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Gunsmithing do i have a firing pin problem?

offroadr1

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 5, 2007
342
1
40
alabama, birmingham
today was the 4th time i have had a misfire from my rifle in less that 80 rounds. the rifle is a FN SPR A2. i bought it used with roughly 600 through it. all the loads have been my handloads. all cci br2 primers. the first 3 were in win brass and the one today was in virgin lapua. also with the first three i was able to just wait for a few min. open the bolt and close it and then it would fire. the one today would never fire. i think i may have a weak or sticking firing pin. any input? also i havent been able to find how to disassemble the bolt, so that info would be helpful as well. thanks.
joey.
 
Re: do i have a firing pin problem?

Not sure about a Winchester action, but in Remington action with this problem ... the first place to check is the trigger adjustment.
 
Re: do i have a firing pin problem?

I think the first place to check is with your handloads. If the primers are not seated all the way, you will get a lot of misfires. Have you used any factory ammo?

James
 
Re: do i have a firing pin problem?

On the rounds that fail to fire, what's the primer look like? Has it been touched at all by the firing pin?

Does the firing pin go every time the trigger is pulled?

What's the protrusion from the boltface?

Lots of variables here. More specifics would help.
 
Re: do i have a firing pin problem?

i shot a box of some cheap shit hunting loads last weekend with no problems. the primers on the first three were seated ok, if anything this pimer was seated too deep. i would take a pic, but i already pulled the bullet, decapped and tossed the primer.
 
Re: do i have a firing pin problem?

I had a winchester Stealth that the firing pin was to long and didnt have enough room to get moving. Cut a little off and no more problems. Pay attention to the seating depth of the primers. If the ones that seem deep always fire and the one that are not seated deep dont fire then that is likely the problem.
 
Re: do i have a firing pin problem?

Look at the little blue instruction book that came with your rifle. The FN bolt is CAKE to diassemble--no tools needed.
 
Re: do i have a firing pin problem?

i bought the rifle used and it didnt come with a book.

the last primer seemed like it was seated very deep. im going to shoot a few today and pay closer attention to everything and see what may be going on. gonna swing by bass pro and get some factory ammo and see how it does.
 
Re: do i have a firing pin problem?

How are the primers too deep, did you cut the primer pockets too deep? That's about the only way I can think to do it.

I'd say to pull that round apart, seat another primer, and see if it will pop. How are you setting the headspacing on the rounds, and how much are you bumping the shoulder back?
 
Re: do i have a firing pin problem?

Joey,

I've fixed some problems on Mausers by putting a little oil in the appropriate places on the firing pin. The FP was dry, and while not hanging up, it wouldn't hit the primer with enough force to set it off.

HTH,
DocB
 
Re: do i have a firing pin problem?

Your problem could be as simple as a burr in the bolt body somewhere. If you can dissasemble the bolt it would help alot in figuring out your problem. Also did you notice on the FTF rounds that any of the powder was ignited?