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Any ideas on this Series II failure?

2K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  Str8_Shot 
#1 ·
I had my new 9mm Stainless Target II to the range for the first time this week. The thing worked flawlessly for the first 100 rounds when I decided to take a break for 10 minutes. Prior to taking a break I removed the empty magazine and eased the slide down and dry fired the gun. I then decided to see how smooth the slide operated after shooting a hundred rounds so I cycled the slide a couple of times by hand, never dropping it on the empty chamber, and then dry fired the gun again. After my break I loaded and inserted the magazine. When I racked the slide, the round would not fully chamber. I racked the slide again to clear the first round and the second round did the same thing. I removed the magazine and locked the slide back. I looked inside and found the firing pin protruding about 1/2 to 5/8 of an inch. About the time I was asking myself how that could have happened, I saw the firing pin stop laying on the bench. I could not believe the thing just fell out! I remove the firing pin and it is bent. I called Kimber today and talked to Anne. She wanted the gun back but I talked her into sending a new firing pin, spring, and stop to try first. If the failure happens again, the gun will most certainly get sent back to Kimber. I would sure like to know if this has ever happened to anyone else.
 
#2 ·
With the firing pin stuck in the forward position, there is nothing to retain the firing pin stop in the slide so it's no surprise it fell out.

The firing pin itself is rather suspect. I wonder if they are using a different size (9mm/.38 Super vs. .45), or intended to and installed the wrong one.

Please keep us informed, I'll have to take a good look at my Target II in 9mm tomorrow.
 
#3 ·
Yeah, the problem doesn't sound related to the firing pin stop. Something caused the firing pin to stick forward. With the pin stuck forward the stop could fall out. Things that could cause the firing pin to stick are a bent pin, piece of debris, wrong sized hole/pin, out of position firing pin hole or tunnel, and possibly something having to do with the firing pin safety block?
 
#4 ·
Even with the firing pin forward, the stop shouldn't be so loose that it just falls out. It should be a sliding fit that needs some help to push down. Check the front of the hook of your extractor while you're at it Point-N-Shoot, it could have clocked around and caused the jam. Maybe it was lucky the slide didn't go into battery if the pin was stuck.
 
#5 ·
Point-N-Shoot

More than likely your jams were caused by the firing pin preventing the round from sliding up under the extractor. Also, Kruzer is correct, there should have been enough friction between the slide and the firing pin stop to keep it in position. So your stop may be a little undersized.

Now the real question is,"what is going on with your firng pin?" Dry firing is the cause of your situation, which it should not have been. So caused it? Hansgraf gav some of the more common causes of this situation, but left one out. This missing cause is the firing pin spring may be short, or really weak. So you were correct in asking for a replacement spring, though you may want to buy one, along with a new recoil spring, from Wolff's just to be sure you have one that is not from the same production batch as your original spring.

I do have a freind that has a "Put-Together" 1911 that does this. With this pistol the firing pin only jams forward if the pistol is dry firied. This is not an issue when shooting since the primer prevents the firing pin from moving its ful travel.

To evaluate your situation. Fire a few rounds then eject the magazine and the round in the chamber, and collect some of your ejected brass. Look at the expended cases and see if the firing pin strike mark is mostly in the center of the primer. If the strike is off center, there could be a problem with how the slide is machined. Next look at the round that you ejected from the chamber. Are there any marks on the primer? If there are any marks on the primer of the ejected round the spring needs to be replaced. If the firing pin strike mark on the expended cases is off center by more than the firing pin diameter your pistol should go back to Kimber.

Str8_Shot
 
#8 ·
Str8_Shot

I folllowed your suggestions and checked the fit of the firing pin stop to the slide and it is a free fit (no friction). I also checked the firing pin dimple on several empty cartridges and it is approximately one half a firing pin diameter off center. In addition, I also discovered there was a noticeable difference in the depth of the dimple in the primers on most of empties. On those empties with deeper dimples, there is a pronounced mark with a slight amount of displaced metal to one side of the dimple. It appears that the firing pin was still in direct contact with the primer when the round was ejected. Judging by the difference in depth of the dimples I now suspect the firing pin was sticking forward during most of the 100 rounds that were fired and may have been protruding slightly (scarey thought). I am still waiting on a new firing pin, spring, and stop from Kimber. If the new parts don't cure the problem, I will order a stonger aftermarket firing pin spring.
 
G
#9 ·
Sounds to me like quality control at Kimber has gone out the window.

These kind's of threads are exactly why I opted for a used Wilson over a NIB Kimber.

I have close to 1000 rounds through my CQB I bought with 1500 rounds through it and I have not had 1 single malfunction whatsoever.

No flames, and I wish you the best of luck, but I cannot understand why with all the rumor and innuendo flying around about Kimber, why folks continue to purchase them.

Stop buying them and they will be forced to fix their broken system or go out of business.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Point-N-Shoot

(I tried to make this a reply to your PM, but this is too long.)

Are you using Fiocchi, or European, or +P ammo? If you are, switch to ammo from a US compnany, or to standard velocity ammo.

Your description reminded me of a situation I had when using Fiocchi ammo in a pistol from another manufacturer. In this instance my firing pin was getting stuck forward also. Based on your description, remove the slide and barrel from your frame and set aside the barrel and bushing. Now look directly at the breech face from the front of the slide (like you were looking down the barrel). Do you see any damage (dents or raised/moved metal) around the firing pin hole? If you do, don't bother with a new spring, or other parts, and send your pistol back to Kimber. If you do not see any damage go ahead with your plans to change the parts, but keep an eye on the breech face every time you clean your pistol. Also take a look at your expended brass to see if the raised surfaces on the primers are getting any bigger. If they are, stop shooting and send your pistol back to Kimber.

Since the firning pin strike is within 1/2 diameter of the primer center this should be okay, and you should not have problems with ammo not discharging when you pull the trigger. Though your description of the raised metal around the firing pin strike mark is something to be concerned about. Which is why I asked you to remove the slide and barrel to look at the breech face. The raised metal on the primer is known as "Primer Flow" and most US ammo manufacturers use "hard" primers to prevent this from happening. While this appears to be an ammo issue, it really is indicating a problem with the barrel. From my experience there are two causes of primer flow, the barrel link is not the proper length (its too long or too short), or the barrel is not "timed" properly, the lower barrel lugs are not shapped properly letting the barrel cam down during recoil too soon. In either situation, the case and the primer are not properly supported flush against the breech face during the pressure spike caused by the burning powder. Because of this, the rising pressure (up to 36,000 psi in a 9mm Luger) causes the primer metal to "flow" around the firing pin and fill the gap between the rear of the case and the breech face. This "flowing" primer metal can put quite a bit of side force on the firing pin, plus when it hits the breech face during the ejection process, the pressure in the case will make the raised metal "hard" enough to hammer the metal in the breech face next to the firing pin hole. In my case this situation displaced the metal around the fining pin hole into the hole, so the firing pin would get wedged into the now smaller sized (and no longer round) hole.

If this is your situation, return your pistol to Kimber, as at the very least your barrel link will need to be replaced, or the barrel may need to be replaced if the lower lugs are not shapped properly. Plus, depending on if, or how badly the breech face is damaged, the slide may need to be replaced.

I hope this helps.
Str8_Shot
 
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