Greetings from Australia Gentlemen,

I have a brand new Springfield 1911 in 9mm. The Federal Gov decided that my .45 version was a bad calibre and banned it - so i have a new set of issues.



Okay, no matter what commercial ammo - Winchester, UM, PMC etc., I use in my new Springfield the cartridge primer is flattened and firing pin strike is extruded back into the firing pin hole in the upper slide face.
And everytime the "extrusion" is being wiped off as the empty case is ejected, unfortunately that means that some primer metal is dropping INTO the firing pin hole, and binding the firing pin.

Any idea's ?

Some pictures would be more than welcome.

Rgds

__________________
John Caradimas SV1CEC
The M1911 Pistols Organization
http://www.m1911.org

Thanks they are largish - so I will just link them.

http://www.downstream.com.au/p8/primers1.jpg
http://www.downstream.com.au/p8/primers2.jpg
http://www.downstream.com.au/p8/primers3.jpg

These are the last I fired, some just cratered rather than be flattened and naturally there was no debris from the primer in those shots.
I have used Winchester ST, UMC, federal, and as many different brands as i could find with thesame results.
My weak loads that barely cycled the action had the same flattened primer and extruded primers.

This pistol is nothing like my dear departed NM .45

I fired some Winchester NATO 9mm ammo and it didn't extrude the primer back, but it was a hoot to shoot - thought my wrist was going to fall off.

If your pistol has a titanium firing pin you might try swapping it for a steel firing pin and a Wolff extra power firing pin spring. S.A. is putting a titanium firing pin and (I believe) an extra extra heavy duty FP spring so their pistols will pass the Kalifornia drop test. If you order a new firing pin make sure you order one that is the correct size - the tip of the firing pin is a smaller diameter on a 9mm gun than a .45 ACP.

__________________
Dave Berryhill
Berryhill Custom Gunsmithing & Parts

I am interested to hear some comments on this issue too.

Rgds

__________________
John Caradimas SV1CEC
The M1911 Pistols Organization
http://www.m1911.org

I haven't had any experience with this yet but have heard it mentioned on other forums. It seems that the lighter titanium firing pin returns very quickly, especially with it's very heavy spring. A heavier steel firing pin dwells in the forward position longer. This is the reason S.A. puts this combo in some of it's 1911s that have to pass a drop test instead of using a mechanical firing pin safety like a Colt Series 80. A lighter firing pin and a heavier spring would have less inertia. It makes sense when you think about it.

Let us know how it works out Hideous.

__________________
Dave Berryhill
Berryhill Custom Gunsmithing & Parts

Yes its Ti firing pin.

So I either have to put a softer FP spring in or replace the pin itself...


POO & rude word. There is one gunsmith in this city that may have springs.
>> I called - he has .38 super firing pins and springs <<

Thank you, I will deal with it tomrrow.

On another note - does anyone know what the feed ramp style is on a Springfield barrel - Wilson/Nolan or Para Ordanance ?

Knowledge is thin on the ground here and many of the old timer Gunsmiths have taken the government compensation to shut down.

G'day mate!

Howdy Dave!

I ran into that very same thing with a GI Colt not long ago, and it turned out
to be that the barrel's unlock timing was occuring too early due to the lower
lug being slightly out of spec.(Angle too steep...Springfield drop-in service barrel)

The barrel was starting to drop almost as soon as the slide moved...I was limited as to how much material I could scrape off the bottom of the lug, due to barely adequate vertical lockup...and I couldn't use a longer link because after scraping the lug, it would have stood the barrel on the link. I didn't want to elongate the top of the hole in a long link, because it would have let the barrel start to fall when the lug moved back on the slidestop pin anyway. The feet were already near minimum thickness,(.114) so I installed an EGW square bottomed firing pin stop with a small radius on the bottom to delay the slide a split second longer and give the pressure time to drop. It worked! The primers looked more normal, and the extraction was more reliable. (The gun had an occasional failure to extract, and the extractor checked out okay.)

Might work in this case...Might not. Might also need to drop a pound or so
on the recoil spring rate if the stop is used. The one that I worked on had an
18.5 variable in it, and when the stop was installed, the brass was dribbling out of the port. A 16 pound standard Wolff trimmed to 31 coils put it out at about 5 feet from the gun.

Luck!

Tuner

Yikes - that sounds like a true gunsmithing job.

I will try the "drop in" gunsmithing first - then the Australian distributor can have the pistol back.

I paid a premium price for this pistol - $875 US retail in the USA but it was $1290 US here because the Australian distributor decided they can charge anything they want after the .45 ban

Hideous said:

Yikes - that sounds like a true gunsmithing job.

I thought ya'll said "crikey!"

Nahhhh...Not really. Gunsmithin' 101. The firing pin stop would probably do the trick on yours. It requires a little fitting to the slide and the extractor slot, but it can be done with small files and a little patience. You have to put the radius on the bottom, but that's pretty easy to do, and it doesn't have to be precise. It just has to be there, and it should be straight. Even a light 45
degree bevel will work. Lay a stone on a table and swipe it to create a small curve on the corner. Takes time, but it works.

Luck!

Tuner