Firing pins damaged?

[animal79thecat]

Hi all,

I have a 21 year old Browning 325,thats supposed to only have been fired about 300 times,so im told,and ive only put 100 through it so far.

Ok,i was breaking it down today,and noticed looking at the two pins (like two balls that hit the cartridge?),they both seemed very pitted and out of shape..damaged looking.

I must admit,i dont recall noticing this before,so dont know if it was there or not to begin with.Somehow i dont think they were like that.

Now,is this normal,nothing to worry about,or am i doing something wrong? I do use snap caps everytime i put it away.Oh,and i did fire it accidentally once on an empty barrel...top i think...could this have done it?

Cheers,

Animal x

 

[Will Hewland]

Nothing you have done wrongly. It's normal wear and tear on firing pins. But the gun has probably done a lot more than you think.. A little pitting is fine but don't let them get too bad. They can be removed and polished up, which can even slow their wear down (which is caused by hitting the primers hard). If too short they won't fire the cartridge.

If it were my gun I'd polish them and replace and test. If bad, replace with new ones.

 

[ips]

What will said.

 

[Les53]

What will said.

+2

 

[Jim Wheeler]

the original Browning pins are not that good, and are expensive ! get a pin /spring kit from here,   https://www.jnpgunsprings.com/index.php    easy to fit or get someone who knows how,and clean and lube at the same time. pin kit is $56.00 USD. plus postage.

 

[Rosso]

Pitted / chipped firing pins will eventually hole the primers in the shells as they will not hit smoothly.

 

[Les53]

Pins do get pitted, it's part of life!!! As for firing onto an empty chamber, well it wont cause pitting, but best not to do it. As for snap caps, well if you intend to store the gun for several months it may be worth using them, but not every time you use it. Do you put stands under the chassis of your car when you leave it in the garage whilst on holiday, so as to reduce strain on the springs? No, so basically no need to release the trigger springs either!!!! Some may disagree though, but not many!!!

 

[westley]

I have found that leaving the snap caps in the bottom of my gun cupboard does my gun far more good.

 

[Jan Powell]

Whilst you can remove and polish them it's just not worth it, new pins aren't expensive. Have them replaced as part of a service.

 

[HDAV]

Hi all,

I have a 21 year old Browning 325,thats supposed to only have been fired about 300 times,so im told,

 LMFAO..... 300 times? i think a couple 0's fell off the end imagine a car with no odometer......

Fortunately the 325 is good for hundreds of thousands of shots, pitted pins is common on all Browning/Miroku, a good smith can re grind the pins to extend the life or replace. parts for the pin are £10 each fitting simple if you have the right tools or pay £50at a smith for the pair fitted.

 

[cjc]

Browning firing pins pit very quickly, I had two new ones in my browning within 50 shots they looked like they were pitted, but after 10,000 plus down the barrel they are still going strong

 

[Rosso]

I have found that leaving the snap caps in the bottom of my gun cupboard does my gun far more good.

I have stripped my snap caps. Put rope through middle. Stuck the name Westley on them (I have no pic yet).

And hanged them in Henry's home.

 

[Will Hewland]

Whilst you can remove and polish them it's just not worth it, new pins aren't expensive. Have them replaced as part of a service.

£90 a pair in a Perazzi, (parts only) hence I learned to polish them!

 

[Salopian]

If you care that much about the Browning / Miroku pitting issue , you could get a pair of pins made up out of titanium.

But frankly it is an over exaggerated issue. I have a Citori that had a pitted bottom barrel firing pin in 1986 , and many thousands of cartridges later it still has the same pin in. 

 

[westley]

Will.

Oh, so it's not just our crappy Miroku's then ?

 

[Will Hewland]

Will.

Oh, so it's not just our crappy Moroku's then ?

My Perazzi pins started to pit at around 10,000 shells (total, so 5,000 per barrel). They got shabby looking by about 25,000 when I changed them, but may well have gone on a lot longer. Malcolm Jenkins told me how to trim them back just enough so they didn't hit so hard and gain damage from the primer. I estimate the life would be prolonged by at least 3x by doing this.

 

[ips]

Sell gun buy a new one as soon as it needs a clean this negates any servicing requirements job done.

 

[Skeet UK]

This video will give you an idea how to do it....but don't use this much oil

 

[Jim Wheeler]

WOW! was that  in 3D? or my eyes?  or Jim beam,,,,,,,,