Firing pin protrusion

I have a Stoeger Stainless Luger and it has always intermittently pierced primers. The only brand of ammo I've fired in it has been the Winchester white box. The only problem I have encountered with it is that after a 100 or so rounds the extractor does not hold onto the shell very well because the residue vents into the extractor recess and gums it up. I clean it out and I'm good for a while.

So my question is what is the protrusion length suppose to be on these pistols? I could chuck the firing pin in a lathe or drill press and dress it up a few thousandths. Please let me know. Thanks.

[stefanosg]

It is possible that Winchester is having primer problems. I've had pierced primers on some rifle and pistol ammunition I have reloaded using Win primers. I read on one of the reloading sites that it is a problem with the anvil inside the primer. I would not rule out the possibility that some of these primers made it into their own loads. I've since switched to CCI primers and no problems(with rifles) so far. You may want to try 50 rounds of something else just to rule out ammo as the problem.

[Rod WMG]

The first thing I'd do is to run my thumbnail from the outside of the case rim to the center to see if the primer feels high.

Regardless of that outcome, I'd call Winchester toll free : 800-356-2666.

They may be able to provide some useful info and may want to see some of the fired cases to determine if the ammo is at fault.

Good luck.

Thanks for the replies. I have attached a pic of the breach face and the fired cases as requested. The case on the left has a small pin hole in the primer the one on the right is ok. As I mentioned very few have the pin hole, maybe 5-6 out of a box of 50. My macro photograpy is not that great.



Here's the breach face. Firing pin protrudes .055".



The tip of the pin looks to have a slight "tit" on it when viewed on a 20X jewelers loupe

I ran a box of PMP that I had through it and there were no piercings. Although the PMP was only 115gr it did not function very reliably. Lots of failures to eject and failures to feed. The Winchester was much more reliable. I'm going to try some CCI or Remington UMC.

Anyone recommend another brand that functions well in their Luger?

I noticed on of the more informative responses has been deleted. Wonder why?

Rick,
Thanks for putting your reply back. I did find the gauge and it shows that 1.35mm/.053" max, 1.1mm/.043 min. Mine is right at 1.27mm/.050 which as you say is not really accurate with a caliper.

I will say that the Winchester does not perf in my P.38, P7 PSP or G17.

I will look into a gunsmith to check it out.

Update - I finally got around to having it checked and it was too long so a little was removed and viola, no more powder residue in the action. It is much more reliable because all the gas is going out the barrel instead of venting into the breach face.

[Rod WMG]

Glad you got it sorted out!