m 1885 firing pins

[BRUCE MOULDS]

broke the firing pin on my original m 1885 today.
only thing is, i think it has been modified, because it is 0.076" diameter.
it appears that ballard can supply a new one, and taylors sell them for uberti hiwalls.
should i go for ballard, and will the uberti fit original rifles?
is my firing pin std diameter or a thinner mod?
please help,
bruce moulds.

[Gunlaker]

broke the firing pin on my original m 1885 today.
only thing is, i think it has been modified, because it is 0.076" diameter.
it appears that ballard can supply a new one, and taylors sell them for uberti hiwalls.
should i go for ballard, and will the uberti fit original rifles?
is my firing pin std diameter or a thinner mod?
please help,
bruce moulds.

I just opened "The Winchester Single Shot" and on page 73 they talk about firing pin diameters. There are a few different pin diameters, but 0.076" is original on later models.

Chris.

[BRUCE MOULDS]

chris,
thanks for the reply.
i had a bit of luck today, when a friend & blackpowder shooter with a lathe offered to drill the base of the firing pin and insert a piece of tool steel rod for the actual pin. it worked.
he is going to make me a new pin assembly for a spare.
it appears my firing pin hole is bushed, & now has a reduced diameter pin on the original. it is a flat spring.
bruce moulds.

[Gunlaker]

it appears my firing pin hole is bushed, & now has a reduced diameter pin on the original. it is a flat spring.
bruce moulds.

Ah, that makes sense. I think that was a resonably common thing to do, from what I've heard, once smokeless came along. I have an original flat spring with the large firing pin (made in 1889). Unfortunately the bore is pretty bad so my rifle is "just for looking at" :mrgreen:

Chris.

[Boz330]

C-Sharps makes firing pins for the originals or at least they use to offer them. I have had to replace several over the years and I have done the same thing your friend did except I just used a cut off drill bit. They actually seem to hold up better than the originals.

Bob

[av8or3]

I came across this thread while lurking and felt I needed to share an experience. I broke a firing pin in my Ballard 1885 and on reciept of the replacement decided to compare it to the one that was in my original (Winchester). Aside from being almost identical in appearance there was a big difference in the way they were fitted to the rifle. In the Ballard the pins (both broken & replacement) protuded out of the breechblock by about .005 with the hammer resting on them. In the Winchester, the hammer rested on the breechblock with about .003 gap between the pin and the hammer. If I remember correctly there were no springs installed working on the pin against the force of the hammer.
I fit the replacement pin to the Ballard just as it was in the Winchester (by removing metal form the rear of the pin) and continued to shoot the gun for the next 10 years with no more problems.
I think that having the firing pin continuously hammered against the inside of the face
of the breechblock (even with cartridges in the chamber) contributed to the pins early failure.