What type of firing pin is this?

Jeff2855

Inactive
Can anyone help identify this firing pin I purchased at an estate auction in Texas? The only mark I can see it the letter "E" stamped on it. See photos. It is 7.5 inches long and weighs almost 5oz.
Thanks!
 
Last edited:
That appears to be the striker assembly for a Mauser K98-type rifle. The lack of a knob on the striker tail (cocking piece) is a pretty good indication that it's some flavor of Mauser.

The overall shape of the bolt sleeve is wrong for a K98k, though, so it must be some other make, or an earlier version.
 
My S.W.A.G.

Check to see if it came out of an old "Eddystone" or 1917 Enfield. My swag is that it is definitely military and US. .... :confused:


Good luck,
Get Back and;
Be Safe !!!
 
Nope, not a Mauser. Mausers have buttress threads on the bolt shroud and the front of the firing pin is shaped to keep the striker from falling if the bolt is not in battery. That one has square threads on the bolt shroud and the firing pin is flat in front of the spring retaining collar. Looks familiar, though . . . More modern than a Mauser, and US-made. Yes, it does look like an Eddystone.
 
Holy sweet jeebus where was/is/will be my brain???

Pahoo you are absolutely correct! That's the assembly from a Model 1917 by Eddystone.

The lack of the safety catch as part of the assmebly should have been the key.

I was right, though, that it was a flavor of Mauser... The 1917 (and the Pattern 1913) were based heavily on the Mauser.... :D
 
The bolt sleeve and firing pin are for a U.S. Model 1917. The bolt sleeve was made by Eddystone. But the cocking piece and spring are is for a cock-on-opening "speed kit".

Jim
 
It would surprise me if it's worth much. I've had 2 originals and 3 or 4 of the "speed lock" (cock on opening) versions in a junk box for 30 years.
 
The firing pin and bolt sleeve run around $35; the conversion cocking piece and spring would bring maybe $20 if anyone can be found who wants them. At one time, that conversion was common, but with the rising prices of original military rifles, not many folks want to lower the value of a 1917 by altering it.

FWIW, the conversion changes the gun to fire off the firing pin retraction cam, reducing firing pin fall to less than half its normal distance. That is why the spring has to be heavier than the standard spring. Even then, misfires were common with that conversion, especially with hard military primers.

Jim
 
Back
Top