Old Winchester 1873 w/ Sticky Firing Pin

[Loyer]

Hello guys. The firing pin on my old, original 1873 Winchester seems too firm (to me at least) when the cocking lever is fully closed. The same pin moves freely when the cocking lever is open.

I opened the rifle mechanism and see the firing pin retractor has been replaced and it's body seems a little thick to me (ie: binding on the toggle locks inside the mechanism.)

Before I remove any of the thickness of that little retractor, I wanted to ask the group if the rifle's firing pin should be so firm that it takes a good deal of finger pressure to move it forward (manually when empty gun is cocked) or should move freely (or somewhere in between).

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

 

[Skinny 1950]

I don't know much about rifles but if it works ie. the rifle shoots every time I wouldn't worry about it.
I noticed you aren't getting any action on this thread so this reply will bump it back to the top.

 

[Win 38-55]

That retractor should be thinner than the groove that it sits in. It definitely should not be rubbing on the toggle link. If necessary, you can get a repro retractor from Winchester Bob, but he only ships to the US I think. I got one of them for an old '73 that also had a home made retractor and it worked perfectly. If you remove the retractor, you should be able to pull the firing pin out with two fingers if you hold the hammer right back. Then you can thin down the retractor until it just is a tiny shade thinner than the maximum groove depth of retractor groove on the firing pin. Lay a straight edge across the groove to make sure it clears the thinned down retractor.