Titanium Firing Pin

[arthury]

Didn't someone (as in a manufacturer) encountered some technical issues with using Titanium Firing Pins in the past? Why did Ruger choose to go with this route?

 

[rcmodel]

They probably did it in order to pass California's stringent and stupid drop-testing so they can sell them there.

It's probably better then having a bunch of extra firing pin block parts in there gumming up the works.

Anyway, there were some problems with Ti pins back in the day when they first started showing up.
But I'm pretty confident Ruger knows how to make them now or they wouldn't have used them.

rc

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

I'm pretty sure it was just so they don't have to bother with a drop safety.

 

[WardenWolf]

Titanium firing pins can require a stronger spring by virtue of their light weight. They retain momentum less effectively than a heavier pin, potentially resulting in light strikes. That's their only major issue.

 

[VA27]

Springfield uses them. Don't hear any complaints from their users.

 

[JTQ]

As does S&W with their new "E" series 1911's. Colt uses them in their Series 70 Repro's.

Several makers use .38 Super sized firing pins (or in the case of Springfield a proprietary sized pin) to further reduce the mass of the pin.

As mentioned above, it allows them to pass drop tests without the use of a firing pin safety. In general, firing pin safety's are not popular with the 1911 crowd.

 

[stonecutter2]

Never had a problem with the one in my Springfield GI Model 1911.

 

[Skylerbone]

Never was a fan of those extra parts but took a new perspective away after reading this: http://www.10-8forums.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92823#Post92823

 

[MCMXI]

I installed Colt titanium firing pins in a couple of Kimbers a while back and didn't change the factory firing pin springs. The FPS has been removed from both Kimbers and I have about 500 rounds through one of the Kimbers and maybe 200 rounds through the other with no issues to report. The primers (WLP) of fired cases all show a significant primer strike so light primer strikes seem very, very unlikely.

 

[Jim K]

I didn't do as extensive testing as in that link, but I did enough to know that dropping a 1911 on its muzzle can and does result in firing from firing pin momentum alone (no hammer fall). I also found that the old type pistol would not fire when a pistol with a full length guide rod would fire at the same drop distance even though the pistols were the same mass (rounds were removed from the magazine to keep weight the same). The reason is that the old setup allowed the slide to move back when it dropped, absorbing some of the momentum, where the solid FLGR did not allow slide movement.

Of interest is that the engineers who designed the Polish Radom found the same thing, which is why they went with a telescoping guide rod instead of the solid one in their original design.

Jim