Fluting my firing pin?

[Raythemanroe]

Well I can't find any light weight firing pins for my Ruger So I was thinking of replacing part of it with aluminum or titanium.. Realistically wouldn't fluting be much easier and effective?

 

[butchlambert]

Why?
I added tungsten weight to my BR firing pin.

 

[fdshuster]

raythemanroe: From Glen D. Zediker's book, The Competitive AR15, page 52: "Don't use titanium. It burns. One blown primer center and you now have a very expensive, very light weight pin punch".

His words, not mine.

 

[BoydAllen]

What do you hope to gain from this change?

 

[M-61]

Are you in search of a faster lock time?

 

[jonbearman]

I thought tubbs made one.

 

[butchlambert]

Jon,
I don't think David makes them, just sells them under his name. If you have a lighter firing pin, you need a heavier spring. Not for FClass or Bench shooting.

 

[Raythemanroe]

Tubbs used to have them for the Ruger but they have been discontinued..To answer the earlier question about why, the lighter the pin the less pin jump or lighter it hits...speed also helps cut down operator error...I really don't understand why somebody would add weight to there pin (tungsten) unless your really talking about the buffer on your AR..

 

[LHSmith]

Tubbs used to have them for the Ruger but they have been discontinued..To answer the earlier question about why, the lighter the pin the less pin jump or lighter it hits...speed also helps cut down operator error...I really don't understand why somebody would add weight to there pin (tungsten) unless your really talking about the buffer on your AR..

If you don't understand the mechanics of positive ignition .....you shouldn't be messin' with it.....I learned the hard way thinking that light-weight FP would give me an edge off the bench. Why do you think Stolle actions incorporate the same spring weight as Remington?

 

[BoydAllen]

I have tried both light (fluted aluminum shaft) and the stock pin in my Viper actioned 6PPC, and while it is true that there is a difference in cross hair movement when dry firing, the difference is probably not the same when firing a live primer, that has a cushioning effect as it stops the pin. If there is a difference in accuracy, it is so subtle that it is not readily identified in my bench rifle, when it is in top tune, on a good day. I have never seen a Ruger that shot so well that this sort of thing would not have gotten lost in the noise. I have shot groups in the .1s with both combinations. I think that the main advantage to a light pin is for the faster lock time, which does not come into play when shooting from a rest or bipod. I got my light pin from Greg Tannel, and he told me that testing had shown that a 25# spring (which it came with) was needed with the light pin. My Viper came with a 19# spring. Of course I am guessing as to the effect on a Ruger. I could very well be wrong. My action came with a total striker fall of about .200 and I have turned the trigger hanger around to lengthen that to .220. The firing pin tip is a nominal .062 and I believe that for that reason I can get away with a lighter spring than would have otherwise been required. These specifications are probably different than for a Ruger, so what I have learned about my action's response to pin and spring changes may not be the same.

 

[Raythemanroe]

BoydAllen, I agree with the jest of your statement and would like to mention on Remington type actions the lock time is much better then a Ruger m77..So between pillar bedding and glass bedding and speeding up the lock time (tubbs CS spring and fluting my pin) I could get it from .3's to at least .2's...Thats the plan anyway.... Hart barrel got me shooting better groups but now i'm trying to correct the problems that Rugers tend to have...I don't believe fluting will lighten it up so much I would have ignition problems...

 

[Old Navy]

I used them in my IHMSA XP-100s strictly for the faster lock time. Never saw a need for one in my trued Remington BR rifle. Later! Frank

 

[Robert]

Firing impact energy is the result of 3 elements:
-Weight of the mass in motion.
-Spring energy.
-AND lenght of travel.
The mass can be lightened with very little gain,and on the condition enough impact energy is kept.
The spring specs can be improved,but for little gain.
The most important locktime reduction could be obtained
by reduction of the lenght of travel, but this is difficult to obtain without design modification and also playing with the two other elements same time...

But, if at same time easy bolt lift is important, better to keep everything as it is, or if the FP is of large diameter tip (.080 or even larger), have it reduced to .062' and the bolt bushed accordingly first. This will result in much less energy needed, allowing to play with FP mass eventually....
R.G.C

 

[treeman]

decreased lock time mainly helps in the less stable shooting positions shuch as standing and kneeling a lighter pin and stronger spring can actualy cause more movement /vibration on the bench. and if a person moves the striker forward he really needs to under stand timeing and be shure of what he is doing. unless you are shure don't

 

[lloydx2]

Listen to Boyd.

 

[mgx1138]

I have seen a calculation of how much you might be able to reduce the lock time by using a titanium firing pin. Conclusion; lock time reduction would be insignificant (sorry I don't have a link to the analysis). BTW - I used a titanium pin in my Service Rifle for years. It mostly worked just fine, then it broke. I have used a standard pin since. I don't think anybody makes them anymore.

 

[Raythemanroe]

ya you can still buy a titanium pin for the AR and 1911 + more...Fluting is gonna be my choice cause I won't be loosing a lot of weight or strength with a SS steal pin....

 

[LHSmith]

.So between pillar bedding and glass bedding and speeding up the lock time (tubbs CS spring and fluting my pin) I could get it from .3's to at least .2's...

Lot's of luck with that....I hope you have deep pockets.

 

[butchlambert]

Do any of you want to buy a bridge?

 

[LHSmith]

Tubbs used to have them for the Ruger but they have been discontinued..To answer the earlier question about why, the lighter the pin the less pin jump or lighter it hits...speed also helps cut down operator error...I really don't understand why somebody would add weight to there pin (tungsten) unless your really talking about the buffer on your AR..

I think you meant to say "bolt jump", and not "pin jump". Yes, I fell for that theory during one of my Rem 700 BR builds, that's how I ended up with a season of problems that somehow ended when I replaced the "competition" Speedlok FP assembly with a factory Remington . FWIW, the bolt handles also jump on my Panda actions ....and I think Kelblys has their act together since Panda's have the most wins in BR comp.

edit to spell out "assembly" in lieu of "ass'y"