At the risk of asking the obvious, I have two questions on 1911 firing pins.
A lot of people stress cleaning the breach wall while pointed downwards and some go so far as to suggest not using cleaners. Is this simply to keep gunk out of the firing pin? Should the pin and spring ever be cleaned? With what?
Yes, I know, more than 2 question.
There seems to be three different diameter firing pins. Is this measurement on the hammer side or breach side? Are all 1911 firing pins the same length?
It is so quick and easy to remove the firing pin that I normally pull it and the extractor out during every cleaning I do. I clean the extractor tunnel and the firing pin tunnel with a small brush that came with this set from John Harrison:
Cleaning the firing pin tunnel with every field strip and cleaning keeps any gunk from building up inside. I dip the small brush in solvent and work it in and out few times and follow up with a shot of gun scrubber.
If you shoot a lot, eventually, the firing pin, hole, and spring, along with extractor/hole will get pretty dirty. Will it impair function? I did see an extractor that was packed solid and had no tension on the case until I cleaned it.
When I shot frequently, I had a small automotive parts cleaning tank with stoddard solvent that I used on completely stripped guns. I had the various size brushes in there to clean the holes as Tim B noted. Then I'd blast the big parts dry.
I see this often, and I'm convinced these comments are from Glock shooters that happen to be dabbling in the 1911 world.
Keeping the Glock striker free of debris and dry seems to be of extreme importance.
Keeping the firing pin of the 1911 clean is a good idea, but keeping it completely dry is of less importance in my mind, since you have a hammer to drive the firing pin.
I clean the firing pin, firing pin channel, extractor, and extractor channel just like I do the rest of the gun, with a CLP of some type. I don't go out of my way to lube those areas, but they do have a light coat of a CLP on them when they are reassembled.
I clean the pin and channel every cleaning, as has been said it’s easy. I replace the spring when I replace the recoil spring, Wolff provides both together in a package - easy & no additional expense.
The bigger problem with the firing pin hole is oil, especially in a carry gun. If you don't carry it, you will probably never have a problem, but most oils contain a penetrant, and they kill primers. If you put/get oil into the firing pin channel, and then place your firearm in a holster the oil follows gravity, ending up on the primer. I have tested several commonly used lubricants, spraying them on a surface, then setting a round on the surface pointing up, and had about 50% dead primers. I don't strip my firing pins out unless I need to, but I am real careful with oils, I try to stay away from oils that "penetrate," especially on carry guns. And remember, oil plus dust/dirt = gunk!
I always remove the firing pin and extractor whenever I clean my 1911s. As the others have said it's so easy there's little reason not to do it. I also do the same on all my other firearms with easily-removed slide components... Glock, M&P, P365, etc. The only ones I don't touch are the ones requiring the removal of drift pins and such, like my Beretta 92s. In those cases I flush out the slides using brake cleaner as best I can.
Q-Tips work, but be sure they don't leave shred and leave cotton behind in the channel. My favorite tool for cleaning 1911 slides is a cheap $2 airbrush cleaning brush set from Harbor Freight:
Thanks for the brush Tool Tip, I don’t get to Harbor Freight very often but I’ll grab this. I’ve been using pipe cleaners forever but since I quit smoking many years ago the gigi-supply of pipe cleaners is in the yellow do not takeoff arc.
There are people who use 9mm firing pins in all their 1911s. However, it is just good practice to use the firing pin size that fits the firing pin hole in the breech face.
The higher the chamber pressure, the more important it becomes. At normal .45 Auto pressures, it's not such a big deal. At higher pressures, using a firing pin that is too small can lead to punctured primers.
Even at lower pressures, there is still more room for debris to.get into the firing pin hole if the pin diameter is too small.
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