Contender firing pin not hitting primer consistently

[jamie eaton]

That's what I had found out . My cousin had a contender much longer than I so I just thought his would have been older , but when I purchased used I had no idea . Never ran the serial numbers to get a manufactures date .

 

[nksmfamjp]

If you have a hammer spur on it , the device that attached to the hammer to assist in pulling it back with a scope on. That may very well be the problem. It slows down the hammer fall. Seen this happen on encores with several different people.

Might need to talk to Belm anyways, huh?

 

[TxPhred]

Might need to talk to Belm anyways, huh?

Yes, but if you need some Bellm tools, I have some you are welcome to borrow. I may have some springs as well. Have to check. His tune up kits were not expensive but I purchased mine many years ago and I am not sure what I have left. I can check though if your interested.

Just to Confirm, Contender or Encore platform?

 

[TxPhred]

I have firing pin springs / bushings and assorted springs for both. I even have one oversized hinge pin.

 

[crazymonkey]

So was the fix the spring? I've got the same issue with mine . Running a 10 inch 357 harret full house load. I will get an occasional failure to fire . Looks like light primer strike . I usually give it a few minutes then open and close the action to reset the trigger . They seem to touch off fine on the second go .

 

[nksmfamjp]

Yes, but if you need some Bellm tools, I have some you are welcome to borrow. I may have some springs as well. Have to check. His tune up kits were not expensive but I purchased mine many years ago and I am not sure what I have left. I can check though if your interested.

Just to Confirm, Contender or Encore platform?

Contender. From around 1992.

 

[nksmfamjp]

So was the fix the spring? I've got the same issue with mine . Running a 10 inch 357 harret full house load. I will get an occasional failure to fire . Looks like light primer strike . I usually give it a few minutes then open and close the action to reset the trigger . They seem to touch off fine on the second go .

Since I have 4 observations that point to not sizing enough, I'll start there.

1) no issue with 17 HMR or 375 JDJ
2) some rounds are hard to close the barrel on
3) I set up FL sizing trying to make as long as possible for good fit.
4) many have no firing pin mark on the primer, so the hammer is hitting something . Without a loaded round, I cannot recreate.

 

[KYODE]

Since I have 4 observations that point to not sizing enough, I'll start there.

1) no issue with 17 HMR or 375 JDJ
2) some rounds are hard to close the barrel on
3) I set up FL sizing trying to make as long as possible for good fit.
4) many have no firing pin mark on the primer, so the hammer is hitting something . Without a loaded round, I cannot recreate.

When adjusting the size die, just a few thousandths up or down in relation to the shellholder can make a big difference.

Out of curiosity, would you know how far off the shellholder the size die is?
In general, my size dies seem to be in an approximate range of .005"-.010" off the shellholder.

Early on i would adjust my dies to touch the shellholder. This over works the brass and i had a case head separation. So i then started partial sizing, which ended up causing misfires with the die up just a little too far.
Bellm and his ideas got me thru all that. I now use a feeler gauge to know exactly how far im off the shellholder. It works well for me.
Curious to see what you find, and of course it's entirely possible to be something else, but most likely an easy fix.

 

[crazymonkey]

The harret 30 or 357 are unique as they seat off the shoulder not the rim. If you adjust your die to the shell holder as you would a normal case it will give you all kinds of issues.

 

[sheehan93]

After years of shooting contenders, buying Don Bower, out plus many visits with Mike Bellm, I feel Kyode is spot on with his diagnosis.
Too much or too little head space will cause you a world of grief. If a guy doesn't size the case enough you can feel it as you close the action, as you mentioned. What happens is it doesn't allow the interlock safety to drop out of the way and let the firing pin to move its intended full range of motion. On the other side, excessive headspace lets the case go too far into the chamber that you can get a light primer strike. As you mentioned, no issues with your rimfire so that helps us understand it better.

One other thing I have seen in the past is that the screw that hold the interlock safety came lose and it caused me some of the same issued of not wanting to fire. Never hurts to go in once in a while and check to see if everything is still tight.

Hope it helps. Feel free to message me if you would like to visit on the phone.

 

[Dave in WI]

What happens is it doesn't allow the interlock safety to drop out of the way and let the firing pin to move its intended full range of motion.

Most likely the case IMO

 

[Mike Matteson]

It doesn't make any difference what barrel on it. It's in the springs that send the hammer forward. I have several barrels for my T.C. the only with that you may need a different forearm piece.

 

[Gusto]

+1 on Mike Bellem. He can get you to a solution, and any needed parts, quickly.

Bellmtc.com, he is the best!

 

[Gusto]

I have had similar issues in the past with my Encore. Turned out to be excessive headspace which was easily corrected by shimming the firing pin bushing, Check out Mike Bellm's website.

Welcome to BELLM TCs LLC - The T/C Experts Since 1979

BellmTC.com, Mike is the best helped me a lot and has done some work for me. Top notch.