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Opinions wanted

3K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  mjorin 
#1 ·
Today, I was having some problems with the XCR. I ended up putting it away because the situation was such that trouble shooting was not realistic.
At home, cleaning, I found that I imagine the firing pin is broken. No big deal, have a spare bolt and several pins.
It appears to have broken, and jammed forward, with the tip projecting far further than it travels ordinarily.
My question is this... could that cause an out of battery kaboom (or whatever it is meant to be called)?????? It looks to me like it could easily have, but I really don't know?
I am working on a picture. Thanks for any input, as I am only learning.
 
#2 ·
I suppose if it was stuck hard enough, it could. But I'm no expert.

I found a similar issue on my P229, but I didn't experience any failures. I had read a story about a police officer/detective that had gotten killed when his holstered SIG slid off a stack of papers he was carrying, hit the floor and discharged. The firing pin safety should have prevented it from happening, but apparently it was determined that he was using a holster not designed for his pistol. In order to get the retention snap to close, he would pull the trigger and thumb the hammer forward. He would keep pressure on the hammer as he holstered and snapped the strap. This resulted in the hammer not returning to its neutral position and kept the firing pin safety disengaged.

Anyway, I as took my pistol out to recreate those circumstances (unloaded, of course) I found my firing pin was sticking out of the hole. A little nudge and it would return. I don't know how long it had been broken, and it didn't take much force to recess it. Just pressing against a cartridge would suffice.

So I guess it depends on which requires more force: pushing the broken pin back in, or igniting the primer.

Of course, the XCR has a bolt where the firing pin hole is recessed, instead of a pistol with a flat breech face. So I think I would expect stuck pin would induce a failure to feed before an AD. In other words, I'd expect the pin to catch the rim of a cartridge preventing the case from sitting where the pin could line up with the primer. Still, if the stars aligned, I could see a kaboom.

Again, that's just my completely inexpert analysis.
 
#3 ·
Of course, the XCR has a bolt where the firing pin hole is recessed, instead of a pistol with a flat breech face. So I think I would expect stuck pin would induce a failure to feed before an AD. In other words, I'd expect the pin to catch the rim of a cartridge preventing the case from sitting where the pin could line up with the primer. Still, if the stars aligned, I could see a kaboom.
There where FTF prior to shelving it, so I think you are right. I regret not looking closer at the problem now. I could have swapped the bolt and been GTG.
I was having a hard time picturing the geometry of the situation highlighted above. I think you have it though. I wasn't expecting a firing pin to affect feeding.

ETA. Thank you!
 
#5 ·
The bolt lug on the bottom right of the photograph is what strips the round from magazine. It doesn't sit into the recessed bolt face right away. So I'd expect the top rim of the case to catch on the firing pin before the round could line up with the primer. That could make the cartridge tip up, or prevent it from hitting the feed ramp right.
 
#6 ·
Out of battery kaboom or a slam fire seem plausible. But, it would all depend on whether that firing pin has any 'give' to it.

It's rather disconcerting that these rifles (after all this time) still have broken firing pin issues.
 
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