P345 Stuck firing pin

[Carry_Up]

Looking for info on "stuck firing pin" in the P345 and models with the same mechanism. The end of the firing pin is at or below flush at the back of the slide. The safety lever is stuck in the "fire" position.

New gun, not a cleaning problem. I've found a few other reports on various boards - same symptoms - but the owner's did not follow up on what causes the problem.

Thanks for the help,
Carry_Up

 

[roylt]

You sure it is stuck? After you are sure the chamber is clear etc etc. put a pencil in the barrel and point the gun to the sky. Pull the trigger and see if the pencil pops out of the gun. If so the firing pin is working right.

Maybe post pictures too.

 

[Carry_Up]

The firing pin was stuck. Confirmed visually by noting that the rear of the firing pin was flush with the back of the striking surface. Therefore, the hammer had nothing to strike. The pin was not protruding from the breach. That makes me 99% sure that the firing pin was binding on the numerous safety plungers and safety/decocking levers that are designed to block the movement of the firing pin.

Working the rear of the firing pin back and forth, while pressing on both safety plungers eventually freed the pin. In my book, the gun is not fixed even though it is working normally...for now.

CU

 

[roylt]

I would pull the decock levers and remove the firing pin and see if there is a metal shaving or something in the firing pin slot.

 

[Bullet Puller]

I bought a P345 when they first came out. After a few boxes of ammo it began to misfire. The firing pin was not even striking the primer. After much head scratching I disassembled the slide and removed the firing pin. What I found was that the shoulder at the rear of the firing pin where the spring stops was not made with a square shoulder like one turned on a lathe, but very rounded. This allowed the rear end of the firing pin spring to creep backwards until it got caught in the space between the large end of the pin and the frame. I did a bit of lathe work (with a drill and file) to square up the shoulder. I then clipped a little off the spring to clean it up where it was mangled. All is now well. Your problem might just be a different manifestation of the same root problem.

Hope this is helpful.
I look forward to hearing the results.

Larry

 

[Carry_Up]

Excellent information. Thank you. This complex firing pin safety mechanism just shows us that it is a little too difficult for the factory to manufacture correctly. I was not satisfied that the previously mentioned P345 was "fixed", but it was up to the owner to decide what he wanted to do with it, which was nothing.

Carry_Up