doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How do I fix dragging firing pins?

If i have a double gun with removable firing pins, what is the cause and repair of said gun if the firing pins drag and do not retract properly after discharge?

Can i do it myself or is this the job of a gunsmith?

Gun make, type, ejectors ? Are you using Winchester shells or others with soft primers ?

My money's on it being a Flues!

It's probably "out of time", meaning the hammers are not starting to cock soon enough, as the gun is opened. The fix is to restore the loss of proper drive to the cocking mechanism parts. As to whether you can fix it yourself, I can't answer that for you. Bending or peening the parts is a touch and try operation. Go too far and the cocking parts will prevent the hammers from gooding a good lick on the primers. If it's an old gun with lots of use, the above is more likely than the primer brand, IMO.

12 bore. Vintage. Sidelock. Extractors. London, best grade although not from a tier 1 maker. Back action. Top lever.

And the maker is?

Is it something it just started ?...could be something as simple as cleaning. Post some pics of the locks and pins.

It might just be a question of cleaning...or of "cleaning up" after a previous owner neglected cleaning. One of the many maladies that my pore old Skimin and Wood had when I got it [Curse Montana "one-gallus duck hunters" and "gun butchers"!] was a dragging firing pin. It turned out that corrosion had gotten into the firing pin hole to the point that the firing pin had become peened from passing through the corrosion. A "dressing off" of the firing pin and the hole put things to rights.

One aspect of gun cleaning that is mentioned in Thomas and Churchill, for example, that I have never seen in American treatises is the cleaning of firing pin holes. The British sources most often recommend applying light coating of oil with a matchstick. This practice would seem to be a simple and reasonable precaution against a potentially troublesome and expensive set of problems.

Jim's got it in one. Take the barrels off the action then fire the action holding a coin over the firing pins, see how much free play you have on the lifters. If there is a lot this needs to be adjusted so that it cocks sooner. Measure how far the pins come through the face it should be no more that.073" if they are more than this they need shortening. It sound like you need a GOOD gunsmith to regulate your action for you.

the pins fire with a violent amount of strength considering the gun is 130 years old.

The right pin will pass forward if I simply hold the action downward and let gravity act. Both pins fire but the slopping around and the dragging (sliding across the primer after fire) need fixing.

I'll seek out a competent gunsmith in my area...and a pegasus. No telling which I'll find first.