Firing Pin Striking Incorrectly, Should I Be Concerned? PICS

capercanuck

capercanuck

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I just purchased one of the Polish Tokarev's recently and finally made it to the range yesterday.

The pistol shot well, better than expected actually. The only issue is that when I collected the brass, it appears the pin is striking off center, then for lack of a better word, sliding towards the center of the primer.

I won't mention the name of the supplier. It's no reflection on them.

Is this something I should contact the supplier about and either ask for a repair or replacement?

Thanks for any input!

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Firing pin is hitting in the center = ok

and not a expert just seen a few things

What is happening is the firing pin is draging when barrel is in locking (Firing pin is not retracting)
not sure what is causing this, possible causes and (there is a possibility I have not thought of one)

By
Sticking
too long
wrong or weak firing pin spring
hammer holding pin down

ps never saw a drag mark that bad
 
The firing pin is being held forward by something a lot more firmly than it should be. The drag mark is occuring as the slide comes back and the barrel pivots downward. You say you cleaned it well but it would be worth shooting some brake cleaner through the firing opening to ensure that the firing pin channel is flushed out. Better yet would be to push out the retention pin and remove the firing pin and spring and clean it all nicely and ensure there's no burrs or other issues which might cause it to be held. A pack of pipe cleaners is excellent for running down long small bore holes such as the one in the slide. Also check that the end of the pin is nicely rounded the whole way around. The dent we can see looks fine. But there may be a burr on the side of the FP's nose which is wiped out by the drag mark.

You want to fix this issue as that much drag on the FP is going to cause it to snap sooner rather than later. Or it'll wear the hole in the slide to an oval shape soon. And that would be worse.
If you fully strip the firing pin out so you can check all this then oil it lightly only
 
ok, i think i'll do that.

i'll probably contact the supplier first, before i do anything. i'd hate to have them say i did something to it.

thanks,

mike

BCRider said:
The firing pin is being held forward by something a lot more firmly than it should be. The drag mark is occuring as the slide comes back and the barrel pivots downward. You say you cleaned it well but it would be worth shooting some brake cleaner through the firing opening to ensure that the firing pin channel is flushed out. Better yet would be to push out the retention pin and remove the firing pin and spring and clean it all nicely and ensure there's no burrs or other issues which might cause it to be held. A pack of pipe cleaners is excellent for running down long small bore holes such as the one in the slide. Also check that the end of the pin is nicely rounded the whole way around. The dent we can see looks fine. But there may be a burr on the side of the FP's nose which is wiped out by the drag mark.

You want to fix this issue as that much drag on the FP is going to cause it to snap sooner rather than later. Or it'll wear the hole in the slide to an oval shape soon. And that would be worse.
If you fully strip the firing pin out so you can check all this then oil it lightly only
Click to expand...
 
BCRider said:
The firing pin is being held forward by something a lot more firmly than it should be. The drag mark is occuring as the slide comes back and the barrel pivots downward. You say you cleaned it well but it would be worth shooting some brake cleaner through the firing opening to ensure that the firing pin channel is flushed out. Better yet would be to push out the retention pin and remove the firing pin and spring and clean it all nicely and ensure there's no burrs or other issues which might cause it to be held. A pack of pipe cleaners is excellent for running down long small bore holes such as the one in the slide. Also check that the end of the pin is nicely rounded the whole way around. The dent we can see looks fine. But there may be a burr on the side of the FP's nose which is wiped out by the drag mark.

You want to fix this issue as that much drag on the FP is going to cause it to snap sooner rather than later. Or it'll wear the hole in the slide to an oval shape soon. And that would be worse.
If you fully strip the firing pin out so you can check all this then oil it lightly only
Click to expand...

I agree. The dragging is placing an enormous amount of lateral force on the tip of the firing pin. Eventually, this will either snap off the tip of the pin, or oval its hole in the bolt face, both of which are "undesirable". I'd be surprised if the problem isn't cosmoline or grit still inside the firing pin channel. You might need to use a fairly aggressive chemical cleaner to get it all out. I use xylene - but this stuff is extremely toxic, cancer-causing, etc., so should be done outdoors...with a high wind to your back...using tongs...while wearing a space suit. It does remove cosmoline like water, though.

To test it once you've cleaned it, try putting the firing pin back in without its spring, and see if it freely slides back and forth to the full extend of its travel. Once it does, you should be good to go.
 
BCRider said:
You say you cleaned it well but it would be worth shooting some brake cleaner through the firing opening to ensure that the firing pin channel is flushed out. Better yet would be to push out the retention pin and remove the firing pin and spring and clean it all nicely and ensure there's no burrs or other issues which might cause it to be held.
Click to expand...

It's a good idea to completely strip a Tokarev, I just did this yesterday and the firing pin spring and hammer spring were caked full of cosmoline and sludge.
 
Dry fire, move the slide back a little then (with a pen or something) see how much resistance is on the protruding pin; it should be loose and move back easily (it shouldn't feel stuck). I'm wondering if there is a burr or something in the firing pin channel.
 
for what it's worth, someone at my range had a tok and it had the same primer strike that your getting, although not as bad. so i'm not sure if it's normal for the gun, or a common issue with it.
 
Thia dragging can also be caused by a weak firing pin return spring and/or a weak recoil spring. This condition was evident in some of the early .40 S & W guns that had been converted from 9mm platform--required stiffer springs to cure. FWIW, 44Bore
 
capercanuck said:
I just purchased one of the Polish Tokarev's recently and finally made it to the range yesterday. The pistol shot well, better than expected actually. The only issue is that when I collected the brass, it appears the pin is striking off center, then for lack of a better word, sliding towards the center of the primer.
Click to expand...

My Polish Tok does the exact same thing. I did not remove and clean the firing pin when I got it . . . but I will now.
 
i tokk the pistol apart again this evening. broke it all the way down.

the firing pin and spring were spotless. i cleaned and oiled anyway.

hopefully a range day is in order saturday and i'll see what happens.

i contacted the supplier, told him of this thread, but no response yet.
 
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