Fluted firing pins

[tenbears]

Maybe a fluted firing pin would have prevented this damage.

[Ingvarg]

Thank you all for this info.
According to "tenbears" pic. it looks like it would be clever to replace the firing pin in my Luger with a fluted one.

[Mauser George]

Reason for fluted firing on Mauser produced Luger's.

Early DWM Luger's did not have a fluted firing pins as they were not needed. Reason being that the front of the chamber (I cant recall the dimensions) was machined to have a smaller ID diameter than the rear of the chamber. When a round was fired this would make a good seal at the end of the mouth of the case and seal the chamber so there would be no blow back into the breech block.

Next time you fire an early Luger you will notice that the mouth of the case has a smaller OD than the rest of the spent case. You will also notice that the spent case is relatively clean and not covered with black residue. Again this is due to no blow back in the rear of the chamber.

When Luger production started at Mauser, they eliminated this feature to speed production. With the blow back being forced into the breech block it was breaking firing pins, hence they started fluting them to assist in the gas escaping the breech without damaging the firing pin.

I am not able to recall where I read this, however next time you fire an early DWM Luger check the dimensions of the case and you will see what I am referring too.

Merry Christmas!

Regards,

George