speedlock firing pin assembly

[JHansen]

Anyone on here ever try a speedlock firing pin assembly, is it just a gymic or does it really improve your accuracy? Just seems like a fairly cheap and easy thing to do and was thinking about doing it and wondering if anyone had any experience with them, Thanks Jake

 

[gamedog]

I just installed one in my 223AI last night. Basically was wanting to get rid of tha nasty J-Lock on my Rem 700 bolt.
In theory it should help with a quicker lock time, which should help accuracy...but we'll see.

 

[dwm]

Be careful that you check the speed lock firing pin protrusion from the front of the bolt face.

I installed one a few weeks prior to an elk hunting trip in 2006.

Had 3 misfires when I was shooting at my first elk in Co.

Click, chamber new shell, bang, click, chamber new shell, click chamber new shell, bang, dead elk. Elk ran about 50 yds. (I am sure first shot would have done it but the elk just stood there. 7mm 160 Accubond at about 75 yds out of a RUM into the vitals)

Didn't figure out the speedlock wasn't hitting the primer hard enough until under fire in the mountains.

Put the factory firing pin assembly back in and haven't had a misfire since.

(I may even have a REM700 LA speedlock for sale ...)

 

[J E Custom]

Anyone on here ever try a speedlock firing pin assembly, is it just a gymic or does it really improve your accuracy? Just seems like a fairly cheap and easy thing to do and was thinking about doing it and wondering if anyone had any experience with them, Thanks Jake

I have used and like them .

The way they improve accuracy is by decreasing lock time minimizing the movement of the
rifle after trigger sear releases the firing pin,(Less movement,better accuracy.).

If you are well trained and have good shooting skills they may not help that much.

But as DWN said make sure that it is installed correctly and that the protrusion is at least
.050 or more.

J E CUSTOM

 

[dwm]

One more thing, I have one on another 7RUM. This one is somewhat smaller in diameter than the factory unit. It leaves a dimple on the primer. Smith says he could fix it by putting a bushing in the bolt.

The dimple is not really a problem, but that is one more thing to consider if you get one.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I just recently bought one of these for my rem 700 and i had the same problem as dwm just not as common. I shot a match today and probably had ten misfires. A friend suggested i put the factory pin back in. I checked protrusion ( about .062 ) and put factory pin back in and it ignited every round that failed to fire.

Is there a way i could make the lighter pin work or should i just forget it?

 

[dgarrett]

I put one in my 5r 308... The old Remington 788 used to have the fastest lock time of production guns. They were a cheap gun that really shot great. I shake some from nerve problems. Anything that helps get the bullet down and out of the barrel faster is a good thing for me. I figured for such a cheap price it might help. I have never had a misfire with it.. Does it help???? I can't say for sure....dgarrett

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Yeah i shot a little better with the lighter pin. But i got a bag full of shells that didnt go bang.

 

[Kennibear]

JHansen

Put a speed lock on a M98 Mauser in 30/06 (with a +9lb 27' barrel 1.25" diameter full length) back in the early 80's. The firing pin was not changed but a much stronger spring and modified tail piece to shorten the throw were included. I believe it did as advertised. Savage, Remington (w/ the 788) and other manufacturers brag about short lock times and the Olympic crowd seeks that out.

I would be leery of a light weight pin unless it were backed by a substantial increase in spring compression. It takes a thresh hold of strike energy to initiate a primer. I wouldn't own a firearm that wasn't 100% bang. The pistol speed lock makers warn against using race gun triggers for duty/ carry/ personal use.

The firing pin being too small for the bolt face pin hole is a huge concern. That means the pin has clearance on the side to be jammed and/or damaged by primer cup material. It's possible that the pin does a little shimmy as it pops forward and that has to increase wear and cannot help the speed. I was taught by all the old school gunsmiths that that condition was a must fix/ safety issue.

Maybe the speed lock you bought wasn't as quality as it should be.

But my vote is "speed lock on every gun".

 

[Wile E Coyote]

I've used two SpeedLock firing pins in the past couple of years and have replaced both of them because of misfires. One of those misfires was expensive.

The problem with the misfires I experienced were due to a lack of energy applied to the primers. By this I mean the light weight pin coupled with a relatively weak spring didn't have enough energy to cause the primer to fire. The spring that was supplied with the SpeedLock had a similar compression weight to the original stock spring.

If one has a Speed Lock pin or any other lightweight firing pin, one is able to demonstrate for themselves just how soft the lightweight pin strike is by seating a live primer in a case (NO POWDER OR BULLET! ) take it outside and fire it. Do the same exercise with the stock firing pin with the SAME spring, There should be a noticeable difference.

The pin protrusion on both my rifles (Rem 700's) were .051" (a .223) and .054" (a 7RM). On the 'misfired' primers, one should notice the 'dent' made by the strike isn't very deep; at least mine were not. When these pins did fire the round, I also had a cratered primer with a deep pin strike regardless of the load. The crater was due to the fact that the diameter of the pin was several thou smaller than the bore in the bolt face. Additionally, the fired primers always looked like a good strike (other than the crater ring) because the force of the detonated powder charge would drive the case back against the bolt face and the protruding firing pin.

My solution was to use a Holland's oversize pin and a heavier spring. Fitting the Holland spring solved the cratering issue. And the heavier spring makes sure the primer is struck with authority. Both rifles have gone bang every time since this change.

As for the difference in lock time, in my opinion, good shooting form will out weigh any disadvantage the heavier pin may cause.

I used to blame these misfires on bad primers. I've since proven this is not the case. I found a few of those primers in my scrap bucket and tried to re-fire them as described above; all detonated.

As for the expensive mis-fire I mentioned earlier. I made tag soup out of a hunt I went on a couple years ago. On the last day of the hunt, pulled the trigger, gun went click, deer moved out of position and never came back. Drove from Wyoming to NY dreaming of the tag in the cooler.

The lightweight pins may have a place in a competition rifle but they don't have a place in my hunting guns. MHO

Pete

 

[AKGuide]

Older post but I too have had problems with the pins. My fix was to install the stock spring with the speed lock pin and this solved the problems. I was getting light strikes and reverse primer craters until I tried this. Been doing well since I did this a couple years ago.

Reuben

 

[coyotezapper]

Call David Tubb. He will take care of any problem. Most problems are with the inconsistent size of the firing pin hole in the bolt and are not his pins. If you get a light strike then it is hanging up in the hole. Simple fix.

 

[dkhunt14]

Call David Tubb. He will take care of any problem. Most problems are with the inconsistent size of the firing pin hole in the bolt and are not his pins. If you get a light strike then it is hanging up in the hole. Simple fix.

If you take the milliseconds of lock time on a Rem 700 and add the milliseconds of bullet in a barrel and add them the total change is very little. The average lock time or a Rem 700 is around 2.5 milliseconds and if you save 25% you really don't change much. The barrel time doesn't change. It helps slightly with offhand shooting like Tubbs and the Olympic shooters do. Also a lot of guys have broke the light pins by both dryfiring and shooting. They have a life expectancy and will fail in time. I would not want the misfires or a broken pin to ruin a hunt. If you go to 6 BR and ask about the lightweight pins you will get your answer from guys that Benchrest and longrange shoot in competition. In benchrest the guys have figured out that the inconsistent strikes and misfires have opened up groups, especially at longrange. Ignition is important in accuracy. In fact a lot of benchrest guys have put in weighted pins to help with consistent ignition. Dwight Scott and Dave Bruno have been doing the weighted pins for years, They are two of the top short range Benchrest gunsmiths. Dwight even told BAT his ignition was no good and needed changed. The New BAT's come through with a heavier pin. I have seen a lot of guys try them at 1000 yard BR where they shoot 10 shots for group. With 80 pound heavy guns that really shoot and every one of them got rid of the pins because they didn't shoot as good. Now this is just based on things I personally saw and things I read from Benchrest shooters that really need to shoot small to win that tried them. Matt