Firing pin cracked

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by G.T.

Hi Alanint, yes! I am wondering the very same thing.... will the mass of the full firing pin make a difference??...
BTW, I'm also going to try it with a cartridge in the chamber for a direct head on strike? Maybe negating the scrubbing effect of loading....

Gerry, as you indicated in your story, sometimes it would fire, but mostly not? I wasn't intending to say that it would be rock-solid dependable ignition under these circumstances, but I'd estimate it to be at least as dangerous as dropping a de-cocked Luger.

A handy way to replicate the broken firing pin might be to snag the front half of one that's been on eBay, listed without mention of its condition as original f.p.! Using the entire firing pin might be tipping the scale to the "bang" side.

Releasing the action on the chambered, primed-only round sounds the safest way to go. It would avoid eating up the energy needed to strip the round from the mag and scrub it into the chamber, again, maybe a tip of the scale towards a bang.

You know, I hope we're all a little bit right--that dropping the toggle, say, a dozen times, it will have gone off a couple of times. It's like Xmas morning, waiting to see how this experiment turns out!!!