Off Center Pin Strike

[jpretle]

Will it affect accuracy, if all else is correct?

 

[jcampbellsmith]

Will it affect accuracy, if all else is correct?

A picture would help folk to come to a view? Thanks JCS

 

[jonbearman]

Is it slight or is it half way across? What kind of rifle and caliber etc are we talking about.

 

[CatShooter]

It will not affect accuracy even if you are shooting a $4,000 benchrest rifle, in which case it would not hit off center.

But if it did, it would not affect anything anyway. If the primer goes off, it is completely consumed in 1/1,200,000 of a second, no matter where it is hit.

 

[jcampbellsmith]

It will not affect accuracy.....

I don't agree. The issue has got the man thinking and posting. It will prey on his mind when he doesn't shoot well. To shoot well you need for a start to remove all doubts in the kit.
Regards JCS

 

[CatShooter]

It will not affect accuracy.....

I don't agree. The issue has got the man thinking and posting. It will prey on his mind when he doesn't shoot well. To shoot well you need for a start to remove all doubts in the kit.
Regards JCS

Isn't that what a lot of this is all about??

 

[jcampbellsmith]

It will not affect accuracy.....

I don't agree. The issue has got the man thinking and posting. It will prey on his mind when he doesn't shoot well. To shoot well you need for a start to remove all doubts in the kit.
Regards JCS

Isn't that what a lot of this is all about??

Yup, it's all in the mind. Best regards JCS

 

[amlevin]

Yup, it's all in the mind. Best regards JCS

Kind of like we used to say in the service. "It's a case of Mind over Matter. Never mind, it doesn't matter".

Besides, is it a case of the pin strike being off center or just the rifle being off center

 

[Shynloco]

It will not affect accuracy.....

I don't agree. The issue has got the man thinking and posting. It will prey on his mind when he doesn't shoot well. To shoot well you need for a start to remove all doubts in the kit.
Regards JCS

Isn't that what a lot of this is all about??

Hey Cat,
Don't some folks have their firing pins "bushed" to remedy that issue? Just curious.

Alex

 

[M-61]

Shy,
I wasn't asked but I put in my thought. Firing pin bushing is to reduce excessive clearance between the firing pin and the hole in the bolt thru which it travels. Large clearance could lead to cratering of the primer, which MAY lead one to think of high pressures.

 

[CatShooter]

Shy,
I wasn't asked but I put in my thought. Firing pin bushing is to reduce excessive clearance between the firing pin and the hole in the bolt thru which it travels. Large clearance could lead to cratering of the primer, which MAY lead one to think of high pressures.

^^^ THAT - What M-61 said!!

Or, the firing pin is in the center, and the rifle, barrel, chamber, case and scope, are all off center

 

[jpretle]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Not sure I got a definitive answer, though. It is a production rifle, so it could have been one of those that went out on a Friday.
One more trip to the range, and I might just start w/ a new bbl, or a FP bushing, or a new bolt, no wait maybe a custom receiver--
My, MY, MY, so many choices/options.

 

[Dshooter]

OP, all have pretty much said the same thing just in different phrase. Some just being sarcastic. It does not affect accuracy at all. No matter where you hit the primer, it still goes off in the same millionth of a second, and sends the same amount of flame through the flash hole. Remove it from your mind and concentrate on the things that do affect accuracy, your marksmanship skills

 

[Chief 101]

it will not affect the way the rifle shoots but a weak mind could be affected...

 

[Drop Port]

Shy,
I wasn't asked but I put in my thought. Firing pin bushing is to reduce excessive clearance between the firing pin and the hole in the bolt thru which it travels. Large clearance could lead to cratering of the primer, which MAY lead one to think of high pressures.

^^^ THAT - What M-61 said!!

Or, the firing pin is in the center, and the rifle, barrel, chamber, case and scope, are all off center

In part, also if the pin is turned to a .062" and bushed it is less likely to blank primers with hot loads due to the smaller hole.
Although not likely if it is far enough off center to cause internal interference this can and will cause accuracy issues. If the spring assembly is dragging the inside of the bolt, or in an action such as the Rem being off center could cause the pin to work harder while finding center in the Internal funnel part of the bolt.
All depends on what accuracy you are shooting for and what the symptoms are. In the case of Gre Tans bushing of a bolt, the pin is also supported in the bushing at all times and is never forced to into the funnel area to find center eliminating any potential for inconsistent strikes.

 

[BoydAllen]

The strike is most likely off center because the action threads are not well aligned with the bolt raceway, and as the other posters have said, I wouldn't have the off center strike anywhere near the top of my list, as far as things to fix to make your rifle shoot better. Having said all of that, why don't you tell us about the rifle, the kind of groups you are currently shooting with it, your loading for it, the bench, rest and bags, and whether you have any wind flags out between you and the target. There are a lot of components to accuracy. If you want to make that factory rifle more accurate, the first thing that you need to do is to pick a gunsmith that has benchrest credentials and work with him to formulate a plan based on his experience.

 

[Shynloco]

Boyd,
I have to say your comments are right on point and a great suggestion. The one biggest problem I've seen is trying to find a Gunsmith "with benchrest credentials" who is willing to even touch your rifle to make suggestions to cure whatever ails it. Most of the top Gunsmiths whose names keep popping up, are buried in their work either building custom rigs or working on the nice expensive competition rigs. I say that because I've tried a few times in contacting these guys and each times their reply was , "I don't have time to work on your rifle." So again, I'm not saying you are wrong with your suggestion, but the likelihood of finding a quality Gunsmith with a Benchrest background AND WHO IS WILLING TO WORK ON YOUR RIFLE, is no easy task.

Alex

 

[CatShooter]

In part, also if the pin is turned to a .062" and bushed it is less likely to blank primers with hot loads due to the smaller hole.
Although not likely if it is far enough off center to cause internal interference this can and will cause accuracy issues. If the spring assembly is dragging the inside of the bolt, or in an action such as the Rem being off center could cause the pin to work harder while finding center in the Internal funnel part of the bolt.
All depends on what accuracy you are shooting for and what the symptoms are. In the case of Gre Tans bushing of a bolt, the pin is also supported in the bushing at all times and is never forced to into the funnel area to find center eliminating any potential for inconsistent strikes.

Huh????

You obviously have never had a Remington bolt apart, as all of the above is guessing and conjecture on your part.

The Remington pin is held (read "Forced") in alignment to the pin hole with a ring stop (that keeps the pin from flying out the front of the bolt)...

... and the spring is ALWAYS dragging on either the bolt body or the pin shaft - the springs cannot support themselves and need all the help they can get.

The spring "Drag" is less than a 1/10th of an ounce, no matter what it leans on.

Non of what you say applies to accuracy.

 

[Drop Port]

"You obviously have never had a Remington bolt apart, as all of the above is guessing and conjecture on your part.

The Remington pin is held (read "Forced") in alignment to the pin hole with a ring stop (that keeps the pin from flying out the front of the bolt)... "

Not true the dry fire collar is smaller than the internal dimension of the bolt and the front of the pin drops when cocked on a Rem.

Not talking about the "Ring stop" / dry fire collar or what ever you want to call it I'm talking about the funnel area where the front of the pin feeds into when fired causing it to align with the hole. And yes this can "can" cause accuracy issued if worn and badly dragging. One rifle went around to a few quality smiths for evaluation and finally got cured with cleaning up interference inside the bolt.
Maybe the explanation was confusing but as stated "can", common? no.

 

[BoydAllen]

A little story: Greg Tannel is a smith that does a lot of firing pin bushing. His bushings extend back into the bolt far enough so that the firing pin tip is supported throughout the full length of the pin's cock and fire cycle. (Of course this requires that the pin be modified.) Greg told me that he once had a Remington actioned long range target rifle that would throw a shot from time to time, and that he tried a number of things to cure the problem, none of which worked, until he bushed the pin so that it would not have to rattle around into alignment as the rifle was fired. A number of custom action makers have designed their actions so that the pin tip does not come out of the bore that fits it, just to the rear of the bolt face, when the action is cocked. This is the case with Stiller's benchrest actions and Remington clones, but not with factory Remingtons.