Firing Pin Protrusion On Spanish 93

[Dr.Hess]

I'm having pierced primers on my cobbled together Spanish 93 Mauser. Only on soft comercial primers. On milsurp ammo, it doesn't pierce. Anyway, what's the spec on how far out the firing pin should stick, how to I test that, how do I fix it?

 

[Spiris]

I believe all Mausers run .055-.060 as a standard projection. Maybe someone has different #s for your 93. Dumb question maybe, but you don't have pistol primers in the cases by chance do you? Just verify the projection dimension first and go from there. If you have a vernier, measure from the bolt face using the vernier stem. If too long, take the firing pin out and

grind or file the excess from the striking end, finishing up with a nice rounded end. You should be able to check your dimensions by holding the firing pin manually in the bolt without having to totally reassemble.

 

Spiris

[Brenden]

your basic protrusion should measure no more than .055, and when pushed foward should be no more than .065 or a good ole' optimum .060. Just some of me thinking out loud here, maybe your pin is excessive because of overtravle caused by loose firing pin/cocking piece fit or loose bolt/sleeve thread fit? Just a wondering.

Brenden

[Dr.Hess]

Thanks, guys. I'll take a look at it. There's no telling on this one. Started out as a $20 gun show action and went from there.

 

The primers I'm using are marked Winchester Large Rifle or Magnum Large Pistol. They might be too soft for a Mauser. Could also be due to the steel cases I'm reloading. They're a little funky.

[AzRednek]

The primers I'm using are marked Winchester Large Rifle or Magnum Large Pistol.

 

Doc, do a double check on how the primer's package is marked. Large rifle and mag pistol primers are different and are not interchangeable. Is it possible your primers are backing out from excessive pressure?

 

 

[Dr.Hess]

These primers are actually marked "Large Rifle or Magnum Large Pistol" on the box and they are Winchester. The box looks like the Winchester box in your pic. I'll get the exact primer number. They are probably 15 years old, at least, as that was the last time I did any loading and that was for 30-06 then if it was large rifle. Every other rifle I load for is small rifle. They are not backing out or flowing back from high pressure. I'm only using 27 gr of H335 in 7.62x39.

 

[karlunity]

Check the firing pin spring.

 

karl

[AzRednek]

Guess I'm showing my age. I always thought and I'm certain back in the dark ages when I discovered reloading long before the internet and easy access to information. The difference between pistol and rifle primers is the hardness first and power second. I recall reading numerous warnings not to put pistol primers in rifles and the only difference between mag and std primers was the duration of the burn. Now I'm thrown a curve with large rifle and magnum pistol primers being the same. I didn't believe pistol and rifle primers could be interchanged but guess I'm wrong. Its ok though, I'm permitted one mistake a year and have carried a few over from previous years!!

 

Back in the early 70's I had a Hawes 44 mag and a Dakota 41. Both shot factory ammo just fine but reloaded primers were being pierced with regularity. I wrote the Hawes, got a reply with the standard warning against using reloaded ammo, how reloaded ammo voided the warranty, it was recommended I use harder primers. I wrote CCI (this was long prior to them becoming part of the corporate conglomerate) and they shifted the blame back to Hawes and the Italian factory that was building majority of non-Ruger single action revolvers on the market with various names. Something about an alteration of the original Colt design and coil mainspring if I remember it correctly. CCI recommended I try a std large rifle primer, a reduced load with brass made after a certain date. Older brass might have a shorter primer pocket and a rifle primer may not seat deep enough.

 

Just recently I loaded a few 45 Colt with rifle primers. I ran out of large pistol primers and was short of filling a hundred round box by a dozen or so. The ammo was all shot in a Rossi rifle and I assumed it would be ok. I didn't separate or mark the rounds loaded with rifle primers but I had a few that required a second strike to fire.

 

So back to doc's problem of pierced primers. I would be hesitant of using a primer suitable for use in a pistol in a Mauser or any military rifle. Seems to me a sporting rifle's firing pin taps a primer where a military rifle strikes it with a bit more force and probably a bit deeper. Just speculating on my part but I assume 19th century primers required a bit more force for reliable ignition and modern primers are likely a bit softer.

 

Here is a good newsgroup post on primers. Have no idea whom he is but he seems to know what he is talking about.

 

primers

[Dr.Hess]

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions. These are my findings:

 

First off, I had dug a box of Winchester large primers out. In that box was about 7-8 tray-boxes of primers. I'm dyslexic. I looked at all the boxes and read what I read. What I read was as stated above: Large Rifle or Magnum Pistol, I dumped them in the primer flipper, loaded a tube and went on. So, I went back through my stuff. Turns out that the big box and all but one small tray box said "Large Rifle" and the one small tray box I picked up actuall said "Large Pistol or Magnum Pistol." Somehow I had twisted that around. So, problem #1: I was using pistol primers. They went boom just fine, but I had some pierced primers. I have in the past used large rifle primers in 45ACP, when I was like 18 and they wouldn't sell me pistol primers. They worked just fine in a 1911. As a side note, this ammo experiment has done just about everything you have ever been told not to do and won't work. Steel cases, Berdan primed, hole bored through the bottom of the case to decap, primers glued in, cast bullits with home made checks, and now pistol primers. Still all went boom.

 

OK, problem #2: I took my bolt apart. Not easy as the firing pin was a bit buggered up on the locking teeth and wouldn't come out. The firing pin was bent a little bit at the tip because sometime in the past 107 years, someone somewhere between Spain and Texas didn't use the hole in the stock to take it apart or put it together. So I straighten that out with some pliers. Firing pin protrusion was about 75 thousandths. I took some emery cloth to it and got it down to 59 thousands and called it good. Cleaned it all up some and put it back together with some Break Free and a couple dabs of Harley-Davidson Wheel Bearing Grease for the lugs.

 

I havent' shot it yet. I want to find some thicker material to make checks from.