Shotgun Firing pin

searcher5

How far from the breechface should the firing pin protrude when fully extended? I figure it should be just slightly recessed when the pin is retracted. Advice from the experts?

Just call me "Griffin"

Proud member of the NRA

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.
Abraham Lincoln

If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith.
Albert Einstein

bobski

tolerences vary from gun to gun. rule of thumb is when fired and recocked, the pin should retract beyond flush with the breach face. if it doesnt, the odds are it can stay inserted in the primer, which will jam the shell against the breach, bending up the pin, or even worse fire the gun on closing. this happens from dry firing sbs's and o&u's without snap caps. with nothing holding the pins from flying forward, the pin wears away the hole and the cone shaped pin slowly moves forward.
best thing i can tell you is look at a spent primer and if it fired, its good. if its a light strike, or if its an overstrike, meaning it was hard to eject the shell, it needs attention. not knowing the gun you were interested in, hope it helps some.

former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, former navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction. NRA certified instructor.

searcher5

Thanks for thr response, Bobski. Let me clarify a bit. This is for an italian single shot .410. I can find no parts for it, so I had to have a firing pin made. I had the machinest make it oversized so I could fit it to the gun, as the tip of the firing pin was gone and there was no way to measure the length.

Just call me "Griffin"

Proud member of the NRA

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.
Abraham Lincoln

If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith.
Albert Einstein

ALFONSE

Most shotgun firing pins should protrude .055-.060" when fired, and slightly behind the plane when cocked. Alfonse

searcher5

Thanks, Alfonse. I sincerely appreciate your reply.

Just call me "Griffin"

Proud member of the NRA

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.
Abraham Lincoln

If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith.
Albert Einstein

bobski

ah. good clarification. now...with the pin replaced, you need to address why it broke. as stated in the last post, if it was indeed sheered off for being too far out, you need to look at the breech hole. and too, make sure you dont dry fire it for anymore of its life. good luck!

former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, former navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction. NRA certified instructor.