shortage of Sabre Toothed Tigers. This guy meets the minimum nomination qualification for a Darwin Award.
 
About 15 yrs ago I took a hand-me-down 22lr/410 over-under to a smith because the 22 stopped working. He said the firing pin was made from a nail and replaced it with a real firing pin. The gun was my great grandfather's. My dad had been in possession of it since about 1980 and neither he or I had replaced the pin. I shot a lot of squirrels, rabbits and maybe even a couple doves perched. Held up pretty good for a nail.
 
People just need to be aware of their limitations. Some people are capable of making a safe and functional firing pin from a nail or other piece of steel. However, there are plenty of people that couldn't install a factory made firing pin in a safe or functional way.

The simple truth is some people should not be working on or modifying guns in any way shape of form.

I try to recognize my limitations. There are some things that I'll do, but there are other things that I'll leave to a gunsmith.
 
I've made a firing pin for a old Stevens break action 12Ga I had back in the late 80's but like was mentioned earlier I used some drill rod & fitted it properly before a live round was used.
I also had a Gun Smith friend help me along too.
 
Hmm.... just last night I was contemplating trying to make a firing pin for a semi-auto 9mm that I picked up for cheap. It is a cheap gun, if I can get it to fire once with a homemade pin I'd be happy, but now I am not so sure....
 
First question is where are the pics?

I have made two firing pins in the past. I used drill rod and know a bit about heat treating. I worked in my dads machine shop all my young life and have the tools to properly measure the correct length.

Some things are better left to those who do this for a living.
 
even making zip guns in my long-ago youth i used sheet metal screws so i could move the 'pin' forward till it operated reliably.
and i used my trusty Lee Loader and a hammer to make primer only rounds to test.

i always figured and planned around Murphy long before i was told of him.
 
AtlDave:

Riding the back of the slide. Shoulda said back, but I figured y'all could figure that out.
 
Some people don't know better as you can tell.... Some have the knowledge, skill, and supplies/equipment to do so and it works fine then. I really wish I had some pictures. I was really curious to see it myself. As I said though, I don't personally know the guy and I never was shown any pictures. I bet it looked wicked though.
 
I bet it was not as bad as the guy that used a live 50 BMG round as a pin punch.
 
Trying to figure out how he could have driven the bolt through his hand...his hand would have been on the handle closing the bolt, not behind it.:scrutiny:
Of course some people are extremely creative in figuring out ways to hurt themselves:)
 
You can actually hold a pistol slide completely closed without injury
Click to expand...

Ya, but you have to hold on REAL TIGHT. If your grip is loose the slide IS coming back under it and I bet a front sight WILL leave a mark.
 
I don't know, I tried making a hot girl friend out of money one time. It worked really well for a while. I was so happy. Then I ran out of money.
 
rhinoh said:
Trying to figure out how he could have driven the bolt through his hand...his hand would have been on the handle closing the bolt, not behind it.:scrutiny:
Of course some people are extremely creative in figuring out ways to hurt themselves:)
Click to expand...
Yea, like I said, I don't know what they meant by "through". People can change one word and completely alter how bad it was. Also, the bolt handle goes back too, so im sure if there is enough power for it to actually push it back hard enough to break skin. I suppose it would have left some nasty bruises and maybe a broken bone if it was just right.
 
I saw my dad make a firing pin for an AK out of an appropriate sized bolt. All he used was an old post vise, a hack saw, and a couple files.

It took a lot of careful fitting, but it worked until a replacement part could be located.
 
I always tested them with just a primed case first. :) If you make them out of the stainless steel whip antennae from a state cop car, theres' no heat treatment needed. Old smithing trick. you are welcome.
 
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