1894CS broken firing pin

[sghart3578]

I guess it was bound to happen after so many rounds.

Today at the range with my youngest son I was just about to finish my latest load testing/plinking session with my favorite rifle when I happened to look down on the bench and spot a piece of metal that looked vaguely familiar.


I looked at the rear of the bolt and, instead of the normal round steel knob sticking out I see the end of the firing pin spring.

The firing pin had broke into 4 pieces. The rear firing pin broke in half and the forward firing pin also broke in half.

When I got home I couldn't find a spare so I ordered two of everything.

But the day was not a total loss. I shot my 7X57 that my son did the stock on as well as my 1894S.

The weather was beautiful, calm and 70 degrees. And my son and I had the range to ourselves for the first 3 hours.

I guess the point of this post is two fold. Always keep spares on hand and don't let little things spoil a great day.

Best of luck,


Steve in N CA

[dangitgriff]

Hey Steve—
Good post! Thanks, made my day!

[osteodoc08]

Sounds like an enjoyable day with your son. Cherish them

Out of my own curiosity, can you post a photo of the broken firing pin.

[sghart3578]

Sounds like an enjoyable day with your son. Cherish them

Out of my own curiosity, can you post a photo of the broken firing pin.

Absolutely.

I will do so tomorrow.


Steve in N CA

[sghart3578]

osteodoc08,

Here is a photo of the broken firing pin.

I did some research at the Marlin forum and I was happy to find that this is not unheard of.

When it first happened I was afraid that I may have developed some excessive headspace that lead to the breakage.

I checked the headspace in true "shadetree mechanic" fashion, once with layers of masking tape on the cartridge base then again by chambering an empty case with a slightly protruding fired primer to see how much was sticking out.

It seemed to pass both tests.

I have fired probably 7000-8000 thousands rounds through this rifle. A lot of those were at max. And the rifle was 20 years old when I bought it. So I am not worried. I tend to think that the front firing pin may have been broken for a while. Last summer I went through several range sessions with W296 and 180 gr bullets. Lots of slightly sticky cases.

It has been at least 2 years since I have had the front firing pin out for cleaning.




242417

[osteodoc08]

Thanks sghart

Definitely something to file away in the memory bank.