TargetTalk

My Benelli MP90S went click last night instead of bang. I found the front 1/8" of the firing pin on the bench. No big deal to replace (I think), and I have a spare I bought 5 years ago when I bought the pistol.

Any comments or recommendations on the replacement process? It looks like all I have to do is drive out the cross pin holding the leaf spring and drop in a new one. Is that all there is to it?

I got my spare from Brownells, and if I remember, it took a while to get & was pretty pricey. Does anyone have a recommendation for another source for a replacement? I know Larry's sells Benellis now. While I'm at it, are there any other spare parts I should consider picking up?

Thanks!

"Gwhite", your experience is not exeptional. Firings pins can and do break, but usually not very often. Dryfiring is often the culprit.

In our nationals a few years back, during check-in and trigger weight control, the range officer noticed a "pling" from the ceiling. It was the front part of the firingpin which, as the pin was rammed forward by the striker, simply broke off. On its trajectory out of the muzzle it hit the ceiling more than 6 feet overhead. The gun was a Benelli, and the gun was owned by a swede, by the way.

At a sanctioned match in late june this year I noticed a competior struggling with his gun at the firing point to my left. He was heard swearing heavily during the preparation time. During the sight-in string he was not able to get a single shot fired. He then simply packed his gear and abandoned the match.

Afterwards we learned that he was using a Benelli. And the firing pin - yes, as you have already guessed,- was broken.

I think you were sensible to have a spare firing pin, but can I suggest that you should carry it with the gun together with any tools needed to replace it.

Firing pins break, that is a fact of life. In very few cases do they take more than a couple of minutes to change.

As a FAS enthusiast, but they are by no means the only culprits, I know that firing pins have been produced in varying lengths and shapes over the years. Take a few minutes to check that your replacement firing pin fits and works.

David Levene wrote:As a FAS enthusiast, but they are by no means the only culprits, I know that firing pins have been produced in varying lengths and shapes over the years. Take a few minutes to check that your replacement firing pin fits and works.

This is one reason I bought a spare at the time I got the pistol. It's presumably the same vintage & size as the one that broke. I suppose I should measure it before I install it so I can verify the next one I get is the right size. I also know some firing pins have sharp corners that can increase the likelyhood of a punctured primer, while others can be blunt enough that they can give light hits. I saved the end that broke off, so I can also compare its shape with the replacement. I'm hoping that the quality control & manufacturing consistency is better on these than some older US pistol parts I'm familiar with.

gwhite: I have repair parts (firing pins) for the Benelli if needed. I am in Mass also. 781-834-3225, Greg Derr