for the side by side shotgun guys

S

SRE

New member
Hey all,

Somewhat of a shot in the dark question but is there a number/ measurment used by gunsmiths when working on a side by side shotgun as to how far past the face of the standing breach the firing pins should protrude to hit the primer of the shell? I am working on a old West German side by side 12 gauge shotgun. Not sure the actual manufacturer but i've been told by a few guys that looked at it that it's marking are from that part of the country. Very well made boxlock although it's been handled roughly by amateur gunsmiths in the past.

I suspect from dry firing so many times the shape of the firing pins have changed/ elongated ever so slightly from the force of inertia through the holes in the standing breach. After firing the gun it's hard to break back open, the firing pins dig down through the spent primers. You can see the marks clearly on the primers of the spent shells. I'm thinking this is the cause of the issue, or I hope so anyways...

Thanks in advance!
 
Not being familiar with the gun in question I hesitate to answer but here is a "shot in the dark" reply; I believe that the firing pin protrusion should be no more than .060" and the pins tips should be a polished hemisphere in shape and finish.
 
yes thank you. The firing pins are rough in feel and one of the is in a more pointed shape than the other. They almost feel pitted but do not look it. They are hard to get to as they are not secured in their recess by a disk that needs removal, the entire receiver needs taken apart and they come out from behind. So it's going to be a job for sure.
 
Firing pin protrusion for shotguns, .055"-.070"

It is very common to see shotguns with floating firing pins that have been replaced because they were broken by dry firing. Often, they are replaced with rough turned nails and such.
 
Hindsight being 20-20,its really not a good idea to dry fire doubles.
Snap-caps! even for lowering the hammers to put it away.

As metal gets beat shorter,it gets fatter. The round peg that is supposed to slip fit ends up wedging tight.
Another thing that can happen,retraction springs get monkeyed up when they become the "stop".
 
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